Carter didn't fell for Rune's word.
Not immediately.
His hand remained half-raised, his fingers slightly curled as if already imagining the weight of the ring in his grasp. But instead of immediately accepting the deal, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Rune with sharp and calculating gaze.
"Interesting," he murmured. "But tell me, Rune Elisar… why should I believe you?"
The question hung in the air, cutting through the fragile stillness.
Around them, the warriors on both sides stood frozen in their place with their weapons ready and their magic simmering just beneath the surface. No one dared to move. No one dared to interrupt.
Rune didn't answer right away. Instead, he let out a long, slow breath, and something in that single motion shifted.
Even Grace, watching from outside through the projection, felt the weight in it and the exhaustion of the quiet, buried pain.
For a fleeting moment, it didn't even feel like an act.
