After Aiden spoke, the silence was absolute. Not a single soul dared to twitch a muscle. Even Magicaa, who thrived on mouthing off at the worst possible times, found himself narrowing his eyes and biting his tongue.
Madman was visibly trembling with rage, the strain of restraint twisting his shoulders, but he too did not move. No one truly knew the depths of Aiden's background, his true origins, his purpose, or the limits of his abilities, but they all understood one unshakable fact.
He was not someone to be trifled with. A mage feared and respected by the strongest leaders of the world did not earn that reputation by mere bluff. When Aiden spoke, even the most violent maniacs obeyed.
But this stillness was no peace. It was only a leash, a thread-thin tether keeping the chaos at bay. They were wolves in chains, waiting for the leash to slip. Beneath those cloaks, beneath their smothered breaths and tightened grips, bloodlust boiled like magma.
