Kai didn't stop running.
The pain in his legs had long since turned to numbness. His muscles screamed, his breath came in ragged gasps, but he kept going.
He had to.
Had to run. Had to get away. Had to-
'If you ever get the sights of the Inquisition on you, head west until you find the ruined mansion. He will help you.'
A voice from long ago hummed in his mind. The traveler's voice.
Kai's lips parted, breathless.
He barely registered the moment he passed a low, crumbling stone wall.
His steps slowed.
His run turned to a trot. Then, a walk.
"It's been so long that I'd almost forgotten…" His voice was hoarse, his throat raw. "The ruined city Dad talked about…"
He lifted his gaze.
The world around him had changed.
The trees had thinned out, giving way to shattered stone paths and half-buried buildings. The skeletal remains of a city long forgotten.
Everything was dead.
