The palace shrine was unusually quiet that evening.
Thin streams of incense smoke curled slowly into the air, rising toward the dark wooden ceiling before disappearing into the dim light of the hanging lanterns.
Outside—
The wind was still.
Too still.
The atmosphere felt heavy.
Stuffy.
As if the air itself was pressing down on everything around it.
—
The Empress knelt before the shrine altar in silence.
Her hands rested neatly in her lap.
But her mind—
Far from calm.
—
The flickering candlelight reflected softly in her eyes as she stared at the ancestral tablets before her.
Usually—
The shrine brought peace.
A strange comfort.
But today—
Something felt wrong.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
—
She exhaled slowly.
"…This feeling again."
—
The faint scent of sandalwood incense no longer felt soothing.
Instead—
It made the room feel even more suffocating.
—
She looked toward the open doorway.
Dark clouds had gathered outside.
Even the sky seemed restless.
—
