***
{Outside The Projection}
No one really bothered to mention Noor's and, eventually, her guards' disappearance.
They rather focused on how they hit the nail on the head last time.
Malik's punishment, this Golden Throne, was truly a prison.
One that he was stuck in till the day he was finally freed.
...Finally dead.
It was the symbol of Malik's rule and the price of it.
A crown's weight they could almost feel on their own heads.
It didn't matter whether they loved him or feared him; they all understood that no one sat there without paying for it in blood, years, sanity, or all three at once.
...How ironic was it that the warden was also a prisoner?
Sure, he was one of his own choice, but the end result was much the same.
The empty hall before them, the cold one, made for a tough watch.
It hadn't exactly been warm for the past nine days, but...
This was too much.
Its image lingered deep, ingrained into their minds.
