Scarlet Peak City slowly came into view like a blooming wound on the horizon.
From the chariot's front viewing pane, the distant mountain rose from the plains in a jagged spear of crimson rock, its sides streaked with molten lines that glowed faintly even under the afternoon sun. At its base, sheltered within its shadow and wrapped around its slopes, a sprawling city of red-tiled roofs and black stone walls clung to the mountain like a living organism.
The air itself seemed different here: warmer, thicker, laced with faint embers of Fire Qi. As the chariot descended from higher skies, the smell of ash, metal, and distant burning incense reached them like a whisper.
"So that's Scarlet Peak City…" Raena murmured, her blood-red eyes glinting with interest as she leaned forward, her elbow resting lazily on one knee. "Not bad for a little corner of the Lower Realm. At least they know how to make an entrance."
