Velria felt different. It wasn't just another city on a map. Something waited here—opportunity, challenge, perhaps even danger. She could sense it, the way the air felt charged, the way shadows seemed to linger longer than they should.
And though she did not know it, Alex was here too, not far from her. Their paths, set on a collision course by unseen hands, would soon intertwine again.
For now, though, she allowed herself this single night of calm. Tomorrow, the real work would begin.
The first rays of sunlight slipped through the shutters, painting pale gold lines across the wooden floor. Saeko rose early, as she always did, her body still tuned to the rhythm of the road. She stretched quietly, loosening her shoulders and rolling her neck until the familiar stiffness melted away. The faint murmur of Velria waking filled the air outside—vendors calling to one another, wagon wheels clattering over stone, the distant toll of a bell summoning guild members to their duties.
