'This is paradise…' he thought.
Sitting comfortably in his warm, peaceful home, sipping the finest wine he owned, far removed from the suffocating politics and useless conflicts among the empire's insufferable nobles.
After nearly eight grueling days of travel by carriage and teleportation through a portal nestled between the Abyss and the snowy mountains encircling Winterbraun, Etien was finally home. Settled into his plush sofa, with a steaming cup of rich hot chocolate in hand, for the first time in four years, he felt truly alive.
"Would the world fall apart if I took a moment to relax like this?" he murmured to himself.
The fire crackled in the hearth, casting a soft, golden glow across the room, its warmth soothing in contrast to the raging blizzard beyond the windows, a sight he could only witness here. The capital, in comparison, felt barren, devoid of the beauty he cherished.
