Tears fell freely from her beautiful eyes as the weight of everything consumed her. The righteous road she thought she had walked had been a lie, a facade built on the shadows of betrayal.
The humans she had vowed to lead were far from innocent, and the realization broke something deep inside her.
For several moments, Lilla stood there in silence, her head bowed, her tears pooling at her feet. It wasn't anger or defiance that filled the room now; it was sorrow, raw and unrelenting, a pain that Cleo could see clearly.
But Cleo didn't stop. She crossed her arms, her voice cold and unyielding. "This is the empire you're trying to defend, saintess. A crumbling system that would betray even its allies for profit. So tell me, is this the righteousness you spoke of?"
Lilla didn't answer. She couldn't. The weight of it all crushed her voice into silence, and all she could do was cry.