***
{Outside The Projection}
The moment IT was mentioned, the hall shifted.
Not in any way one could point to and say, "Ah, see, that's changed."
Yeah, no. This was different.
Like a soft whisper in the wind, something stirred in their minds.
A ripple of memories, blurred and distorted, came and went so fast it might as well have never been there.
Yet they all felt it.
A prickling at the nape.
A tightness in the chest.
A moment of weightlessness.
They felt like mortals standing on the edge of a great height with no railing to catch them.
And then—gone.
Like a breath exhaled.
Like nothing had happened at all.
There was no, "...The fuck was that?"
No. It was gone.
All it took was a beat.
The hall snapped back, pulling them away from the abyss and into the moment.
"Guess I'm in the war business now."
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Azeem snorted, shaking his head.
"A break, huh? Oh, he just walked right into that one."
