I was sitting within my domain, hosting a feast with my companions.
We were celebrating our victory—how we had bent countless dynasties to their knees, how silence had fallen on our enemies.
The hall was alive with laughter.
Glasses clinked one after another, music echoed off the walls.
Everything felt warm.
Everything felt alive.
Everything felt victorious.
Then—
a sound.
The laughter stopped.
The music fell silent.
The air grew heavy.
The sound came from the gate of my domain.
A cold unease settled deep in my chest.
Slowly, I rose and walked toward the door.
The moment I opened it—
an old woman stood before me.
Her back was hunched.
Her face was carved with deep lines.
And her eyes…
were far too empty.
With a trembling voice, she said,
"I ask for water and bread."
A fear colder than ice wrapped around my heart.
For there was a rumor whispered across these lands.
It was said that old women would come, asking for water and bread,
and those who granted them their request—
would vanish without a trace.
No screams.
No blood.
Only silence.
The woman stared at me, unblinking.
She was not waiting for my answer—
she was waiting for my fate.