As Pandora calmly uttered the word "boring," she shifted her gaze away from Viska and toward Sandora, who had been watching silently ever since she appeared.
"You broke my 'toy.'" Pandora sounded as if she were holding Sandora accountable, though a trace of barely perceptible delight lingered on her face. "Aren't you going to compensate me, Your Majesty?"
Sandora met her gaze with golden eyes, the corners of her lips lifting almost imperceptibly.
"Compensate you?" A faint teasing note entered her voice. "Do you want to step in personally and fight me to avenge your 'toy'?"
Pandora curled her lips—a tiny expression that looked especially vivid on her small face.
"Fight?" she said bluntly. "Let's be clear, I'm not afraid of you. If Brother hadn't told me not to clash with you, I really would've liked to try."
She paused, her tone turning slightly more serious. "But we hadn't heard anything from you for so long that we thought the Abyss had swallowed you so completely there wasn't even a scrap left. I didn't expect you to crawl back out."
"Still, you look pretty miserable." Pandora continued, with a hint of concern that was difficult to detect. "You lost half your authority, and the Imperium is gone too... So, what do you say? Why not join us?"
It sounded like recruitment, but coming from Pandora, it somehow felt more like, "Come be our workhorse."
Sandora gently shook her head, her long hair stirring faintly in the lingering energy waves.
"I'm fine." Her gaze turned toward the enormous golden star gate in the distance, then swept over the devastated battlefield beneath them before returning to Pandora's face. Her eyes were deep and resolute. "I will return to the Abyss. There are still... unfinished matters there."
"A new Imperium will rise again