The great hall of the Eternal Citadel had witnessed countless historic moments over the past two decades—peace treaties that ended millennia-old conflicts, diplomatic ceremonies that united previously hostile species, and celebrations that marked the steady expansion of the Consciousness-Void Compact across the cosmos. But as Reed took his place on the crystalline dais, he sensed that today's gathering would surpass them all in significance.
The Inheritance Collective had arrived.
They entered not with the desperate urgency of refugees seeking sanctuary, nor with the formal pomp of established diplomatic missions. Instead, they moved with a confidence that spoke of beings who had never doubted their right to exist, to question, to demand change. At their head walked two figures who immediately commanded Reed's attention.
