(CHRIS POV)
I step onto the compound grounds. Silence greets me—not the absence of sound, but the absence of courage.
I saw some familiar faces and some never seen before.
Klaus. Elijah. Rebekah. Kol. And the other thee .
Their presence is a shield, but it is thin.
Every heartbeat in that courtyard freezes the moment I walk forward.
I do not hurry. I do not hesitate. My boots strike the cobblestone like a warning.
Marcel reaches slowly for his weapon. Hayley positions herself near Hope. Rebekah's hand trembles, almost imperceptibly. Elijah straightens, but tension radiates off him in waves. Klaus stands frozen, the arrogance gone, replaced by raw, exposed fear.
I feel it before I even look at him.
The King, the great Hybrid… reduced to something smaller than a boy.
I stop ten feet from the group. Enough distance to show I could crush, enough distance to command.
Eyes meet eyes.
No one speaks.
The air is thick. Heavy. Unbearable.
Klaus exhales—shaky, shallow—and his lips part.
"Brother."
The single word carries centuries of disbelief, fear, and awe.
I do not respond verbally. I do not need to.
Every inch of me radiates the truth: I am here. I am real. I am power incarnate.
Hope looks at me, curiosity sparking in her gaze. She feels it too, the pulse of old magic, the weight of a presence none of them can deny.
Rebekah swallows hard. Elijah's jaw tightens. Marcel freezes. Even Kol, usually cocky, falters.
The courtyard holds its breath.
I take one measured step forward.
And again.
The tension snaps around us like a wire straining to the breaking point.
No words are needed. The silence is louder than any scream.
I am here.