Raw Mating and the Purging of Vex's Poison

The suffocating weight inside the office finally fractured, granting the room a fragile reprieve. Nobody relaxed entirely, but the oppressive atmosphere loosened just enough to let oxygen flow back into their lungs. Stiff shoulders lowered a fraction. The threat of immediate bloodshed receded into an uneasy truce. Yet the reprieve was fleeting.

Outside this temporary sanctuary, the real nightmare