The silence that had taken hold of the entire place did not break into celebration this time, nor did it turn into admiration, because what stood before them now was no longer something that could be easily accepted, and the expressions on the faces of the gathered vampires began to twist into something uneasy, something that carried disbelief so strong that it bordered on rejection.
"This… is not real."
The words slipped out from one of the Emperor level vampires, low and strained, as if even speaking them required effort.
"No… it cannot be."
Another followed, shaking his head slowly, his eyes locked onto the glowing fingers that still had not dimmed, as if he expected them to vanish if he simply refused to accept what he was seeing.
Around them, murmurs began to spread, not loud, not chaotic, but heavy, filled with a kind of resistance that came from beings who had lived long enough to understand how rare such things were.
"This is wrong."
"There is no way…"
