The king's hand shot up, striking the air with the weight of command. His voice thundered across the chamber, carrying the kind of authority that silenced armies.
"Enough! Not another word from any of you."
The laughter died instantly, swallowed into a heavy silence. The elders, some with their lips still curled in mocking smiles, shut their mouths at once, though the disdain did not vanish from their eyes. Their robes rustled faintly as they shifted in their seats, but none dared speak against the king's order.
His Majesty leaned forward on his throne, his gaze never leaving Lucas. The air between them thickened with expectation. "Do you understand," the king said slowly, each word deliberate, "the gravity of what you have spoken here today? This is no trifling boast. To claim mastery over even the beginnings of teleportation is to lay claim to a force that could alter the balance of power across all kingdoms. You know well the weight such words carry."
