The first gasp was sharp enough to draw blood.
Then came another. And another. Until the ballroom rippled with the sound of disbelief... a thousand breaths caught, choked, and released in unison.
And then, the flood.
"She can't do that!" someone shrieked from the mezzanine.
"Is this even legal?" cried another, voice breaking with panic.
"What does this mean?"
"Where is she going?"
"Tyranny will cease to exist!" came a jubilant cheer from a brave—or foolish—merchant lord.
"Who will rule us now?" a matron sobbed into her fan.
The air turned to wildfire... questions, protests, and curses all colliding in a single infernal roar.
Priests scrambled toward the dais, their sacred robes tangling as they clutched holy relics and demanded proof.
Councilmen shoved each other aside, shouting for order, for sense, for control... anything to reclaim the illusion of stability.
But chaos had no interest in being tamed.
