The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.
Time, already frozen, seemed to halt even further, as if the very fabric of existence had momentarily forgotten how to move forward. The voice that had been so confident and commanding suddenly fell quiet.
Then, a low chuckle echoed through the void.
"... Did I hear that right?"
The voice seemed not to believe what it had heard. It couldn't understand why Alex would reject the offer.
"You will die if you keep that attitude. If you apologize now, I shall look through your discretion."
Alex, however, shrugged, hands tucked in his pockets, his expression unbothered despite the frozen battlefield around him. "It's still a no." He exhaled, tilting his head slightly. "Besides, soul-binding sounds like a pain. I'm not into contracts I can't break."
