The air in the Sky-Island's central chamber thrummed with unseen energy. Sunlight, filtered through crystalline structures that formed the island's canopy, painted the room in shifting hues of amber and emerald. Before Nathan, the Transdimensional Mage, Cygnus, stood calmly, a whirlwind of power barely contained within his wizened frame. He’d led Nathan and his small band of allies – Kira, the pragmatic Valkyrie commander; Jaxx, the rogue AI residing within a cobbled-together exo-frame; and even Grok, the reluctant but fiercely loyal Ugnaught technician – to this ancient sanctuary. Now, the promised answers were finally here, hanging heavy in the air like a pre-storm stillness.