Chapter 85: Ashes

As the carriage rolled through the battered landscape, the soft creak of wooden wheels was almost drowned out by the gentle rustling of leaves overhead. The forest around them was alive with the sounds of nature, yet the tension inside the carriage was palpable. Alex, dressed in his black and white samurai armor, stared out into the distance, the trees blurring together as his thoughts wandered. The armor, once pristine, now bore marks of battle and travel, a testament to the journey they had endured so far.