Paul's reaction to the royal communication was everything I could have hoped for and more. When we arrived at the Ebony Tower to find him practically vibrating with excitement in the main laboratory, it was clear that the prospect of creating a symbiotic Ancient Undead had triggered every research instinct he possessed.
"Arthur! Great news," he said, striding forward to greet us with barely contained enthusiasm. "Their Majesties have authorized access to materials I've only dreamed of working with. We're not just creating a symbiotic construct anymore—we're attempting to birth an entirely new category of Ancient existence."
The laboratory had been transformed since our morning departure. Additional containment fields hummed at multiple levels, creating nested barriers designed to handle materials that operated beyond normal physical laws. Master Valdris supervised teams of researchers who were carefully relocating components from the Tower's most restricted archives.
