"What… what is this?"
A Hayes soldier stared at the stretch of blackened earth before him, his face twisted with confusion. The ground reeked of something foul, an odor that clung to the air like rot, and the land itself stood in stark contrast to the desert around it. The difference was so abrupt it unsettled him.
It was like staring at a clean white wall only to see it suddenly sprout twisted growths and tumors.
Unable to contain himself, the soldier ignored his training and whispered to the others who kept their weapons at the ready.
"Hey… don't you think this land doesn't belong to this world?"
The other Hayes soldiers stiffened. They didn't want to admit it, but the same thought had been gnawing at them since the moment they laid eyes on this corrupted ground.
These lands didn't fit, it was as though some outside force had stitched them onto the world like a parasite feeding on flesh.
"Shut your mouth, 092. Maintain discipline!"
