POV: Catherine

I stood before eleven cosmic entities with nothing but words as my weapon. The negotiation chamber was a neutral space. Neither reality nor void. A room between dimensions where Order and Chaos could meet without destroying each other.

Eleven Unmakers filled half the space. Vast geometric presences. Perfect mathematical precision. Ancient beyond comprehension. And absolutely certain that chaos was corruption.

On our side: me, Thea holding baby Unity, Luna, James Marcus, and Haven. The Unmaker that had learned to love.

I was fifty-eight years old. I'd negotiated peace treaties, trade agreements, diplomatic alliances. But this was different. This was negotiating for existence itself.

"We come to discuss terms,"...