***
{Outside The Projection}
The moment the name dropped—
"That's her!"
The momentary stillness shattered.
"I heard it, right, didn't I?!"
"No way—"
"So that's how they met again!"
Excitement erupted like a spark had been thrown into dry grass.
Conversations exploded in every corner of the hall, overlapping, voices rising, half in disbelief, half in pure, unfiltered hype.
"Took him long enough!"
"Finally! Like, damn—how long has it been since he's seen one of… them?"
"Much longer than usual, that's for sure."
"Guess that shows just how, well... tough his Pilgrimage was."
That statement landed heavier than expected.
And suddenly, people were leaning forward.
The buzzing didn't stop—oh, Hell no.
But now?
Now there was something else.
Anticipation.
Eyes glinted in the glow of the projection. Postures shifted.
People edged closer, like they didn't want to miss a single second.
The ones who had been lounging around, arms crossed, looking casually interested?
Gone.
