The ship hummed softly around you as you stood alone in the quiet of the observation deck. The view of the stars outside should have been peaceful, but there was a weight in the air that made everything feel distant. It wasnβt the vastness of space that made you uneasy; it was the silence that stretched between you and Xueyi.
The Arbiter of the Shackling Prison always had an unsettling presence, but tonight, it felt different. Her usual cold demeanor seemed less like a mask and more like a shield, one she wasnβt sure how to put down. You couldnβt quite explain why, but something feltβ¦ fragile about her, as if she were standing on the edge of something, barely holding herself together.
You werenβt sure if sheβd even noticed you enter the room, her gaze lost in the stars outside, her chains hovering around her like silent sentinels. They gleamed in the dim light, the dark shadows they cast only adding to the mystery of her.