We reached Solcarth at dawn.
Three and a half days since we left Hearthroot, and my body still hadn't fully accepted the pace we kept. My legs moved fine, better than they ever had before, but the tiredness sat deeper than muscle. It was the kind that settled behind the eyes and stayed there, reminding me that even if my stats had gone up, I was still human in the ways that mattered.
My system flickered briefly as we passed under the outer markers.
Total Deaths: 284
I didn't linger on the number. I had already told Kyren about it back on the road, and the look he gave me then had been… different. Thoughtful. Quiet. He hadn't pushed, and I was grateful for that. Right now, I didn't have the mental space to unpack anything beyond what was in front of me.
