The air inside the grand chamber was thick with tension, an oppressive weight that seemed to press down on everyone present. Ava stood at the center of it all, her eyes blazing with an intensity that could have set the entire fortress ablaze. The cold stone walls, which had witnessed centuries of bloodshed and betrayal, now bore silent witness to the confrontation that was about to unfold.
Ava's hand gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, the leather worn and familiar under her fingers. She had come here for answers, for justice, and she would not leave until she had both. The faces surrounding her—some familiar, some not—blurred together in a haze of anger and determination. She had spent too long in the shadows, too long as a pawn in someone else's game. It was time to take control, to seize the destiny that had been denied her.
