The Inner Sanctum of the Imperial Palace was quiet in a way that only absolute power could afford. Here, sound was optional. Light obeyed intention rather than physics. Gravity itself was subdued, a gentle presence instead of a ruling law. The walls were not stone, nor metal, nor mana constructs, but condensed reality layers bound together by the Conqueror's System.
This was the place where Aegis retreated when the weight of worlds pressed too heavily on his soul.
He sat upon the Sea God's Throne, not slouched, not rigid, simply present. For the first time since the assimilation of Xylos, he allowed himself to pause. A translucent interface unfolded before him, far more expansive than the familiar System panels he had long grown accustomed to.
