There was no change between day and night in the banquet hall. The flowing star charts upon the dome maintained the same brightness at all times, while Elves and mechanical creatures tirelessly moved through the crowd.
Yet based on the biological clock within his body, Benjamin confirmed that a full three days had passed since the banquet began.
Over those three days, the wizards drank, chatted, and exchanged academic knowledge.
Some had found old friends they had not seen in years. Some had met counterparts from other factions. Others had concluded several deals.
Gentle smiles filled everyone's faces, and the atmosphere was as lively as a true gathering.
Benjamin and Viola had become much more obedient as well.
The places where Clark had beaten them had not fully swollen down yet. Their faces black and blue, the two moved through the crowd, sampling the astonishingly effective food. At some point three days later, four figures of light appeared in the sky at once.
They were Felix and the other three artificial intelligences.
Without any warning, they abruptly appeared in the center of the banquet hall.
The music in the hall came to an abrupt halt. Every Elf and mechanical creature stopped moving at the same time, dissolving into specks of light.
The long tables covering the square, the exquisite tableware, and the food giving off tantalizing aromas all vanished without a trace in that same instant. The resplendent dome faded away, revealing a gray-white canopy overhead.
"The other side has completed its preparations," Felix and the other three artificial intelligences said calmly, as though stating something utterly insignificant. "We are about to enter the battlefield."
And so, the atmosphere throughout the entire space changed abruptly.
All the relaxation and leisure vanished from the faces of the wizards who had just