The chamber erupted into chaos.
The Easterners—stoic and mostly expressionless when they'd first arrived—were now a mess of frantic cries and trembling hands.
The large male Easterner clutched at his leader's frozen form, his voice cracking as he shouted in their native tongue.
The younger girl had collapsed to her knees, her delicate fingers pressed against Lady Zhao's metallic cheek as if willing the transformation to reverse. Her whispered pleas were barely audible over the raw, grieving shouts of her companion.
Kain watched, unmoved. He had no attachment to these people, no reason to mourn. If anything, the sight only confirmed what he already knew—this trial was a ruthless filter, and not even the strongest were guaranteed survival.
Not to mention, this most recent trial helped him come to terms with the more cruel and cold aspects of his personality—heck, maybe even the absorption of Source energy exacerbated this aspect of his personality.
