The portal deposited Alex on the familiar white stone of Starlight Base, the hum of spiritual energy settling around him like an old, familiar cloak. Months had passed since the wedding months spent on Blue Star with Diana, wandering the capital's gardens, visiting the training halls, rediscovering the simple joy of waking beside the woman he loved. James had been right; the rest had been necessary. But now he is back, and he can feel the atmosphere heavy and familiar. After all, the present situation is such.The cults were still out there, unified under the Dark Lord. The silence from the shadows was more unnerving than any open assault. Every race had braced for an attack that hadn't come, and the waiting was wearing on everyone's nerves. Alex could feel it in the air of Starlight Base, a tension that hummed beneath the surface of daily routine.He found his old friends in a private training hall near the eastern wing. The doors were open, and the sound of clashing weapons and fr

Deep inside the inner zone, in a dimension that existed between the folds of reality, a chamber had been carved from the heart of a dead star. Its walls were smooth and black as obsidian, its ceiling lost in shadows that had never known light. The chamber was ancient, older than bases in the Stargate itself and it had served as a meeting place for the powers of the Stargate since before the founding families had fled the greater universe.A circular table dominated the center of the room, its surface made from a material that seemed to absorb both light and sound. Around it, arranged in no particular order, sat the most powerful beings in the hundred worlds.James Roshar sat near the head of the table, his ancient hands clasped before him, his pale eyes sweeping across the assembled powerhouses with the calm assessment of a man who had lived for ten thousand years and had learned to read the subtlest shifts in power. Louise sat to his right, her amber eyes sharp and watchful. Aldri

The Dark Lord returned to his headquarters in a fury that made the shadows themselves recoil.He stormed through the black stone corridors of his hidden dimension, his robes billowing behind him like a living storm, his silver eyes blazing with a cold, impotent rage. The meeting had been a humiliation. James Roshar, that ancient fossil, had spoken to him like a child. Had threatened him in front of every powerhouse in the Stargate. And he had been forced to comply, to swallow his pride and nod along like a trained beast.The walls of his chamber trembled as he passed, responding to the waves of dark energy that pulsed from his body. Servants and cultists scrambled out of his path, their faces pale with terror. Even the bravest among them knew better than to approach their master when he was in this state.He burst into his private quarters a vast chamber carved from obsidian, its walls lined with trophies from a thousand conquered worlds and slammed his fist against the stone table a

The demon realm and the Dark Cult's headquarters existed in separate dimensions, but the communication between their masters was seamless. Through layers of spatial distortion and encrypted signals that defied conventional interception, the Demon King and the Dark Lord plotted in absolute secrecy. Their target was a single name, whispered between them like a curse: Alex Roshar.The connection flickered to life in the Dark Lord's obsidian chamber, a shimmering projection of the Demon King's burning eyes and horned silhouette, cast against the black stone walls like a specter from a nightmare."The challenge," the Demon King rumbled, his voice carrying through the dark energy that linked their two locations, "is not killing him. Given the right circumstances, we could overwhelm him with strength. The challenge is finding him alone. He rarely leaves Starlight Base, and when he does, he's surrounded by family or allies. The Roshar boy is never truly unprotected.""Then we need to underst

Tears were streaming down her face now, but she didn't seem to notice. Her gaze was fixed on the fire, her voice trembling with the effort of continuing."Our older brother was with them. He was only fourteen. He refused to leave with us; he wanted to stay and fight, to help our father hold the line. We never saw him again. We don't know if he survived. We don't know if he died that day or was taken prisoner or escaped on his own. We don't know anything."Alex felt his chest tighten. He had never seen his great-aunt so vulnerable, so raw. The woman who had seemed so cold and distant, so aloof and unapproachable, was revealing a pain that had been festering for ten thousand years. He wanted to say something to comfort her, to offer some words of solace but nothing seemed adequate."The ship took us to the edge of the true universe where this hundred worlds are located," James said, his voice steady despite the emotion in his pale eyes. "It took fifty years to reach the place. Fifty ye