For a minute after Commander Rurik's words, the floor became silent.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
The only sound inside the massive assembly hall was the faint tapping of rain against the tall windows.
The words civil war still hung in the air.
They had not been spoken directly by anyone.
They had not needed to be.
Everyone in the hall understood what Rurik had meant.
The Human Domain had survived a war against the Devil Kingdom.
But now, after victory, the people were beginning to divide among themselves.
The Church and the Authority were already locked in a struggle for influence.
The War Council was caught between them.
And outside the hall, thousands of people had already begun choosing sides.
For several seconds, no one seemed willing to move first.
Then a few murmurs began to spread through the chamber.
Quietly at first.
Almost cautiously.
"I suppose the commander is not wrong."
"We have been arguing about power."
"The people are already divided."
