The world on this side of the portal reeked of blood and sweat—yet just beyond that rippling threshold, hope beckoned with a strange, electric promise. Rael lingered, heart pounding, as the last of the beggars vanished into the light.
He looked at the man whose mere touch had sent waves of warmth flooding through more than a hundred bodies, knitting flesh and bone. The air still shimmered faintly with the scent of blood and sweat, but beneath it lingered the crisp tang of something new—hope. Surely, this man was powerful beyond reason.
Besides, the people around him all looked quite powerful—but for him to act as their leader and go as far as to save them, which meant opposing the King of the Kingdom of Sphamain in their very capital city—
He does not fear the king at all.
It gave him hope even more now.
That horrifying scene replayed in his mind with every shallow breath, the iron stench of blood and the desperate screams of that night echoing behind his eyes.
