Ten seconds after the charm had been activated, it happened. No attack was seen, no energy surged, and no ability activation was sensed. Yet something descended—a burden, a weight.
An overwhelming presence seemed to materialize from nowhere and everywhere at once. Within an affected radius of nearly five hundred meters, the world itself appeared to freeze.
The air became heavy; conversations died in their throats; even the faintest sounds vanished. It was as though an invisible force had crushed the entire auction hall beneath its palm.
Then came the silence. A terrible silence. In that quiet, people began falling to their knees—commoners, merchants, nobles, adventurers, and ascendants alike.
It made no difference.
The pressure was not physical, spiritual, or elemental; it was something far more terrifying. It was Will, pure and overwhelming.
An invisible explosion swept through the hall without sound, without light, and without warning.
