The nod from GrandLord Dreath did not last long.
It was not a gesture of forgiveness.
It was not even approval in its true sense.
It was merely acknowledgment that they had finally reached the most basic level of understanding, that they had finally realized who stood before them after forcing him to reveal it in such a crude manner.
And that alone—
Was not enough.
The faint calm that had settled over his expression vanished almost immediately, replaced by something colder, something sharper, something that carried the weight of ages that no one in that arena could possibly comprehend.
"…So."
His voice was quiet.
Yet the pressure behind it returned, not in a sudden burst, but in a slow, creeping way that made every vampire feel as though the ground itself was pressing against them harder with each passing second.
"…You remember."
His gaze swept across them again, slower now, more deliberate, lingering on each face just long enough to make their hearts tighten.
