Kouhei and Yuuna slowly stepped into the wide, dimly lit chamber where the gathering was being held. The atmosphere was thick with the scent of incense, the flicker of torchlight casting long shadows across the polished stone floor. Conversations filled the air just moments ago, layered and heavy, but the instant Kouhei walked through the doorway, everything fell silent as if someone had cut the string holding it all together.
Dozens of heads turned toward him and Yuuna, their gazes sharp and probing. The weight of their stares pressed down on him, suffocating in its intensity.
"Is that him?" one voice whispered from the side, filled with doubt and curiosity.
"Yes. I saw him with my own eyes during the faction war," another muttered, his tone laced with both recognition and suspicion. "But he looks… different. I saw his transformation too. So this… this must be his human form?"
