Kalem ran.
The streets of Jexi blurred past in streaks of firelight and shadow, the sound of his own ragged breaths drowned out by the furious roars behind him. The Devourer was close—too close. Its heavy paws cracked the stone beneath them, its molten body hissing as rain from the storm above struck its skin.
Kalem clutched the stolen bag to his chest, its weight slowing him down, but he wasn't about to let go. He had risked too much for it. The nobles of Jexi hoarded their riches while the rest of the city starved, and he had taken what he needed to survive. If the gods had a problem with that, they could strike him down themselves.
Instead, they sent monsters.
A deafening snarl cut through the night. Kalem turned a corner, his boots skidding on the wet stone, but the beast was faster. He barely had time to raise his arm before a massive, burning claw caught him across the ribs.
Pain exploded in his side as he was flung through the air, his body colliding with the crumbling remains of a broken wall. Stone shattered. He barely had time to groan before gravity took hold, and he tumbled backward—straight into an open sewage drain.
Cold, filthy water swallowed him whole.
Darkness. Silence. Then, the world faded.