******
"Now… back to the true reason I gathered you all here tonight," Xylen began, his gaze suddenly burning as it shifted from face to face. Each of the eight Demons was fixated on him, their eyes reflecting a mixture of curiosity and respect.
"Given the devastation I woke up to after my eighteen years of comatose, there's only one path to reclaim the freedom this village deserves… only one way to restore it to the haven it once was." His voice suddenly dropped an octave, sharp as a blade. "We must crush my uncle."
The moment those words fell, the Demons' breathing hitched, their muscles abruptly tensing like coiled springs.
But before they could react, Xylen stepped forward, raising his hand with a fierce determination that sent shivers through the room — a performance so impassioned that even he inwardly cringed.
