Princess Cromwell and Her Six Brothers
The world was silent, as if isolated from the mortal realm.
Carl stopped walking and slowly raised his eyes, his pitch-black pupils suddenly sharpening as he gazed at the gray sky.
To ordinary eyes, the sky still looked as it should in the morning—mist swirling, the first light of dawn faintly shining. But in his vision, an invisible Rule Halo was slowly gathering above the firmament. That halo was neither gold nor white, without substance or form, yet it contained a vast and overwhelming pressure that could suppress all ages and rule all things. It held no emotion, no warmth, cold as eternal ice, pressing down heavily upon him from above.