A New Day

The crimson sun breached the horizon as Arthur stirred from his restless slumber, his eyes heavy from a night spent wrestling with his thoughts. The morning air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of decay that permeated this forsaken realm.

He sat up slowly, muscles aching from sleeping on the cold stone floor of the temple that had sheltered them through the night. The pain was welcome—physical discomfort distracted him, however briefly, from the hollow ache in his chest where grief had made its home.

Luke was gone. His parents too. Their faces haunted his dreams, their absence a weight he carried with every breath.

Yet something had shifted within him during the long, dark hours. Aziel's words from the previous evening had burrowed deep into his consciousness, taking root in fertile soil.

'Dying here won't do anything for them.'