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A city carved from stardust, its towers stretched into the cosmic abyss, and its spires of gold and silver were entwined with veins of iridescent crystal.

Walls that shimmered with lightning, glowing with the breath of the divine, with lattices of celestial script snaking over their silvered surfaces.

Flyers and skimmers sculpted from gems, still light as a feather, powered by unseen engines that made no noise and left no emissions.

He sent out a careful spread of metanoids, and the data they began to transmit almost overrode his senses.

Code and sigils he’d never seen before flowed over his neural cortex in symbols, hieroglyphs, and cryptograms so complex and ancient that he had no way to decipher them.

He sensed Mirage in the background, collating the intel with glee, and caught her gasps of amazement from millions of klicks away as she processed.

Tis all my dreams come true,she murmured into his node.

He barely registered her words as his vision struggled to intake the aetheric atmosphere.

The air, too, was dense, not in pressure, but in presence.

It pressed down on his bones.

An unseen force rippled through his marrow, whispering of powers older than galaxies, of eyes that witnessed the birth of time itself.

Beside him, Issa exhaled, her expression guarded. ‘Welcome to Sivania,’ she whispered. ‘The bastion of the Higher Gods. The place where destinies are rewritten or erased for eternity.’

The lander descended, falling to street level.

Its roof fell away to give the pair an unprecedented view.

Ki’Remi sat alongside Issa in the open-air transport, his gaze sweeping across the impossible cityscape.

Vast bridges of suspended energy arced between cosmic-breathed buildings, supporting the citadel’s transcendent traffic.

Some residents were walking, some were gliding, and others were riding hover flyers that defied every law of aerodynamics he knew.

The metropolis thrived in layers, each level distinct in purpose.

Above them was the domain of the divine: floating palaces, temples, and terraces. Entire districts appeared devoted to indulgence and worship, the air alive with the sound of sacred chants whispered prayers, and the harmony of celestial existence.

Below was the realm of the Sacran demi-gods and mortals, who were granted the privilege of living within the Seventh Heaven.

Here, the streets bustled with activity that appeared more commerce-driven.

Even lower, in the darker shadows of the lower city, Ki’Remi glimpsed the underbelly of Sivania.

Twas a labyrinth of twisting alleyways and clandestine structures, a place where faith and desperation intermingled in an uneasy alliance.

The Rider glanced at this woman. ‘You grew up here?’ he rasped.

Issa’s gaze flicked over the skyline, a shadow crossing her features.

‘Not in the golden palace,’ she murmured. ‘I lived in the demi towers beneath them.’

The skimmer slowed in a busy air lane parallel to one of the city’s vast suspended walkways.

Curious eyes fell on them, and then eyes widened on recognizing Issa.

The Rider sensed the shift in the crowd, the ripple of unease, the sudden tension threading through the walkway.

People stopped in their tracks.