"... And you both listened"
Lembuswana let out a low rumble from his throat, somewhere between a growl and a sigh.
"We didn't have a choice. It didn't speak with words. It spoke with feeling. With instinct... With rage"
Aksara clenched his jaw.
"Are you saying… That something... Someone, manipulated both of you? Two Aboriginal beings?"
Lembuswana nodded slowly.
"And we never realized it... Not until it was too late"
Taufik stepped closer to the wall, laying his palm gently on the gold-lined mural of Mikhael. The cloaked figure felt more ominous now, like it, too, knew of that unseen whisperer.
"Mikhael chose containment… Because he must have known" Taufik said. "He knew that killing either of you might only feed the real enemy"
He turned his gaze downward, deeper into the spiraling stair that continued beyond the mural chamber. The humming was growing louder again, stronger. No longer just a pulse… But like the breathing of something ancient beginning to stir.
