Under the setting sun, in the Great Desert filled with lone smoke, a broad road built from condensed stones stretches straight ahead until the end of one's sight.
The orange-red afterglow permeates the endless desolation, and the warm breeze before sunset brushes across the yellow sands, bringing rolling heat waves that cover the fading sounds of killing on the ground.
Countless strange vultures flap their wings and spiral in the sky, constantly emitting excited and piercing cries, swarming like locusts against the setting sun.
Listening to the increasingly closer screams outside the carriage, the young man in brocade robes sitting tranquilly on a cushion sips tea and slowly opens his eyes.
"Sizzle…"
With a gentle motion, he pulls back the carriage curtain, and the outside scenery suddenly fills his view.
A massive train of cargo carts arranged end to end some dozen yards away forms a makeshift city wall meant to fend off external enemies.
But now it has been breached.