Inside the realm, in the core zone.
It had been four days since Cael had escaped from the skeletons. Four days of walking across the endless crimson plain, his footsteps the only sound in the vast, oppressive silence.
The red sand stretched endlessly before him, featureless and empty, as if the land itself had been drained of all life. The only company he had was the wind, and a dry, hollow whisper that seemed to carry echoes of something long forgotten.
Fortunately, he had not encountered any monsters. No skeletons rose from the sand. No serpents emerged from the blood rivers. The land was empty, silent, as if all the creatures in the realm were holding their breath.
Cael walked mindlessly, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. His mind, however, was far from idle.
