Izan's heart shattered into pieces, splintering beneath the crushing weight of his father's words. His knees buckled, and the cold, unyielding stone floor met his body with a dull thud.
He lay crumpled, his thoughts spiraling into darkness, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. The Emperor's words echoed in his mind.
For a moment, the chamber was filled with nothing but the deafening silence of his defeat. The sound of the Emperor's boots rang through the chamber as he turned to leave, each step driving home the finality of the situation. Izan's world, already so precariously balanced, was now slipping further into chaos. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He couldn't lose him.
I can't lose him.
Desperation clawed at his insides, every instinct telling him not to give up, not now, not ever. His chest felt like it was being torn apart as his thoughts whirled in frantic circles. "There has to be something I can do. Something. Anything."
