Intro.
Amid the ruin, flames devoured the sky. The wind howled, and the smoke choked every breath. Screams had died out, leaving only the crackle of collapsing wood. Among the wreckage, her body lay motionless—covered in ash and blood, her eyes half-open, staring into nothingness, unable to move.
Then suddenly, everything stopped.
Heavy, steady footsteps approached. No panting, no hesitation. Just a silence that arrived before he did.
He stood before her. Laith, after all these years. His face had hardened into stone, his eyes dim and stripped of warmth. A scar ran down his left cheek, a faint mustache above lips that had forgotten how to smile. His skin pale, his features carved as though under rain and ash. He hadn’t changed—only everything childlike in him had vanished.
He knelt down slowly, without a word. He didn’t ask if she was okay. He showed no surprise. Just one brief glance—and then he lifted her in his arms, as if she were something that simply needed to be removed from the rubb