don't buy

d. The sound of the raindrops on the rooftops was rhythmic and hollow, like a mourning song. Ren's eyes lingered on the abandoned carts and scattered tools left in the open, as if the town's people had dropped everything in a desperate rush. Somewhere, a lone wooden sign creaked in the wind, its faded letters unreadable now.

A broken statue stood at the town square, half-buried in sters had claimed what humanity had left behind, but the real monster, he thought bitterly, was the empire's indifference.

Abruptly, Luna stopped, her nose twitching in the air. She turned around, sniffing more, before she began barking. Loudly. As if trying to scare someone to come out. Ren halted, and wondered what she had seen. But as he crossed the distance between them, the whistle of the wind shot through his ears.