There was no applause the second time. No shouting, no celebratory roar. The crowd greeted Lennox Graves' return with more silence than the first time.
Perhaps because what they had seen still echoed within them.
Perhaps because now, they no longer expected him to prove anything.
Now they simply watched the man who had previously won by knockout step into the ring again.
Not as a hero. Not as a legend.
But as someone who chose to show up again.
The introduction was still to come.
Down the corridor, Lennox Graves sat quietly on the edge of a bench. The heel of his boxing shoe hung slightly over the wooden edge.
His body no longer trembled with anticipation.
His breathing was deep and steady.
His elbows rested on his knees, palms facing downward, fingers curved in a relaxed arc.
H
