The options hung in the air in front of her, visible only to Aegis, painted into reality by Lune's brush.
To her left, she saw herself on a throne of black stone, shadow magic coiling around her arms like living armor, the Umbral Blade kneeling at her feet. The Shadow Empress. The villain the prophecy had promised.
To her right, she saw Sylceris on her knees in a courtyard, a headsman's axe raised above her neck, the crowd watching in silence. Justice served. The threat eliminated.
And straight ahead, she saw herself in a crown, sitting on the Valdrian throne, the kingdom reshaped in her image. A queen. A ruler. The ultimate ending for a commoner who'd clawed her way to the top.
Aegis looked at all three of them.
Then she grinned, raised her hand, and flicked them away like crumbs off a table.
[No thanks. I think I'll write my own.]
The System flickered.
