Isabella's eyes narrowed into slits, her expression hardening at Eloia's words as the ethereal energy of what seemed to be darkness itself rippled through the air from the Empress's avatar, the air crackling as if a storm was brewing, barely in check. Even though the avatar was only a projection of the Empress's presence, something much weaker than her true self, the sheer force of the avatar and her will was enough to suffocate the entire area in a crushing, oppressive weight.
"You said." Isabella's voice was a cold whisper, one that was seemingly laced with venom, and warning, enough to send shivers down the spines of anyone who heard her speak. "I'm sentimental?"
"Do not mistake my caution and unwillingness to allow 'that' back into the world for sentimentality, Sage. I have lived long enough to know just what such power can do to the world, but it seems your long life has made you forget many things."
