Unsettling Transformation{Edited}

Leo scanned the cavernous hall, a microcosm of society crammed into a single, feverish waiting room.

Hopefuls from every rung, from the bedraggled commoners to the opulent nobility, mingled with a veneer of camaraderie.

Yet, the air crackled with an undercurrent of unspoken prejudice. Low-ranking nobles desperately groveled for the attention of their superiors, who in turn, angled for connections even higher on the social ladder.

Commoners, translucent like dust motes in a sunbeam.

Leo, acutely aware of his precarious position, knew this social dance was a forbidden waltz for him.

His threadbare clothes and lack of a surname screamed "commoner," a label that ensured nobles wouldn't waste a smidgen of their attention on him, considering him not worth there breath.