Chapter 68: The Master Court
The woman on the throne rose with fluid grace, her movement so precise it seemed choreographed. As if triggered by some unspoken command, the six figures seated beside her stood in perfect unison, their movements synchronized with unnerving precision.
She glided forward, each step measured and deliberate. The air around her seemed to shimmer with power, disturbing the very fabric of reality as she moved.
"What took you so long, Veilwalker?" Her voice carried across the chamber like a caress, intimate despite the distance between them.
"Time," Eren replied coldly, the single word carrying the weight of his disdain.
The master’s lips curved slightly at his response, seemingly amused rather than offended. The closer she came, the more Eren felt a peculiar pressure building in his chest—a tightness that wasn’t quite pain but something deeper and more unsettling.
Soon she stood before him, close enough that he could feel her breath—surprisingly warm in the frigid chamber—against his face. Her scent was complex and contradictory: honey and frost, metallic yet floral, both comforting and deeply wrong.
She turned to Kiran, her kaleidoscope eyes softening with something almost like affection. "You’ve done exceptionally well," she murmured.
Kiran’s reaction was immediate and visceral—her pale cheeks flushed crimson, and she dropped her gaze to the floor in a gesture of submission utterly at odds with her earlier manic confidence.
"Everything for my master," she whispered, her voice trembling with fervent devotion. "Always everything for you."
Eren’s jaw tightened as he watched the exchange, rage blooming hot and fierce behind his ribs. His silver eyes turned to molten steel as he stared at the woman before him.
’So this is the bitch who threatened my mother,’ he thought, calculating the distance to his sword. ’I will kill you. It’s now or never.’