Corrupted beginnings.

The court falls silent as the throne chamber trembles. Beneath the crystal floor, an ancient seal ignites in a hue no one recognizes, deep and living.

Valerius straightens from the forming kneel, eyes fixed on the glow. The gathered nobles hesitate, waiting for Tululu to decide whether this is omen or warning.

The crystal dais parts with a low, grinding sigh, revealing a narrow stair of black stone descending into light. The seal is not a trap. It is an invitation to the heart of the palace.

The court remains bowed, but now their submission hangs on her next command. Tululu stands at the threshold where challenger ends and sovereign begins.

Tululu lifts both spell blades, and the gold in the chamber bends toward them. The ward beneath the throne flares once, then rushes like a captured current into her hands.

Runes crawl over Tululu's purple tattoos, bright as molten script. The black stone stair below the dais still glows, but its hard light thins as the ward is dragged inward.

A dull pulse answers from Tululu's chest, then settles. The seal's hunger is no longer rising from the floor, it lives under her command, caged inside her magic.

The kneeling court lowers further as the stair dims to a cold, watchful seam. The Noble exhales, and the chamber's tension breaks into a hush of awe.

Tululu stands above the hidden stair with the ward sealed inside her power, while the palace waits for what she commands next.