Before dawn, darkness hung thick across the sky like a nearly dried-up clump of ink, even seeping into the sea and dyeing the water the same color.
Waiting was always a long and tedious process. Waiting on the vast ocean, with the repetitive, grating sound of waves in their ears, made it all too easy for negative thoughts to arise.
The French Ministry of Magic staff were in exactly that state now.
They hovered above the sea on Flying Broomsticks, weary of the pitch-black night, impatient with the dull wait, and worried about the coming "Paris Calamity."
One French Ministry of Magic employee frowned deeply and could not help asking, "Director, will the Thunderbird really come? What if it's too late?"
The other French Ministry of Magic employees shared the same thought and chimed in, "Yeah! Director, if we keep waiting, we'll be watching the sunrise soon!"
One French Ministry of Magic employee noticed something and pointed in a direction. "Look over there! The sun really is rising!"
At the point where sea met sky, an exceptionally dazzling golden line emerged from the water like an incomparably sharp golden blade, brutally slicing the sea away from the heavens.
In the blink of an eye, a sphere like molten iron broke free of its restraints and leaped over the horizon with undeniable majesty.
Countless golden rays shot forth like arrows, thoroughly piercing and crushing the night, setting the entire sky ablaze in brilliant gold.
Like the French Ministry of Magic employees, Charlotte Bonaccord's attention had also been drawn away.
But he did not see the golden sunrise. He saw an equally golden Thunderbird.
Beneath the glow of the rising sun, the Thunderbird's feathers became an ultimate, pure gold. As it sped through the air, it was as though sunlight flowed across