Mornings in Lamping Village always began with a thin, ethereal mist that clung to the Manaferum wheat fields like a silken veil. The calls of the golden-feathered Gallus-Aureum began to echo, their silver-bell-like crowing slicing through the heavy silence, signaling that the cycle of agrarian life must resume. However, for Eren, this morning brought no freshness, no sense of renewal. His heart felt heavy, scorched by a fire he had ignited within his own mind.
Eren stood before the cracked mirror in his small, cluttered hut, adjusting his worn leather vest with trembling fingers. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen from a lack of sleep, plagued by recurring visions of Lyrielle laughing as she spoke with Dayat in the village square the day before. Every smile she gave that stranger felt like a dagger to Eren's pride.
