The chamber stayed silent long after the messenger spoke.
"The entire capital just shook."
No one moved.
Dust still drifted slowly through the broken hall.
Outside the doors, distant voices from the city echoed through the stone corridors—fearful voices, confused voices, people asking what had happened.
Inside the chamber, the council remained still.
Because something greater than the trial had just happened.
And now they had to answer the only question that mattered.
What comes next?
Lord Cassian slowly turned away from the messenger.
His expression was calm again.
Steady.
"The doors," he said.
"Close them."
The guards obeyed at once.
The massive doors shut with a deep boom that rolled through the chamber.
Now the council stood alone again.
No city.
No witnesses.
Only the elders.
And the truth that must be spoken.
Lord Cassian looked across the chamber.
"We cannot leave this room without judgment."
The elders shifted uneasily.
