Silence.
The entire hall was shrouded in a strange silence.
Not the peaceful kind but the dreadful one, suffocating silence that swallows sound and tightens the air around your chest. It fell like a shroud over the grand corridor, wrapping around every being present like a ghostly hand gripping their throats.
No one moved. No one dared to. They were not afraid because of the Supreme Lord's passing—but because of Cassian.
A mere human. And he had done the unthinkable. He had looked directly into the Supreme Lord's eyes. He was challenging the authority of the Supreme Lord.
His gaze hadn't faltered, hadn't dipped with fear or reverence. No, he had stared—openly, boldly—as blood trickled down from the edge of the twin swords pressed at his throat.
Cassian remained kneeling, spine straight, his expression unreadable. But inside—his chest was a battlefield. His heart pounded against his ribs like it was trying to escape the storm brewing around him.
