Salina's impassioned words trembled through the air.
Anderson and Lopez looked at her, the hesitation on their faces gradually fading, replaced by grim resolve.
Lopez was the first to raise his hand, pressing his fist to his chest as he said in a hoarse, heavy voice:
"I'm with you, Salina—until the end."
Anderson hurriedly added, "Me too. If we're going to prison, then we'll go together!"
Salina looked at them, and at last, the faintest smile touched her lips. She nodded without thanking them. When she turned back to the Streaming Mirror, the last trace of hesitation in her eyes had vanished.
She took a deep breath and pulled out the carefully prepared speech from her robes, its pages densely covered in writing—
Evidence of the Prometheus Project's crimes, Lila's financial dealings with Muggle tycoons, lists of disappearances and deaths that had been covered up, proof of Hawthorne's innocence...
Every line would surely cause an enormous uproar.
Salina walked directly before the Streaming Mirror and carefully adjusted her robes, smoothing every fold. In the mirror, she stood tall with her head held high, her gaze as sharp as a drawn blade.
She spoke softly to the mirror, as though rehearsing, yet also as if swearing an oath to herself, to the Wizarding World, and to the coming storm:
"It's time... time for all our countrymen to see the cancer hidden beneath the sunlight."
"Fear cannot rule us, and lies cannot define us! We must unite and face the truth together, no matter how cruel it may be."
"Because only then..."
She paused, her voice growing firmer:
"Only then will we deserve a future."
"Ding—!"
A crisp chime rang out.
"Director Goldstein," Nelson entered, his voice taut. "Everything is ready. The live broadcast begins in thirty seconds. Every Streaming Mirror currently