And then… everything changed.
The book trembled. The stage beneath him cracked faintly, glowing with thin streams of golden light. Wisps of mist rose around him, curling like living spirits, while faint whispers filled the room — voices from another age, a language no one understood but somehow felt.
The man’s chest rose and fell slowly as he lifted his hands, and the whispers grew louder, spiraling upward into an otherworldly chant. Around him, shadows twisted unnaturally, stretching taller and longer until they touched the ceiling. The judges clung to their desks, their eyes wide, their breathing shallow.
And then, silence.
The book snapped shut on its own. The mist faded. The golden light vanished. The stage returned to normal, as though nothing had happened.
The man put his glasses back on, straightened his torn coat, and stood there, small and fragile once more — yet somehow transformed.
He looked up at the judges with tired, knowing eyes.
