For a moment after the surge around Cornelia came to an end, the entire arena seemed suspended in a strange, fragile stillness, as if even the air itself had grown cautious, unwilling to move too quickly after witnessing something that had shattered the limits of their understanding.
Cornelia remained seated within the now quiet palm, her long brown curls resting softly over her shoulders, her expression serene, untouched by the storm of reactions surrounding her, as though the power that had just surged through her had not shaken her, but instead settled into her like something that had always belonged there.
No one spoke.
Not the Emperor level powerhouses.
Not Lord Vord.
Not even Elder Achilor.
They all simply watched her, trying to reconcile what they had just seen with everything they had believed before this moment.
And then—
The ground trembled again.
This time, it was not focused on Cornelia.
It spread.
Wide.
Deep.
Like something beneath the arena had awakened.
