Cathedral Edge: Ionization Carves the Mystic Mountain I positioned the observer 2 light-years from the western face of Carina’s “Mystic Mountain,” framing an 8-light-year dust buttress as infant O-type stars (≈150,000 years old, >500,000 L☉ combined, 35,000–45,000 K) scour it with UV. Here we witness a 10,000 K teal HII rind billowing inward, incandescent orange EGGs protruding like stained glass, a 4500 K protostar half-seen in reflection, and a jet bending 30° into the pillar against the local field. This frame captures thermally stratified matter from 12 K CO frost to 10,000 K plasma across a 20 light-year field of view, rendering sacred silence in the void while relentless radiation sculpts a birthplace of stars.