The central battlefield finished lighting up.
Ancient runes spread across the vast arena floor one after another, forming a web of golden, crimson, purple, green, silver, and black light.
Each color linked faintly to one of the powers gathered there, but the whole formation ultimately pointed toward the towering statue of the First Progenitor standing at one end of the arena.
The statue's closed eyes stayed silent, yet once the runes fully woke up, the entire arena felt like it had come under that ancient ancestor's watch.
The noise from the four sacred clan platforms slowly faded. Valerius, Ashbourne, Ravenhart, and Evercrest all turned their attention to the central battlefield.
Even the abandoned sixth end of the arena seemed darker and quieter than before, sitting apart from the other five like a forgotten wound in this grand sacred place.
Then space shimmered above the battlefield. A woman stepped out.
