After organizing the few things that didn't originally belong to him, Soren slowly lifted his head and let his gaze wander around the interior of the tent one last time. The space was modest and at the same time luxurious with its every corner holding some memories he could no longer ignore.
Then, his eyes lingered on the bed as the place where he had spent countless nights awake while staring into the dark, replaying every decision that had led him to the North.
With regret settled heavily in his chest.
Whatever suffering he had endured, whatever humiliation and pain he had swallowed, he knew it all traced back to him.
No one really had forced him to stay.
No one had asked him to hope.
In the end, the fault was his alone, and there was no one else left to blame.
