The scroll from the Celestial Directorate sat on my desk like a coiled viper.
It wasn't made of paper; it was a sheet of flattened light, hovering an inch above the wood, glowing with a soft, rhythmic pulse that seemed to mock the quiet of the room. It had appeared out of thin air three days ago, dropping onto the command center floor like a bomb. It hadn't exploded, but the message it carried was just as destructive.
[SUMMIT OF WORLDS: T-MINUS 6 HOURS]
[ATTENDANCE: MANDATORY]
[LOCATION: OBSERVATORY DELTA]
I stared at it, nursing a cup of cold tea. My broken arm had healed, but the phantom ache still lingerred, a constant reminder of the price of power.
"You're going to go, aren't you?" Alex asked from the doorway.
I didn't turn around. "Do I have a choice?"
"There's always a choice," he said, walking over to stand beside me. He looked tired. The reconstruction of the walls was taking a toll on everyone. "We could lock the anchor down. Refuse the connection. We have the Null-Dust. We could try to block them."
"Alex, these people monitor the Multiverse," I said dryly. "They created the System we use. If I lock the door, they might just decide to remove the house."
I finally turned to face him. "I have to go. It's intelligence. We are flying blind. We don't know what the Convergence really is, or who these 'Directorate' people are. This Summit is a chance to see the board, not just the pieces."
Alex crossed his arms. "If it's a trap?"
"Then we spring it," I said simply. "But I'm not going alone. I'm taking Lily."
Alex stiffened. "She's fourteen, Evie. She's a child."
"She's the Shield of Last Light," I countered firmly. "Her barriers held back a Titan. If things go south in a room full of high-level System Hosts, I need someone I trust to watch my back. You're needed here. If I don't come back, someone has to run the valley. But Lily... she needs to see this. She needs to understand the scale of what we're facing."
Alex looked like he wanted to argue, but the logic was sound. We were no longer just parents; we were the architects of a survival strategy.
We walked to the command center together. Lily was already there, dressed in her tactical vest, her hair pulled back in a tight braid. She looked nervous but determined, her hands glowing with a faint, practice-green aura.
"We're ready," she said, trying to sound older than she was.
"Keep the channel open," I told Marcus. "If we lose contact for more than an hour, assume hostile action."
"Understood," Marcus said, his face grim.
I turned to the scroll. It was time.
"System," I commanded. "Initiate transport."
The scroll unraveled, expanding into a vertical ring of blinding gold fire. The air pressure in the room dropped, sucking the oxygen out of my lungs. It smelled of ozone and high-altitude frost.
"Let's move," I said.
I grabbed Lily's hand, and we stepped into the light.