"Hm? You're back so fast?"
The old burning man lifted his brows slowly, the faint creases on his forehead deepening as two figures tore through the smoky sky above the village. Ash drifted lazily in the air, disturbed by their descent as they headed straight for his cathedral.
The matter they carried back with them was not light. It pressed on the air itself, heavy and suffocating. It concerned Zeke's future, a path that would scar him deeply, perhaps irreversibly.
It was reckless. It was cruel.
But there had never been another option.
They landed before the cathedral steps, boots grinding against scorched stone. The doors loomed behind Raven and Leon, tall and warped from years of heat that never truly faded.
The village remained silent.
No wind. No distant chatter. Only the faint crackle of embers that never fully died.
Enzo paused before stepping forward. For a moment he looked back at Zeke, a bitter smile pulling faintly at his lips, as if apologizing without words.
