Chapter 76
Kael did not remember deciding to run. One moment he had been standing still, the weight of everything pressing down on him, and the next his body was already moving, carrying him forward without direction. It felt less like a choice and more like something inside him refusing to let him stay where he was. The farther he went, the harder it became to breathe, as if the air itself had turned against him.
He slowed only when his legs began to give out. His steps lost rhythm, uneven and heavy, until he finally came to a stop in a place he did not recognize. The ground beneath him was dark and broken, scattered with stone and dry earth, surrounded by trees that stood too still. Even the wind seemed to avoid this place, leaving everything quiet in a way that did not feel natural.
