Caelir Vayne stood still as the world around him burned.
The distant clash of mana and miasma continued to shake the streets, and the heat from collapsing buildings distorted the air, yet none of it truly reached him.
His attention was fixed entirely on the girl standing before him.
Elowyn Strix.
For a brief moment, everything else faded into the background.
His thoughts, however, did not.
They surged uncontrollably and relentlessly.
Cael had once lived a life that resembled a drifting vessel on an endless ocean, guided not by purpose but by whatever currents pushed it forward.
There had been no destination, no urgency, and no real desire to seek one. Days passed in quiet repetition, and he allowed them to pass without resistance.
After his mother abandoned him, something inside him had slowly dulled.
Emotions became unnecessary.
Expectations faded. He adapted.
He learned to smile when others laughed, even if he did not understand the joke.
