The first letters wrote themselves across the air, clean and severe. No one breathed.
THIS IS A BINDING TOWER. IT HOLDS THE DEMON LORD OF LUST. IF YOU DO NOT CONQUER IT WITHIN SIX MONTHS, THE PRISON OPENS ON EARTH.
The words hung in the center of the room, stark and absolute. Below them, the countdown started, the numbers ticking backward from 182 days with a clock that wasn't ours. The silence in the war room was heavier than any shout.
Rachel went pale, then a flush of anger crossed her face, and then both were replaced by a mask of cold professionalism. She kept her eyes on the text as if she could stare it into behaving.
"Trace the route," Cecilia said, her voice cutting through the stillness. She was already pulling up a packet map of the Empire's secure networks.
