Leon sat quietly for a moment, his gaze drifting between the rulers as the weight of everything they'd said settled in. The air in the chamber felt heavier now, as if the mention of the Empress's sacrifice had stirred something ancient and sorrowful in the stone walls themselves.
He finally spoke, his tone calm and respectful. "If it's just a barrier… how is she still in danger? Can't she create it and then leave?"
Leon's question wasn't out of doubt, it was genuine confusion. He chose his words carefully, trying not to sound insensitive. The last thing he wanted was to make the emperor relive his pain.
Elaine, still poised and expressionless beneath her blindfold, tilted her head slightly in his direction. "Because although infinity is boundless," she said softly, "corruption infects all, even reality itself. It consumes time, space, and thought. To it, an infinity is nothing more than another meal."
Leon's expression tightened as Elaine went on.
