Arthur walked away from the crowd without another word. The dim glow of the castle walls flickered over his back as he disappeared into the shadows, leaving Germa to tend to the others. The man watched him go with a strange expression, part awe, part uncertainty. His heart was still pounding from what he had witnessed—a confrontation with something beyond mortal comprehension—and yet, Arthur had walked away from it like it was nothing.
Germa turned to the shackled prisoners and knelt by the closest one. The tension was far from over, but at least for now, the towering threat was gone. That alone brought some room to breathe.
Meanwhile, Arthur slowed his pace after putting some distance between him and the rest. He stopped in the middle of an arched hallway, the faint echo of his footsteps bouncing off the high, ribbed ceiling.
"Now, where should I start?" he muttered, glancing from one end of the corridor to the other.
