As the final second of the countdown struck zero, the thick mist cloaking the central auction platform stirred, rippling like liquid starlight. A low, harmonic chime echoed across the entire citadel—deep and majestic—reverberating through the countless dome-seats and even causing flickers of starlight to dance across the silver platforms orbiting the citadel.
Then, from within the mist, a silhouette emerged.
It was a tall, androgynous figure clad in a robe woven from starry threads—its body glimmered faintly, like a constellation come to life. Its face held no features, only a smooth, blank canvas upon which different expressions would ripple in shifting patterns of light.
This was no real person. This was the Auction Spirit—a sophisticated virtual being created by the Virtual Star World itself.
The moment it stepped fully onto the stage, its voice rang out—crystal-clear, without emotion yet filled with power.
