The moment Raven pulled the Aether stone from her pocket, the same kind Fiona had used to draw the unknown aura from Yuuta's sleeping body, the chamber changed.
This stone was not white like Fiona's.
It was black.
Black as the void between stars. Black as the space where light went to die. Its surface was smooth, polished, but cracks ran through it like veins, and from those cracks radiated an aura that made the air itself tremble.
The laughter of the demons died instantly.
The sound cut off as if someone had closed a door on a screaming room.
One moment, the chamber had been filled with mockery and triumph.
The next, there was nothing. No sound. No breath. No movement.
A strange silence spread through the chamber, not the silence of peace, but the silence of prey holding still, hoping the predator would not see them.
