At the other end of the line, Gray sat slumped in his chair with a miserable expression weighing down his entire face as the dull glow of his office lights reflected off the polished surface of his desk, his fingers gripping his phone so tightly that his knuckles had turned pale while the conversation continued to unravel in the worst possible way.
Every single call he had received that day had carried nothing but terrible news, and after speaking with Ravyn earlier he had held onto a thin thread of hope that Voren’s call might somehow bring a different outcome, yet the moment Voren’s cold voice reached his ears that fragile hope shattered into pieces because the reality being delivered to him sounded far worse than anything he had prepared himself to hear.
"Voren, you can’t do this," Gray protested in a strained voice that carried more panic than pride, his composure slipping as the weight of the situation pressed heavily on his chest while he tried desperately to remind Voren of the bond they had once shared. "We are in the same circle, remember?"
Voren leaned back in his chair with an expression that remained completely unmoved, his voice turning sharp and icy as he responded without the slightest trace of sympathy.
"Did you forget that being cut off was the last thing I warned you about?" he asked in a tone that felt almost mocking, as if Gray’s sudden desperation only proved how little he had listened before. "Tell me honestly, Gray, do you regret ignoring my advice now?"
Deep down, Voren had always believed that if Gray and the others had simply agreed to his punishment, the situation might have ended very differently because Seraphine’s anger would likely have cooled the moment she saw them humiliated, stripped of their pride, and left with nothing but the painful consequences of their actions.
Losing an arm in front of everyone, followed by their membership being revoked while their backs carried the marks of the beating they had received, would have been humiliating enough to satisfy Seraphine’s desire for justice without pushing her any further.
That kind of punishment would have left them broken in pride but still capable of rebuilding their lives eventually, whereas their stubborn refusal to sacrifice their arms had instead caused them to lose everything in a single devastating blow.
"Voren... I’m ready to lose the arm now," Gray finally admitted in a heavy voice filled with regret, the words sounding like they had been dragged out of him with great difficulty as the reality of his situation became impossible to deny.
On the other end of the call, Voren slowly shook his head even though Gray could not see the gesture, his expression hardening with finality as he spoke again.
"I’m afraid it’s too late for that," Voren replied calmly, his voice steady in a way that made it clear the decision had already been made long ago and would not be reversed now. "My investment manager will be contacting you immediately to finalize the next steps."
The conversation was already reaching its end as Voren prepared to disconnect the call, yet before he could press the button Gray suddenly blurted out another desperate request, his voice rushing out in a hurry as panic clawed its way into every word.
"Wait... wait, Voren," Gray said quickly, his breath uneven as if he feared the opportunity might disappear in the next second. "Can you give me Seraphine’s contact information? I can speak to her myself... I can beg her if I have to."


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