A King Who Walks Alone

Then— He raised his hand.

Just slightly.

Not a command. Not forceful.

But enough.

And the room—

Fell silent again.

Completely this time.

No restless breaths. No murmurs. Just attention—sharp and unbroken.

His gaze moved across them.

One by one.

He didn't rush it.

He saw everything.

The tightness in shoulders.

The way a few of them avoided his eyes.

The ones who looked at him too hard, as if trying to read something he wasn't showing.

Their concern.

Their resistance.

Their fear.

It was all there.

And he let it sit between them.

Then—

He spoke.

Calm.

Clear.

"I know what I'm doing."

The words didn't rise. They didn't need to. They settled into the room with quiet certainty.

A faint shift broke the stillness.

Rias stepped closer to him now.

Measured. Controlled.

Her heels didn't echo. Her expression didn't crack. But there was something in her eyes—sharp, searching… almost challenging.

Not loud.

Not emotional.

But direct.

"…Do you?"

There was no accusation in her tone.

But there was doubt.

And something deeper beneath it—something she wasn't saying out loud.

Their eyes met.

The air tightened.

No one interrupted.

No one dared.

A hush came down, as if walls had quietly stepped away. Just them now, caught in a silence that needed no words.

Frozen in place, Leon kept his eyes fixed ahead.

Stood still. Paused without thinking.

"I'm not going there to wage war."

A silence came then, not staged, just necessary. The words had substance, so they took time.

Now his voice stayed even, yet a shift had slipped beneath. Not quite feeling - more like purpose. A stillness with weight.

A quiet breath left him, barely making a sound.

"If I wanted war," he continued, his gaze still on hers, "you wouldn't be questioning it. You'd already see it happening."

Something quiet moved among them. The air changed without warning.

A throat moved. Another person tugged their sleeves.

Rias didn't move.

A small shift came into her gaze - no fury there, only quiet calculation. She studied him like a question without an answer yet. Each word he spoke seemed weighed against something silent inside her.

"And yet," she said quietly, "you're walking straight into something that could turn into one."

Suddenly, her voice grew quieter, barely noticeable by the last word.

"Alone."

That word lingered.

A shadow passed behind Leon's eyes, brief as a blink. His face stayed still.

He answered, "You're not by yourself.".

A small pause.

Then, quieter -

"Just… not the way you want."

What hit was stronger than any other moment.

A breath caught in Rias's throat, as if words were rising… protest maybe, resistance, a plea. Then silence

But she didn't.

Because she understood.

This time, things got messier because of it.

Suddenly quiet once more, though now the stillness carried a new weight.

Not uncertain.

Not chaotic.

Heavy, somehow, with a quiet kind of surrender - felt by everyone, claimed by none.

Footsteps faded behind him when Leon turned his head, eyes moving away from her toward the others once more.

Footsteps paused behind his back. A shadow held its breath just out of sight.

Waiting.

That was it. Nothing extra came from him. They got only what he offered. No additional help followed. His limit showed clearly.

Didn't explain further.

Even so, his mind was made up long before.

It was something they sensed deep down.

"I'm not going there to wage war."

A hush passed across the space - not a word, just pressure changing, as if air had stilled past its limit. Her hands tightened, just at the edges. Silence stayed. For now.

A pause.

"I'm going there to end it."

That line -

Changed everything.

A flicker of tension crossed Nova's face. Suddenly still, every line of his body turned rigid.

He said "How?" yet his voice carried more than words - doubt crept in, unease followed, then a quiet thing left hanging between them.

A silence held her, right from the start. Eyes elsewhere, pulling broken bits into something close to sense. There was never any force gathering. No battle lines drawn across the ground. Not even a warning spoken aloud.

What could be going through his mind next?

Fingers brushing her arm, soft taps without thought. Noticing nothing, yet moving all the same. She spoke low - "Without force… what remains?" A whisper caught mid-air. Not meant for ears nearby. This shape here? Not strategy. Something quieter

He paused before speaking.

Instead -

He stood.

Slowly.

From the throne.

Out there, a tiny sound on rock came through too clear. Each person watched his steps. Not one looked away. Impossible to ignore.

A single shift in motion changed everything around it.

He stepped down.

One step.

Then another.

Measured. Unhurried.

Only when he stepped right up close did they see him clearly.

Closer now.

More human.

Yet just as powerful.

One second passed. Silence hung there. It wasn't that they lacked things to ask -

Yet there was a way he carried himself that quietly shrank the weight of those queries.

"I go alone…"

A hush crept into his words. Not frailty - more like depth settling in, a weight behind each sound.

"…because an army would only make this worse."

Nova frowned. "Worse?" he repeated, not fully convinced. "You're walking into enemy territory alone and saying an army is the problem?"

A shift in stance came from Rias - small, measured. Close now, though not confronting. Her tone dipped low, more gentle than normal, yet firm beneath: "Walking away doesn't mean you're whole after."

A sudden stillness settled in Aria's gaze as it returned to him. Not merely dodging conflict, he was holding his breath against a spark becoming flame, she realized aloud, voice low but edged with certainty. What looked like retreat was actually restraint, an effort to keep pressure beneath the surface

A beat.

Then, slower - more certain:

"…What exactly are you planning to walk into?"

Silence followed.

Not empty -

But waiting.

A hush crept forward, taut at the edges, nudging under ribs like cold wire. Stillness held every body fast. Not a single step broke the quiet. This silence carried weight - Leon did not speak without reason.

A flicker passed behind Ronan's eyes, fixed now on Leon as if measuring the silence between each inhale. The air stilled when he didn't blink, focused in a way that felt too close to seeing through skin. Moments stretched thin under that stare, weighty without sound. Stillness became its own kind of noise. Not movement, but intent held tight beneath still features.

"…you're avoiding escalation."

A quiet movement dipped his head. Simple, nothing flashy. No pause either way. Exactly what was needed.

"Yes."

Falling quiet, the word sat heavy - as if shaped by choices made ages ago.

Calm words slipped out when Cynthia broke the silence, each one sharp enough to split stillness wide open.

"And what you're planning…"

Holding still, she looked at him - past skin, into what he really meant.

"…requires precision."

His eyes shifted toward her.

A small grin pulled at the corner of his mouth - gone in a moment, like it wasn't meant to stay.

"You understand."

A silence sat between them, heavy but clear. Words weren't necessary after that. The truth had shown itself in her eyes.

Frowning, Syra tucked her arms close while shifting how she stood.

"I don't like this."

Floating behind came Kyra's words, gentle yet steady

"Neither do I."

For just a moment, her gaze stayed fixed on Leon, as if sifting through his expression for a sign - a hint of comfort, perhaps, or justification to say yes. That signal never came.

Rias didn't speak.

Her eyes stayed on him without moving.

Closely.

She did not ask. She did not push back. Only stayed still. As if counting the space left before he turned into someone else.

Her eyes met Leon's gaze.

After that, every single one.

He kept his eyes locked. Never looked away.

"I'm not walking into death."

A pause. Just long enough for them to feel the edge of it.

"I'm walking into control."