Erza's frustration boiled over. "Why are you smiling? What is happening? I cannot understand any of this! What is this place? Why is it empty? Why"
Isvarn cut her off, his voice calm but firm. "Look up, my Queen."
Erza looked up.
And her breath stopped.
Above her, suspended in the white void, was a presence. It was not a crown of gold or jewels, not a physical object that could be touched or worn. It was a crown of memory, vast and terrible, hanging in the sky like a second sun. It was shaped like a giant brain, its surface folded and complex, its structure towering like a mountain range. Wheels within wheels turned inside it, spinning slowly, rhythmically, like the gears of a clock that had been ticking for centuries.
And embedded in the surface of this giant brain were seven glowing orbs. Each one was violet, the same violet as Erza's eyes, the same violet as the magic that flowed through her veins. They pulsed with a soft, steady light, like hearts beating in unison.
