It smelled so good...
Standing guard outside the office, Byrne caught that same fragrance again, only this time it was far richer.
Just how extreme had it become?
When Byrne lowered his head, he saw halos of light spilling continuously through the gap beneath the door.
They flowed out like liquid water, then turned gaseous, drifting, expanding, and spreading.
Byrne's eyes widened. For the first time, he discovered that someone's thoughts could actually have a tangible effect on their surroundings.
This was not an aura, not a field of presence, not a fluctuation of power. It did not even belong to the mental realm. Moreover, the formations inside his office were extremely tight, yet even they could not stop these halos from spilling out. Just how terrifyingly concentrated were they inside?
Byrne was deeply shaken, but he was not surprised.
After confirming the identity of the person inside, nothing incomprehensible that happened to him would come as a surprise anymore. It would only feel natural.
Still, the feeling of witnessing a divine miracle firsthand was truly difficult to describe.
It inevitably reminded Byrne of how the people around Kallen treated him, with a reverence far beyond that of subordinates toward a superior.
He had not understood before. Now, he did, and he even felt a little jealous.
Those expressions and habits of interaction clearly came from having been shaken so many times that they had grown somewhat numb.
Then he recalled Vic's hint that there were not many empty seats left.
Apparently, others had gathered around Kallen much earlier in this race. He was not among the first, or even the second group.
But Byrne did not mind. His aspirations could be said to be the complete opposite of Alfred's.
Alfred had a profound obsession with appearing in murals, while