Time/Date: TC1853.01.22 – Afternoon
Location: Imperial Palace, Throne Room
The silence that followed the guardian spirits' withdrawal stretched for perhaps three heartbeats.
Then someone began to cough.
Not a polite clearing of throat. Real coughing—harsh, wet, the kind that suggested something fundamental had broken inside. Patriarch Lin doubled over, hand pressed to his chest, and when he straightened, his face had gone ashen. Behind him, other Lin family members were experiencing similar reactions. Some clutched at their heads. Others swayed on their feet as if the floor had suddenly become unstable.
"Patriarch?" one of the elders asked, voice carrying genuine alarm.
"I can't..." Lin gasped. "The healing channels. They're... breaking apart."
