Ivy stared at General Daniel. He was frozen in place, his eyes wide in disbelief.
She chuckled lightly. "So, General Daniel… will you still punish Silas? Or are you planning to go back on your words?"
Those words landed like a strike. General Daniel's face turned red with anger. His chest rose and fell heavily, as if he could barely hold his rage. Without thinking, he rushed to the ground and bent down. His hands grabbed the crystals one by one.
The cool, hard touch of each crystal made his body stiffen. He bit his lip, checked again, then again, until his fingers trembled.
'They are real… every single one of them is real…'
It felt like a thunderbolt had hit him. His face burned. It was as if he had been slapped, again and again, in front of his own son.
For a long moment, General Daniel could not even speak. He just stared at the shining crystals piled high on the ground. His eyes looked as if he was staring at the eighth wonder of the world.
