Chapter 75 The Guardian's Binding

• Three days after the battle that had transformed us all, I stood in what remained of the great hall, receiving the formal surrender of Lord Cassius's remaining forces. The ceremony should have felt triumphant, but I found myself distracted by the way reality seemed to shimmer around the edges of my vision—layers of existence becoming visible that I was still learning to navigate.
• "Your Majesty," Captain Thorne said, kneeling before the makeshift throne we had constructed from salvaged materials. "The northern territories have been secured. The dimensional rifts have sealed completely, and there are no signs of remaining otherworldly influence."
• "Thank you, Captain," I replied, noting how his voice carried new harmonics that suggested the Guardian transformation was spreading to those who had been closest to the epicenter of change. "How are the people adjusting?"