Shubh landed, claws cracking the golden marble path.
"You're the Fairy King?" she asked, voice flat.
The being floated down fully, smiling with both warmth and a hidden sharpness. "Yes. My name is Caelis Virelume, King of Aestravale, Sovereign of the Thousand Lights."
"You look like a girl," Shubh commented, her many tendrils curling curiously.
"Flattery won't help you," Caelis said, still smiling. "But I appreciate the honesty."
Shubh rolled her neck, black tendrils twitching like serpents around her body. "Then I'll be honest again—kneel and swear your crown to my master. Or be torn apart and offered to the Void."
Caelis chuckled, floating back slowly. "You creatures of darkness… always so blunt. But I'm afraid I must decline."
With a snap of their fingers, the illusion shattered—revealing a massive army.
