The closest figure lay half-buried in ash.
Only the torso and head remained visible, with their legs and lower body consumed by the grey waste. Skin showed blistering that suggested burns but produced no fluid.
The ground below the person was cracked and revealed darkness beneath rather than flesh.
The warrior's dimmed eyes remained open, still searching and scanning the crimson-black sky as if hoping for rescue that would never come. Golden light that had once defined these spectral forms had faded to barely perceptible glow.
Reinhard knelt beside the figure with ash puffed upward, coating his boots and lower legs. He reached out, extending his hand toward the warrior.
The warrior flinched violently.
The movement was instinctive, recoiling from contact as if Reinhard's hand carried additional torture rather than aid. Fear replaced the searching hope in those dim eyes as no one touched each other here.
