Alaric walked with a calm pace, despite the small body of Zanuba lying in his arms. His usually cheerful face now appeared serious, with a slight shadow of darkness clouding his thoughts. As his footsteps touched the cracked earth of the abandoned city, he paused for a moment, surveying his surroundings. "Are there still remnants of the demon king's army?" he muttered softly, even though no one was there to listen. Only the wind answered, softly blowing through the ruins of the city.
Moments later, Zanuba began to stir in Alaric's arms. "Hmm... what happened?" she mumbled, her voice weak and raspy. She slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the gray sky above, then at Alaric's face, which was wrapped in an unusual calm.
"Alaric?" Zanuba tried to sit up, and Alaric gently lowered her to the ground. Her legs were a bit shaky, but Zanuba stood, sensing that something unusual had happened.
