"..Professor Robin," after what felt like an eternity of silence — more than ten minutes where even the faint hum of the hall's energy conduits seemed louder than breath — the man with the gazelle-like horns finally spoke, his brows drawn tight, voice low but cutting through the stillness:
"You set the duration of the Mutual Defense Pact to only ten thousand years. Are you implying... that the cosmic war you keep talking about will happen within that time?"
"...?" The others slowly emerged from their deep contemplation, their eyes turning toward Robin with mixed anticipation and unease, waiting for his response.
"Yes," Robin replied simply, nodding with unflinching seriousness. The certainty in his tone sent a ripple of tension through the air.
"Can you at least give us more information about it?" asked the woman wearing the feathered crown, her tone urgent. "We can't make decisions of this scale without understanding the scope of what we're walking into."
