The Goddess's presence lasted exactly thirty seconds.

Long enough to shatter the eastern barrier completely. Long enough to speak her message—We need to talk—with the casual authority of someone who expected obedience without question. Long enough to remind every soul in the compound that they existed only because she permitted it.

Then she vanished, leaving behind a message written in divine fire across the sky:

THREE DAYS. PREPARE YOUR ANSWER.

The barrier reformed slowly, Azrael ...