***
{Inside The Projection}
Indeed, Malik stared.
But not for long.
He looked away.
This wasn't the time for distractions.
He didn't come for beauty.
He didn't come to feel anything.
He came for revenge.
And so, ignoring all that was around him, Malik walked toward a palace.
This one, unlike the ones he visited, wasn't the home of nobility. It was more.
A lot more than just that. For it housed the future of this kingdom, its students.
A few guards on the road saw him, and something about his presence made them freeze up.
They couldn't kneel like those before them, only freeze, because it wasn't his power they felt.
It was his will, the one that spoke only of death.
And though they were drunk on their victory, laughing, feasting, and singing, he didn't need to speak or do anything for them to feel his death.
His mere presence was enough.
Malik's eyes scanned everything as he walked.
The placement of guards.
The number of archers up on the roofs.
