Cassius walked forward with an unhurried grace, his steps echoing faintly. Before him knelt a man, not bound by iron or chain, but suspended in a far crueler prison—space itself. Reality refused to acknowledge him.
He was not held within the world, but kept out of it, as though banished from existence. Every time one looked at him, he seemed to blur at the edges, caught between presence and absence.
Cassius's frame stopped just a foot away from the phantom prisoner. His gaze was calm—impassive, yet piercing. His voice followed, soft and devoid of hostility, but firm with intent.
"Are you a user of Amethyst Lightning?" he asked. "If yes… then do share what you know about the element."
The man didn't look up. He didn't stir. Not even a twitch of a finger or the lift of an eye. But the air shifted—and then a voice echoed, within the minds of both Cassius and Kaelira.
