章 34: shattered resolve.

The grand dining hall, once a place of comfort and camaraderie, now felt cold and heavy with unspoken tension. El-Kharis, Esteria, Adrian, and Rowland sat around the large, polished oak table, their meal untouched as their minds grappled with the weight of recent events. The quiet murmur of their conversation was abruptly shattered when Lilith burst through the doors.

Her usual calm demeanor was replaced by a tense urgency. The shadows cast by the flickering candlelight accentuated the severity of her expression, and her eyes, normally so composed, now held a storm of emotions.

"El-Kharis!" Lilith's voice cut through the silence, her tone a sharp contrast to the serene atmosphere that had filled the room moments before. "Levy is dead."