Meanwhile, the world outside the corridors of power watched and waited. Markets fluctuated as traders tried to price in uncertainty; ordinary citizens followed news feeds with apprehension, aware that a single miscalculation might escalate into a crisis none could easily escape. The headlines varied—triumph in some nations, alarm in others—but the underlying truth was universal: the global order had shifted in an instant, and the question that hung over every capital, every newsroom, every household was the same. Who would act next, and what would the consequences be?
The clock ticked on. And once again, the world held its breath.
