The Territory That Breathes

The plaza came into view — a sprawl of cracked pavement and shattered storefronts, stretching out beneath the dim morning sky.

The streetlights were dead.

The windows hollowed out.

Yet, somehow, the place felt... alive.

Jin walked at the front of the group, his footsteps crunching softly against broken glass. His fingers twitched by his side, brushing against his thigh, restless and empty. He didn't summon his new weapon. Not yet.

Seul walked beside him, her gaze sharp, head on a constant swivel. She didn't speak, but her eyes swept every rooftop, every alley, every darkened corner. Watching. Calculating.

Joon trailed behind them, hands in his pockets, lazily kicking a piece of rubble down the street.

"Feels dead," Joon muttered, voice breaking the silence like a gunshot.

Seul didn't look at him. "Yeah like no one has been here for a while."

Jin didn't say anything.

Because he agreed with both of them.