The void didn't end. It opened.
One moment, Luna stood alone in the quiet aftermath of her choice. The next—light exploded from every direction. Not harsh. Not violent. But vast. Ancient. Overwhelming.
She shielded her eyes with one arm, heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
When she looked up, she wasn't in darkness anymore.
She stood on a platform of pure starlight, floating at the center of a cosmic amphitheater. Above, below, all around—forty-seven beings watched her.
Not monsters. Not warriors in armor.
Titans of civilization.
A woman made of living nebula, her hair swirling with newborn stars. A crystalline entity whose voice chimed like shattered glass and forgiveness. A hulking figure woven from roots and memory, moss growing over scars that wept amber light. Others—some insectoid, some gaseous, some barely more than thought given form—all radiating power so dense it bent space around them.
These weren't just strong.
