The morning sun cast long shadows across the cobblestone streets of Lysora County's administrative district. Two weeks had passed since the legendary raid on Leviathan's Abyss, yet the excitement still lingered in the air like the aftermath of a festival.
Vendors had taken to selling crude wooden replicas of the dungeon, complete with miniature figures representing the heroes who had conquered it. Children played at being Salomonis or Kairos Vale, wielding sticks as they reenacted imagined battles against the demon lord.
None of them knew the truth.
In the private chambers of the Archon's tower, four figures gathered around a table laden with maps and documents. The windows had been shuttered, crystal lights providing the only illumination despite the hour. Salomonis va Ferrum's weathered fingers traced a route on the largest map—a detailed rendering of the roads connecting Lysora County to Valemir, the capital of the Solarian Empire.
