The Weight of Pride
The Zain family stood frozen.
A hush held everyone still. Not a single person stirred.
A gasp was all it took when Vita Zain dropped - thrown clear as if wind ripped him from his place. That crack, bone on rock, lingered underfoot, trembling through the cobbles long after.
Gasps spread fast across the faces in front of me. A hush followed, thick and sudden.
Color vanished from their faces. A silence hung, heavy, where speech should have been. Their fingers shook, caught in the weight of what had unfolded before their eyes.
Their young master… defeated.
Not after a long battle.
Not after some desperate struggle.
In a single exchange.
The pride of the Zain family shattered like glass.
Then instinct finally broke through the paralysis.
"Quick! Young Master Vita!"
Several elders rushed forward in panic, dropping to their knees beside the broken stones where Vita lay. One carefully lifted his shoulders while another checked his pulse with shaking fingers.
