(By the way, if you're on the Empire Forum, you can click those GG things or whatever. It also counts as support for the forum maintenance staff.)
The vast hexagonal hall, as broad as an indoor stadium, was completely empty. There was not even a table or a lamp in sight, and it was as clean as a bare metal box. We looked around this empty place for quite a while but saw no sign of the council they had mentioned. Just as I was wondering whether they planned to leave us here and stand us up, the space around us suddenly changed.
The previously bright indoor lighting dimmed in an instant, as though insufficient voltage had turned it yellow and murky. At the same time, countless specks of white light appeared in the air around us. These firefly-like points of light danced cheerfully through the air, gathering faster and faster toward the center of the room. Several seconds later, they had converged into a humanoid figure composed entirely of energy.
She was a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties, with an expression of dignified nobility. She wore a white patterned robe that resembled some kind of religious attire—though naturally, it was only white, since she was formed entirely from white light, with only variations in brightness outlining her shape. An elaborate crown rested on her head, and she gripped a scepter as tall as herself. From the moment she appeared, her gaze had remained fixed on Sandora and me. Only after the swirling white motes had fully formed every detail of her body did she make another movement: raising her scepter, she cautiously took two steps back. I could swear that her expression had not changed in the slightest, as if that movement were merely an