Chapter 163 - The End of the Dungeon Arc

The anticipated day of reckoning arrived not with the cacophony of an earth-shattering event, but rather as a profound silence, subtly marking the tail end of a long, arduous storm whose fury had already spent itself. There was no grand, theatrical display—no blaring horns, no vibrantly waving banners proclaiming its arrival, and certainly no elaborate ceremony to signify the gravity of the impending judgment. Instead, the transition was almost unnervingly understated, its presence announced only by the faint, muffled echo of official boots striking the polished surface of the marble corridor; this hushed, measured sound served as the sole, understated herald leading inexorably towards the vast, imposing doors of the central tribunal chamber, where final decisions awaited.