*********
Asterion's confusion sharpened into a need.
A need to know.
He had lived too long in ignorance, accepting answers that were never given.
And now, with the necklace reacting to emotions it had ignored his entire life, that ignorance felt like a deliberate cruelty.
While Asterion wrestled silently with these thoughts, the private room remained steeped in heavy silence. Each occupant was lost within their own mind, tension coiling thick in the air like invisible threads on the verge of snapping.
After a full minute passed, Scarlette exhaled quietly.
The crimson-haired woman straightened slightly, regaining her composure with practiced ease. Whatever thoughts had churned beneath her calm veneer were swiftly sealed away, her demeanor returning to controlled neutrality.
"How is it possible," she said at last, her voice precise and measured, "that the mass graveyard and the unknown forest mentioned in the reports are connected in the first place?"
