It pronounced the names like a blade: "Celia, Linda, and Lyra. Those three—your comrades. The ones you care about. Join me… or I kill them."
The threat hung in the air like smoke. Around the watching crowd, a chill settled—because the demon had not only spoken; it had seen into Nolan's life, and now it held that life in its palm.
Nolan's eyes narrowed. "Do you understand what you just said? Do you?"
His voice deepened as his aura began to pulse around him, the air trembling with every word. "I know what you did. The moment you touched my head with your finger, you intercepted a part of my memory. You saw the path—you saw the people I care about. My loved ones."
His expression hardened. "But what you just said now… is deeply unforgivable."
A crimson aura erupted around Nolan's body. The ground began to shake violently—civilians outside fell to their knees, unable to stay on their feet. The air distorted, and the earth groaned like an earthquake was ripping through it.
