The first rays of the sun tore through the blackened sky, tinging it with a pale glow. A new day was beginning...
The streets of the city in the Blander territory slowly awoke. Young people with tired eyes and elderly people bent over pushed their wooden carts, their footsteps echoing on the damp cobblestones. Everyone, without exception, was moving for the same reason: to survive.
In the mansion where Kael and Michel were staying, the silence was barely broken by the hushed murmurs of the servants. They moved quickly, trying to make their presence as light as air, performing their tasks with mechanical precision.
With the sun's rays hitting Kael's face, he slowly opened his eyes, his empty gaze focusing on the purple cherry blossom tree standing outside.
The petals fell slowly, landing on the liquid mirror of the lake, where koi fish moved lazily. In the distance, birdsong and the murmurs of other animals brought life to an environment that, for him, remained unfamiliar.
