"So you brought him here… simply because he asked?"
"No." Lathar hesitates, then chuckles bitterly. "I challenged him to a duel. If he could defeat me, I'd grant the audience."
He straightens his posture, jaw clenched.
"And I was defeated," he says bluntly. "Utterly. No excuses. No holding back on either side. He overwhelmed me.
The leader's claws curl slightly against the stone armrest.
Silence deepens.
Then—
A deep, amused growl echoes through the hall.
"I see." The leader rises slightly from his throne, his immense form casting shadows that ripple like heat haze.
He steps down from the platform with the weight of a collapsing mountain, each footfall thudding with restrained force. His aura expands, brushing against Alix like the edge of a storm.
"I am Veyrith," he says, the name vibrating the walls. "Leader of the Ember Claw group. And the only reason this city still breathes while the world crumbles."
He halts a few paces from Alix, towering above him.
