After Sylphia's words, a long, heavy silence fell. The echo of her plea seemed to hang in the air, bouncing off the marble walls of the empty arena. She felt the tension squeeze her throat, her heart pounding unnaturally loud. Kaen didn't move a single inch. Only his eyes stared at her without expression.
Seconds passed—maybe longer. Kaen lifted his head, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly... and then he burst into laughter. First quietly, as if in disbelief, but soon his laugh turned into a harsh, violent cackle that echoed between the pillars. He tilted his head back, laughing as if at the entire world, his shoulders shaking from the spasms of amusement. But there was no joy in that laughter—only sarcasm, weariness, and something unsettling, as if for a brief moment he had opened the door to his own madness.
