Chapter 261: The Stars Beyond the Sky (Part I)

The marble towers of the Britannian capital still shimmered with the morning dew, but the great spires now bore unfamiliar banners—sleek black and silver insignias of the Bernard Empire fluttering in the wind. The air smelled of both fresh parchment and iron. Gone were the fire-breathing drakes that once circled the city sky; now the hum of Bernardian air-shuttles filled the horizon.

The halls of the Royal Athenaeum—now renamed the Imperial University of Britannia. The banners of the Bernard Empire fluttered over domes that had once belonged solely to Britannia's royalties. Change was not coming. It had already arrived.