The golden afternoon sun hung heavy in the sky, casting a warm, amber glow over the backyard that should have felt tranquil. Fuyu breathed in the scent of dry earth and wild grass, attempting to anchor his mind.
He was in the middle of a delicate mental exercise, tracing the pathways of the twenty-two opened veins within his body, trying to harmonize the energy with the rhythm of the wind.
Vasana's voice was a quiet, guiding hum in the back of his mind, reminding him that the Human Shattering Realm required not just brute strength, but an absolute mastery of the self. He was doing this for them—for Nula, for Lara, for the women who had become the anchors of his mortal existence.
"Fuyu, help..."
