The European Parliament building in Strasbourg had witnessed countless debates about unity, cooperation, and shared values over its decades of existence. But the emergency session convened at 9 PM on a Tuesday night carried a tension that seemed to make the curved walls themselves lean inward, as if the architecture was trying to contain discussions that could fragment everything the institution represented.
Minister Claire Dubois adjusted her reading glasses and studied the faces arranged in the semicircular chamber. Forty-seven representatives from supernatural affairs departments across Europe, each one dealing with the same impossible deadline that had turned international cooperation into a high-stakes game of diplomatic chess.
Seventy-two hours to respond to demands from beings who claimed authority that predated European civilization itself.
