[Riverside Village - Late Afternoon]
Kael turned away from Wei and walked toward the village gate.
Wei remained by the river, staring at the water.
Kael passed through the narrow streets. The celebration continued in the square ahead—drums beating, voices raised in prayer, the elder's proclamation echoing off the walls.
He reached the village center.
A man stood in the middle of the square.
Kael stopped.
The man was tall and lean. His skin was bone-white, like porcelain that had never seen sunlight. His hair matched—pure white, tied loosely at the back. He wore white robes that seemed to catch the fading light.
His eyes drew Kael's attention.
The irises were bright blue—vivid, saturated, perfectly circular. Like sapphires. Around them, the skin was raw red, exposed and stark, forming rings that stretched back toward his temples.
Blue and red. The colors clashed, violent and wrong.
