Kain stood at the center of what remained of the southern square, hands clasped behind his back, doing his best not to look nervous.
Which was difficult, considering several hundred people were watching him out of curiosity.
They stood in loose clusters amid cracked stone and half-collapsed buildings—men and women wrapped in worn armor, patched clothing, or whatever they'd managed to grab when the alarms first sounded hours ago. Some leaned on spears or battered shields. Others had bandaged limbs or hollow eyes that spoke of exhaustion far deeper than muscle fatigue.
What remained of the beast tamers.
But most, by far, were ordinary people.
Unawakened.
The very people the world had already decided were disposable.
And now, all of them were staring at him like he was either their last hope… or completely insane.
