The Imperial Palace had never felt quite so imposing as it did the morning after my ascension to the Empty Throne. I walked through corridors lined with portraits of emperors stretching back a thousand years, each one having ruled over a guild system that I had just fundamentally transformed. The weight of that historical significance pressed against my shoulders with every step toward the private audience chamber where Emperor Quinn awaited.
Unlike the ceremonial grandeur of the Guild Summit, this meeting would be conducted in the quiet dignity befitting discussions between equals. The realization struck me as I approached the ornate doors—I was no longer a guild master seeking imperial favor, but the Guild Grandmaster whose economic authority now rivaled governmental power itself.
