Kael walked beneath the bone-white sky, alone and burdened by silence.
The ruined remains of Sector Delta smoldered far behind him nothing but a grave of cracked stone and bloodied sand now. He didn't look back. The air here was dry, laced with dust and ancient ash. It stung his eyes, but not as much as the confusion still clawing at his chest.
He didn't remember everything. Just flashes.
The whispered voice.
The endless corridor.
The pain.
And then... screaming.
The Sector had been torn apart. Guards ripped open like paper. The chains gone. The collars shattered. And Kael had awoken among the dead with blood on his hands... but no memory of striking a blow.
He should have run faster.
Instead, he wandered.
A cracked trail stretched beneath his boots, winding through dunes of forgotten stone. The sun hung heavy overhead, and his breath came shallow. The boots he'd stolen from a dead guard pinched, and his shoulders still ached from the lashings.
Every now and then, his fingers brushed the mark on the back of his neck.
Scourged Kin the cursed brand of Sector Delta. A symbol of ownership, shame, and silence. Even free, it made him less than nothing.
But he walked on.
Voices.
He froze, ducking behind a broken column jutting out from the red earth. His pulse quickened. At first, he thought it was slavers.
Then he saw them.
Four figures on foot. Lightly armored, well-armed. Casual in movement. Too confident to be scavengers.
Adventurers.
Kael's body tensed as they neared.
The one leading tall, wiry, twin daggers at his side was the first to speak.
Well, he said with a grin.Didn't expect to see a rat out here.
Kael remained crouched, one foot poised to run.
Easy, the man continued. We're not bounty hounds.
The largest of them grey-skinned, bald, with thick horns curving back behind his ears sniffed the air. He's branded.
Kael rose slowly, his shadow long and still beneath him.
The woman beside the horned man stepped forward, dark scarf fluttering in the wind. Her gaze was sharp but not cruel. That true? she asked. You from one of the Sectors?
Kael didn't answer.
The fourth of them, a thin, quiet figure draped in a hood said nothing.
Name's Ryall, the dagger-wielder said after a moment. That's Tessan, he pointed at the horned one. Elira here's the stabby one, he nodded to the woman. And the silent shadow's Drev.
Kael said nothing.
You got a name, ghost?
He hesitated. Kael.
Ryall whistled. A name. That's more than most branded get to keep.
Tessan grunted.If he's a Sector rat, he's either running from someone or something.
Let's not scare him off, Elira muttered, before tossing Kael a cloth-wrapped bundle.Eat. You look like your bones are chewing each other.
Kael caught it on instinct. Dried meat and hard bread. He stared at it.
You trying to poison me? he asked flatly.
Not unless you're allergic to salt Elira said dryly.
Kael gave a slow nod. He tore into it with slow, deliberate bites.
They walked together that afternoon, through the broken spines of an old trade road. The adventurers were casual in pace, letting him stay a few steps behind.
No one asked about the brand. No one asked about what had happened in Sector Delta.
But they all glanced at him when they thought he wasn't looking.
That night, they made camp beneath a shattered arch of redstone. Ryall built the fire. Tessan kept watch. Elira sharpened her spear. Drev simply sat and stared at the flames.
Kael kept his distance, chewing slowly.
You been free long? Ryall asked.
Kael shook his head. Yesterday.
Tessan snorted. You walk like you were born in chains.
Kael didn't flinch. Maybe I was.
The fire cracked. No one laughed.
We're headed toward Veln, Elira said eventually. Not far from here. Walls, jobs, maybe even a clean bed. You can come with, if you want.
l'm marked, Kael said. "They'll know.
They'll always know,Testsan grunted.That brand doesn't fade.
Kael stared into the flames. Then what's the point of running?
Ryall smiled faintly. Running isn't the point. Living is.
Later that night, when the others slept, Kael sat alone at the edge of the firelight, watching shadows twist and stretch along the dunes.
The past clawed at him, refusing to let go.
He didn't know why he'd survived.
He didn't know what waited inside him.
But for now, he walked.
For now, they let him stay.
He wasn't one of them. Not yet.
But he wasn't alone.
And that for tonight was enough.