The Verdant Nexus was still when Agony returned.

  Not because it had grown quiet.

  But because the world had changed in its absence.

  Kestrel's lands had fallen.

  Not by siege.

  Not by war.

  But by something deeper.

  A war of the mind.

  A war of the soul.

  And now, those who had once served another came to kneel before Selene.

  ---

  Selene stood at the center of the great hall, golden eyes watching as the first of Kestrel's former men entered her domain.

  They did not come in chains.

  They did not come under guard.

  They came willingly.

  Their expressions were serene, their gazes steady.

  They had been reclaimed.

  Not by her.

  Not by force.

  But by something else.

  By Agony.

  By the truth they had been shown.

  ---

  Agony stood in the shadows, silent, watching.

  It did not need to speak.

  It did not need to declare its success.

  The proof was already here.

  Kestrel's former men bowed one by one, their voices even.

  They did not swear loyalty to her.

  They did not need to.

  Because they were already hers.

  Because they belonged to the only truth that mattered.

  Pain.

  Struggle.

  Growth.

  And in turn, they belonged to her empire.

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  Not by conquest.

  But by conviction.

  ---

  Foxes was the first to break the silence, his grin sharp.

  “Well,” he murmured, “that’s new.”

  Selene didn’t react.

  She only watched.

  Watched as the men knelt.

  Watched as they gave themselves to her rule without a single sword raised.

  She tilted her head slightly.

  And then she spoke.

  “You understand what has happened.”

  It was not a question.

  The kneeling men nodded.

  One of them—once a captain under Kestrel, now something else entirely— lifted his gaze.

  “We are stronger now.”

  A pause.

  “We are not here to ask for your rule.”

  Another pause.

  “We are here to offer ourselves to it.”

  Foxes exhaled.

  “Gods,” he muttered, half-amused, half-intrigued. “They really mean it.”

  ---

  Selene stepped forward.

  They did not flinch.

  Did not waver.

  She studied them.

  Then, after a long moment, she nodded.

  “Then you will serve.”

  Not as prisoners.

  Not as conquered men.

  But as devoted subjects.

  The transformation was complete.

  Agony’s presence had not just taken Kestrel’s lands.

  It had taken his people.

  And now, they were something new.

  ---

  Far beyond the Verdant Nexus, the world took notice.

  The fall of Lord Kestrel should have been a war.

  A battle of steel.

  But it had been something else.

  A Dominion leader had vanished overnight.

  Not by force.

  Not by invasion.

  But by some unseen force.

  And the other Lords?

  They were terrified.

  They had prepared for battle.

  For conquest and counterattacks.

  For diplomacy and deception.

  But what Selene had done?

  It was not something they could fight.

  Because how do you battle something you cannot see?

  How do you resist something that lives within your own people?

  How do you counter faith?

  The Lords did not know.

  And that was what scared them most.

  ---

  Days later, a messenger arrived.

  Not from another vassal.

  Not from a Dominion seeking alliance.

  But from one of the Lords who had plotted against her.

  Lord Brannor of the Iron Pact.

  Selene received the letter without expression.

  Foxes read it aloud, voice lazy, but with a sharp undertone of interest.

  "‘We see what you are doing, Selene of the Court of Balance. We see what you have built. We see what is spreading. And we will not allow it. You have become a threat that must be removed.’"

  Foxes smirked.

  “Well. That’s direct.”

  Selene didn’t blink.

  She reached for a dagger resting on the table, and with a slow, deliberate motion, she drove it through the letter, pinning it to the wood.

  She met the gazes of her gathered court.

  And smiled.

  “Then let him try.”

  ---

  The lesser Dominions had been waiting for their moment.

  They had planned to weaken her.

  To starve her resources.

  To force her to stretch her forces thin.

  But now, they were changing their approach.

  Now, they were seeing the truth.

  Selene was not someone who could be bled out over time.

  She was not someone who could be pressured into collapse.

  Because waiting only made her stronger.

  Because every day they hesitated, her empire grew.

  And so, they had made a choice.

  No more waiting.

  No more subtle tactics.

  They would come for her directly.

  They would bring an army.

  They would attempt to break her before she could grow too powerful to stop.

  Selene understood.

  This was their only chance.

  If they did not destroy her now, they would never be able to.

  They were gambling everything.

  And they were already too late.

  ---

  Selene turned toward Agony.

  It had remained still, watching, waiting.

  And now, she addressed it directly.

  “You have done well.”

  Agony did not bow.

  It did not need to.

  It simply existed.

  And Selene understood that it was pleased.

  Then, with deliberate intent, she spoke again.

  “Your purpose here is not over.”

  She lifted her chin.

  “The war is coming.”

  She let her gaze sweep across the room.

  And then, to all those gathered, she made her final decree.

  “It is time for the world to learn what happens when they try to break something that cannot be broken.”

  She turned to Agony.

  “You will go into the heart of this war.”

  A pause.

  “And you will show them.”

  Agony did not ask how.

  It did not ask why.

  It simply did what it had always done.

  It would wait.

  And when the moment came—

  It would teach them.

  One way or another.