The Queen stared at Noah for a long moment, her emerald eyes reflecting the chaos erupting around them. Above ground, Lilivil's massive footsteps were getting closer, each one sending tremors through the underground cavern that made dust rain from the carved ceiling.
"You're asking me to gather corpses," she said slowly, her voice carrying across the assembled masses of her people. "You want me to tell my subjects to bring you their recently dead so you can... absorb energy from them?"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd of elves like water. Noah could hear fragments of conversation in their local language, the tone universally shocked and horrified. Several voices rose above the others, clearly angry, and he didn't need a translator to understand the general sentiment.
"Your Majesty," Noah said urgently, another tremor shaking the cavern as he spoke, "I know how it sounds. But it's the only way to generate enough void energy to transport everyone to safety. The alternative is—"
