No one moved.
Not immediately.
The space behind Liora had become something else entirely—not empty, not visible, but undeniably occupied. The pressure lingered there now, no longer faint, no longer distant. It existed with a kind of quiet certainty that didn't need confirmation.
Liora stood still.
Not frozen.
Not afraid.
But aware in a way that no longer felt complete.
Because now—
She knew there were moments she didn't fully experience.
Gaps she couldn't track.
Spaces where something could happen—
Without her knowing.
Her breathing remained steady, but it no longer carried the same confidence as before. There was calculation now, yes, but beneath it, something new.
Uncertainty.
"…Don't move," Cairis said.
His voice was low, controlled, but sharper than before. He hadn't taken his eyes off the space behind her. Not once.
