The room held its breath.
Vina stared at Daniel as that heavy pressure pressed against her chest again—the kind that made it hard to breathe, hard to think. That aura. That presence.
She'd felt it before.
The moment he walked into any space, it shifted. Like the walls bent inward, like the shadows watched with him. The air got colder. Thicker.
The presence of a Demon King.
Daniel stepped forward, slow, hands behind his back, voice smooth and sharp like silk over steel.
"You must be wondering why you're here. And I can tell it wasn't by your own free will."
He didn't look at Teemah, but the flicker of annoyance in his voice landed on her anyway.
"But even unwilling action," he said, stopping just a few feet from Vina, "can be… useful."
His words had weight. Like they carried the will of something ancient.
Vina winced.
Daniel tilted his head. "Let's not waste time. I'm looking to erase two people from this world. And I believe you've made contact with them."
