'!'
"N-no…"
Orion's body trembled as he processed those melancholic words from Kyle. They weren't spoken with mockery or anger—just a deep, unsettling calm.
The weight behind them was profound, almost echoing in the silence that followed, as if they carried something irreversible. Unlike Kyle's earlier casual tone, this felt final. Real. And that was what made it terrifying.
For a second, Orion's mind refused to believe it, but then he snapped his gaze toward the bodies lying around him. One after another. Each shift of his eyes widened them further. They weren't just unconscious… they were gone.
Dead.
His instincts reached out to detect life signatures, but there was nothing—nothing but silence.
And for the first time, those narrow, fox-like eyes of his opened fully. Wide. Shaken.
"H-how…?"
The question barely escaped his lips, more breath than voice. His vocal cords trembled with it. But before he could even try to comprehend, another reaction cut through the heavy air.
