***
{Outside The Main Projection}
"WHAT?!"
That shout wasn't from a single person.
It was the whole damn hall.
One big gut punch that echoed off the marble walls.
An echoing thunder that cracked the ceiling open.
The revelation hit hard, and not because it was loud.
No, the opposite.
It was the way the Chancellor just slipped it in, like it was some footnote in a letter.
Like Zafar being the real Stranger, a damn outsider, meant absolutely nothing.
And though they didn't understand all of its implications, that was what made everyone freeze.
They looked at each other.
Then at his people.
His yes-men.
His "loyal" followers.
Not one of them said a thing. Not a sound.
Not even the one who always had something to say.
They just stood there like statues, trying to look unreadable.
But anyone could see it in their eyes.
They were shocked.
Absolutely shocked.
Though he didn't know it, their leader wasn't who he said he was.
