Jordan walked toward his newly bestowed home after passing the trial.
The streets of Aiz's central district shimmered beneath his boots, condensed starlight that felt solid yet faintly gave with each step, like walking across the surface of a frozen nebula.
Towering spires of translucent crystal rose on either side, their surfaces alive with captured constellations that slowly rotated in silent majesty.
The air carried the clean, cool scent of ionized ozone and distant cosmic blooms, a fragrance both invigorating and strangely lonely.
He pushed open the door to his assigned residence, a modest but elegant structure of dark obsidian and silver-veined crystal, perched on a floating platform overlooking the lower districts.
The interior was minimalist: smooth black floors, low furniture of polished meteorite stone, and walls that offered panoramic views of the swirling violet void beyond.
Nick was already waiting inside.
