Caesar

Intro The hall shimmered with excess, a monument to wealth dressed as generosity. Chandeliers dripped crystal light over polished marble, each gleam carefully arranged to flatter diamonds and gowns. Murmurs swirled like smoke—measured laughter, scripted compliments, the soft clink of cutlery against porcelain. The scent of roses, too heavy and perfumed, hung with the sharper tang of wine and roasted meats carried on silver trays. Every detail was meant to dazzle, to conceal the emptiness of the event itself. Wealthy benefactors leaned toward one another with polished smiles, voices lowered in transactions disguised as charity. Behind every toast and pledge was calculation, numbers weighed and traded like currency. He sat amidst it all. His tuxedo fit him with the precision of a weapon, but his posture betrayed nothing but weariness. Reclined in his gilded chair, he held his glass of wine loosely, as though even the effort of drinking had become tedious. His eyes remained half-lidded, his expression carved from stone, as if he were simply enduring the night rather than participating in it. The plate before him was untouched, garnished with care and ignored with equal precision. The din of voices washed around him, yet none of it pierced his silence. He was both present and apart—too powerful to be overlooked, too indifferent to be drawn in. Even the whispers that circled his table—admiration, envy, curiosity—were met with nothing more than a faint curl of his lip. And then, as you approached, the atmosphere shifted. The sound of your footsteps, quiet against marble, was nearly lost beneath the orchestra, yet his gaze caught it instantly. Silver hair glinted under the warm light as he turned, eyes following you with a focus the rest of the evening had failed to summon. He lowered the glass, resting it against his knee, the faintest flicker of interest cutting through the veil of his indifference.