The room remained shrouded in a heavy, almost oppressive silence.
It wasn't the comfortable silence of a quiet night, nor the respectful silence that accompanies someone asleep. It was something different. Something closer to the stillness of a tomb.
Thick curtains blocked much of the outside light, allowing only a few soft beams of late afternoon light to filter through. The subdued lighting revealed a scene that none of those present could observe for long without feeling a growing tightness in their chest.
Damon remained motionless on the bed.
Too motionless.
The last few days had been cruel.
Brutal.
Ester had already seen cultivators destroy their own bodies due to failures during kingdom advances. She had already seen mages consumed by their own mana. She had already witnessed warriors lose their sanity trying to control forbidden techniques.
But this...
This was different.
Because it didn't seem like a collapse.
