The return to the Emerald Kingdom was not merely a military victory; it was a homecoming of legends.
As the floating dreadnought descended from the clouds, its white stone spires gleaming like polished bone against the azure sky, the entire continent seemed to hold its breath. From the high balconies of the Pearl Kingdom's water-mirrored towers to the bustling, copper-roofed markets of the Obsidian Island, millions of eyes were fixed on the sky. When the massive fortress finally glided over the Emerald capital and settled into its designated docking cradle with a low, resonant thrum of satisfied earth magic, the silence broke.
A roar of jubilation, so loud it felt like a physical pressure against the chest, erupted from the city below. Bells began to chime — not the frantic, discordant peals of alarm, but the deep, rhythmic, and triumphant tolling of peace.
