Submerging in the water helped ease Kael's nerves. The unwanted heat that had surged through his body finally subsided, leaving him sighing in deep relief as he began to feel normal again—calm, steady, and collected.
Now seated on the bed, he gently dried his hair with a towel. As he did so, his gaze drifted to the long wooden box near the corner of the room, the one where his staff was kept.
Rising slowly, Kael walked toward it. But instead of opening it immediately, he stood still for a moment, staring down in silence.
There was a time when he had been the most powerful priest of his order—when a single swing of his staff could summon miracles. Now, looking at the box, that time felt so distant and… almost faded in memory.
As if everything had all been a dream.
