Catherine stood quietly beside Valeris and Veyra in the outer hall, her arms crossed, her gaze distant. The doors had shut behind them with a finality none of them commented on. The marble corridor was silent, save for the faint rustling of wind brushing through a narrow window slit.
None of them spoke at first.
It wasn't out of awkwardness—but out of respect.
They all felt it.
A shift in the air. The gravity of something unspoken.
Not a storm.
Not a scream.
But something real.
Something raw.
Veyra broke the silence with a quiet sigh. "He needed that. To be alone. Even if just once."
Catherine didn't look at them. Her eyes were still on the closed doors, but her voice was low, thoughtful. "He never let anyone see him like that before."
Valeris nodded. "He never let himself feel like that before. Not fully."
And yet, as the minutes passed, there were no sounds from behind the great oak doors. No footsteps. No shifting aura. No trembling voice.
Only stillness.
