Outside—
The air outside the grand hall was thick with tension—palpable, suffocating, and electric in its unnatural stillness. It was as though the very sky held its breath, and the winds dared not move. A massive sea of nearly two hundred thousand spectators sat crammed within the towering coliseum, their eyes wide with dread, their bodies frozen with fear. They were no longer gathered in celebration of a coronation or ceremony—no, that idea had long since evaporated.
They remained only because they were afraid. Afraid that even the smallest action—standing up, moving, speaking, breathing too loud—might displease His Excellency. Were it not for that shared terror, they would have already fled through the portals, disappearing without a trace. But none dared to take that risk. Not today.
So they sat. In silence.
