Tricks the Sanctum Masters into a ritual that steals their powers into herself. She declares herself Harmonarch and rules sadistically.
Zudaeshi’s Coup at the Dinner
The Setup:
The Sanctum Masters are seated around a wide, round stone table—one carved with eight inlaid rings, each subtly marked with the elemental sigils of their Sanctums. They assume it's ceremonial.
The carpet beneath them is old, threadbare in places, and likely chosen for aesthetics. Only Mulsae eyes the floor’s strange geometry and feels a twinge of unease—but he says nothing. It's a celebration, after all.
Then Zudaeshi enters.
She’s unarmed. Cloaked in heavy, dark robes, her hair adorned with pieces of jade and bone, and in her hands—
An eight-sided crystal pyramid.
It glows faintly, pulsing with quiet inner light, each facet etched with a Sanctum’s seal.
She does not sit. Instead, she walks to the center of the table—on top of it. Her boots land on ceramic and wood with heavy steps. The room is silent, Sanctum Masters watching with confused tension.
The Act:
At the center, she stops. Slowly, she kneels. Her robes pool around her like ink.
She lifts the pyramid over her head with both hands.
“You offered me peace,” she says softly. “So I will give you what peace demands.”
Then—she slams it down.
The crystal pyramid hits the table with a sharp, ringing crack. A shockwave explodes outward, not of air, but of soul—soundless, colorless, but heavy. It knocks the wind from their lungs. Every Sanctum Master jerks in place as their connection to their Sanctums rips sideways, wrenching their internal channels open like doors torn from their hinges.
Below them, the carpet ignites—not in flame, but in light. The sigils hidden beneath it blaze to life, forming an intricate seal of convergence.
And from that seal, a line of energy shoots up into Zudaeshi, anchoring her to every Sanctums at once.
What the Masters Experience:
They’re not paralyzed, but their power won’t respond.
Their senses are clouded—their spirits distant, like they’ve been pulled into fog.
They feel their magic moving, but not toward them. Toward her.
Why This Works:
The pyramid is the perfect visual centerpiece: each facet a Sanctum, each angle a false promise of unity.
Walking on the table violates every custom, signaling that the entire setting was a ruse.
The seal beneath the rug was waiting—but the Sanctum Masters had to sit for it to bind.
The burst creates a literal and metaphysical rupture. It's not a ritual—it’s a hijacking.
After the ritual, Zudaeshi becomes the Sole Voice of the Unified Sanctum, establishing a regime modeled after the Cutting Deep