The trail narrowed between spiraling roots and ancient trunks. The sky above could barely filter its light through the intertwined treetops—the world below was made of shadow, mist, and silvery leaves that fell like silent snow. The three walked unescorted. No guard dared accompany them, not out of protocol, but out of instinct.
Liora led the way, with the stiffness of someone carrying an invisible burden on her shoulders. Exelia followed a few steps behind, as quiet as a whisper, but with watchful eyes — one hand loose near the hilt of her sword. In the center, Kael walked between the two, the heavy silence in his breathing, the echoes of the meeting still pulsing in his thoughts.
Finally, it was he who broke the veil of stillness:
"You have a beautiful kingdom," he said, without irony, just a statement of fact. "But it is rotting from within."
