The air in the grand hall crackled with a tense silence after David and Number 4 vanished as if dissolved into crumbling sand. The scene left everyone in a stunned stupor, their forms frozen mid-action. Mariana's widened eyes betrayed the shock that coursed through her.
The presence that had declared itself as the Monarch of Light and its sudden disappearance gnawed at her, a bewildering enigma hanging in the air.
Breaking the silence, Mariana stumbled forward toward her sister. Her hands trembled as she reached for her, the curse tightening its grip, forcing Elara into another fit of agonized coughing. "Elara," Mariana whispered, desperation edging her voice. She felt powerless, her will to protect her sister straining against the oppressive weight of the curse.
