***
{Outside The Projection}
"...Beautiful."
The word came from somewhere deep in the crowd, like a whisper carried on the wind.
A beat passed, and then another voice chimed in:
"That was... something else."
Then another:
"Didn't think I'd ever say this about the Sultan, but it was pure."
Then another:
"Really was. Enough to make a grown cry."
Then another:
"Yeah."
Those Magi went quiet after that, going through the motions.
Silence returned to grace the hall, but not for long, as the two dumbasses began arguing:
"Bro, I'm not crying; you're crying!"
"Shut up! You're bawling like a baby."
They hated Malik's guts—down to the very last atom.
But even they couldn't run their mouths after witnessing that.
No... not this scene.
For once, they had nothing to nitpick, no smug little comments to throw around.
