As far as Sebastian recalled, only he and Diego occupied the throne room. He knew with absolute certainty that he hadn't been the one to immobilize Diego—at least, not in this manner. This was the work of a far more formidable power, likely an advanced soul being possessing the rare capability to halt the temporal flow.
Seeking clarity, Sebastian reached out and established a profound link with the surrounding space, probing the fabric of reality for any lingering distortions or static. To his mounting confusion, he discovered that time had not actually been arrested within these walls; the seconds continued to tick by in a rhythmic, undisturbed pulse.
Puzzled, he began to wonder what other esoteric ability could suspend a person so perfectly in mid-motion. It was a terrifying paradox: Diego remained frozen in a state of absolute stasis, yet the air around them hummed with the natural movement of a world that refused to stop.
Noting that the ability was one he had never heard of, Sebastian realized he was in grave danger if he failed to locate the sneaky attacker who had just trapped Diego in a frozen state. Even if he managed a confrontation, he likely lacked the tactical knowledge to battle someone with an ability of that caliber. Sebastian's sense of fear returned as he noted that he not only had to be afraid of Diego, but he also had to be wary of this new adversary and their mysterious powers.
Crouching low to avoid detection, he felt the oppressive weight of the unknown pressing against his chest, knowing that a single misstep in this lethal game of shadows could cost him his life. Sebastian began to scout around the throne room, leaving the frozen figure of Diego behind. He was eager to find this mysterious attacker first, hoping to prepare a successful flank that would destroy his opponent before they even had a chance to strike.
Sebastian scoured every corner of the throne room, crouching low to avoid the piercing gaze of the mysterious attacker. He moved carefully, hiding among the rubble, taking his time to ensure that each new position he considered was not already occupied by the unseen foe before shifting forward. Yet his true purpose never wavered: he longed for nothing more than to uncover the attacker's identity, spotting them first before they had the chance to spot him, so that he could plan a sneaky, decisive strike to end the threat once and for all. Only then, with the danger silenced, would he immediately turn his focus to the still figure of Diego, determined to finish what he had began.
However, no matter how much he searched, no matter how intensely his eyes scanned the broken chamber, the mysterious attacker remained elusive, like a phantom haunting the ruins, leaving Sebastian with a growing sense of unease and frustration.
Not being able to find the mysterious attacker was a problem, and Sebastian treated it as such. He refused to believe the attacker had simply appeared to help him take down Diego by freezing him in place out of kindness or mercy. Though there was a faint possibility that the attacker could be the sand‑woman, exerting revenge on Diego and saving Sebastian, her comrade, he knew she possessed no abilities tied to paralysis or freezing someone in time. That ruled her out, narrowing the list of suspects and heightening his paranoia.
The uncertainty gnawed at him, for if there truly was a mysterious attacker—and not merely another one of Diego's elaborate games or a trick of him feigning death—it meant new threats were creeping into the seemingly peaceful castle of Maru Ritvegda. Sebastian's resolve hardened; he would gladly die if it meant Diego was injured beyond recovery or destroyed entirely, knowing he had fulfilled his master's final order to guard the castle at all costs, however he wouldn't and couldn't rest easy knowing that Diego was not the only enemy attacking his master castle.
Somehow, knowing that there were a few enemies lurking out there while he graciously surrendered his life to take down Diego left a heavy, unsettling feeling in his mind. Despite his sacrifice, he couldn't escape the bitter truth that he had failed to execute his master's most recent and final order before being destroyed. So while he hoped to uncover the mysterious attacker, Sebastian secretly wished there was no attacker at all, that it was merely another one of Diego's cruel games. However, the reverse seemed to be the case when, after searching for several tense moments, Sebastian felt a strange sensation ripple across his body, followed by faint sounds—soft gasps echoing through the chamber like whispers of unseen spirits, chilling him with the realization that something, or someone, was undeniably present.
With the same momentum he had once used to hide among the rubble while searching for the once‑mysterious attacker, Sebastian moved in the same deliberate way—only this time he had a clear goal, a destination pulling him forward. The soft gasps and strange sensation he had felt earlier guided him toward one direction, a path he followed with growing intensity. As he drew closer to the area where he believed the attacker was hiding, Sebastian activated his spatial awareness, sharpening his senses to gain a precise bearing and secure a position beyond the immediate view of his foe.
Reaching outward from his concealed location, his awareness detected a faint energy signature, subtle yet undeniable. And though his vision revealed every detail of the chamber before him—the broken stones, the fractured throne, the lingering shadows—he could not see a single figure where the energy pulsed, leaving him unsettled, as though the attacker was cloaked in secrets beyond mortal sight.
Trusting his intuition, Sebastian advanced toward the direction where he sensed the faint energy signature, each step deliberate, like following a beacon on a hidden GPS. Yet when he finally reached the place, he found nothing—no soul being, no visible presence, only the strange pulse of energy emanating from emptiness. Fear gnawed at him, convincing him that this was likely one of the mysterious attacker's abilities, rendering them invisible to both his spatial awareness and his sight.
Refusing to hesitate, Sebastian resolved to strike first, knowing that indecision would only invite disaster. If he delayed, the attacker would surely unleash a devastating blow while he faltered. With unwavering confidence in his instincts, certain that his judgment was correct, Sebastian tightened his grip, steadied his breath, and slashed forward with sudden ferocity, determined to pierce the unseen veil and end the threat before it consumed him.