THREE DAYS UNTIL NIGHTINGALE'S ARRIVAL - WAR COUNCIL
"I want to talk to him."
The council chamber went DEAD silent.
"TALK?" Kassandra stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "To the man who's KILLED you across multiple timelines? Who's bringing FIVE THOUSAND soldiers to destroy us? You want to TALK?"
"Yes," Sera said. Calm. CERTAIN. Standing at the head of the table like she'd never LEFT. "I want to understand him. REALLY understand him. Before anyone else DIES."
"He's a PSYCHOPATH—" Valeria's replacement General Helena started.
"He's a PERSON. A damaged, broken, desperate person who's spent DECADES in time loops making increasingly terrible choices." Sera's silver eyes swept the room. "I've BEEN the world. I've felt his consciousness. His PAIN. His motivations. And they're not what you THINK."
"Enlighten us," Director Chen said coldly.
Sera pulled out no documents. No EVIDENCE. She just SPOKE.
