The city had gone quiet.
But it was rather the chaos being drowned under a bloody blanket. Castella was no longer itself. The buildings leaned in disorder, lights blinked where no torches burned.
A coliseum in fire, a maze in destruction, a street serving as a cemetery, a theater witnessing apocalypse.
A dozen battles raged across the city. People screamed, their voices reaching nowhere, and silence was the answer.
And above it all, the moon watched the greatest show.
And yet, at the city's heart, a place remained still.
The Glass Garden.
It rose calmly, a true sanctuary of silence. The dream moved around it, yet never touched it. Vines had curled around its iron fences. Shards of mirrors formed half-grown flowers. Its doors hung open, as if waiting.
And the special guest was already there.
Bel stepped through them without a word.
He walked slowly. His steps silent, but heavy.
