By the third complete sequence, Eve was executing cleanly enough that Raphael began adding magical pressure.....projecting the specific energy signatures of each faction leader rather than just embodying their personality. Malachai's cold shadow energy pressing at her shields. Seraphine's warm authoritative pull trying to bypass her defenses. Cassius's subtle commercial compulsion nudging her toward agreement.
She held.
Not perfectly. Not without effort. But she held.
The fourth sequence was brutal.
Raphael as Malachai deployed his shadow energy directly and simultaneously while speaking.....a genuine attempt to suppress her power signature, to make her feel smaller and less capable at the exact moment she needed to project authority. Eve felt it working on the edges of her awareness, felt her confidence flicker.
