The courtyard did not return to noise immediately after Elder Achilor finished speaking. Instead, a long, heavy silence lingered, not forced by pressure or authority, but shaped by thought, by hesitation, by the quiet struggle of a family trying to decide what kind of future they were willing to accept.
The Moonshade Family slowly gathered closer to one another, forming a loose circle as murmurs began to rise, voices low but filled with weight, as if every word carried consequences that reached far beyond the moment.
"What do we do…"
"Can we really trust them…"
"They are powerful, but that does not mean they are right…"
"And yet… if what he said is true…"
The voices overlapped, some calm, some tense, some uncertain, all woven together into a discussion that grew deeper with each passing second.
One of the elders stepped forward within the group, his posture straight, his expression serious as he addressed the others.
