Chapter 47: Current Zeniths
The grand arena stretched wide beneath a domed sky, its circular floor bathed in pale light. Towering rows of empty stone seats curved around the center. Tall archways and enclosed booths lined the perimeter, silent and waiting. The air was hushed, and the sand below lay silent and still, waiting.
In the front row of the stone seats sat a man. His red eyes held a distant look, as if seeing something beyond the present moment. His long crimson hair fell in smooth waves down his back, half-tied with quiet precision.
He wore an understated dark robe over a lighter garment, and a small silver earring glinted at his ear. There was something untouchable about his expression—beautiful but remote, like a statue carved from marble and dreams.
He stared silently into the air, no emotion flickering across his face. His eyes remained unblinking—even when, without any disturbance in the air, an elegant man in a long coat materialized beside him.
The man glanced at the stone seat with slight disgust but sat down, his neatly tailored suit beneath the coat creasing as he did.
He glanced at the crimson-haired man and asked with a smooth, clear voice:
"Did you see it too?"
Silence stretched between them. Then a low voice flowed out with the steadiness of quiet wind:
"The Emperor died..."
At once, the air felt cold and dark. The other man’s blue eyes blazed with disbelief. A strand of his neatly swept-back golden hair fell across his face.
"What? How? Last I saw him, he was still radiant!"