Arthur stood frozen, heart seized by a painful vice of disbelief, eyes fixed helplessly upon the dark figure standing before him. Her dark yellow eyes glowed with cold, mechanical emptiness beneath the shadowy mask, their piercing gaze devoid of even the faintest trace of recognition or humanity.
"Anna…?" Arthur breathed, voice trembling with raw anguish, fingers gripping his white staff until his knuckles turned pale.
There was no way she would come out and stand against him unless she was being forced or blackmailed again.
His heart thundered in his chest, each beat echoing with aching desperation. "Anna, it's me—Arthur! What are you doing?"
Anna merely tilted her head slightly, lightning-like mana flickering ominously around her slender form, sparks hissing viciously from her mechanized legs. No response came from her; she stood unmoving, a silent sentinel cloaked in darkness and malice, the silence painfully louder than words.
