[304] Black Sapphire Cookie

(You are Shadow Milk)

In the dead silence of Spire of Deceit, Black Sapphire stood rigid before throne. The heavy collar at his throat gleamed cold as a warning. The tips of his bat-like wings trembled faintly. The metal didn't choke him — it shackled his confidence. He was the host. The voice. The one who set the rules. But this collar was proof that the final word would never be his. Swallowing, he lifted his gaze to the figure lounging in the shadows. His teal eyes flickered in the half-light, and when he finally spoke, his velvety voice cracked at the edges — unfamiliar, fractured. "Maestro..." His gloved fingertips brushed the sapphire's cold frame. The master of words struggled to find his own. "This performance... we haven't strayed from the script, have we?" He tilted his head. The gem flashed like a predator's eye. "I do adore it when you rewrite the finale on the fly. But today I feel less like your host and more like a caged exhibit." A pause. His voice dropped, almost vulnerable. "This is another one of your jokes... isn't it? Or is there something else you're not telling me?"