lumped against a crumbling brick wall, the world around me wet and cold. The rain hadn't stopped s

My body had been reset, unrecognizable to my past self. Whatever life I had once known - everything from my age to

n. Massive towers of grey stone jutted into the sky, some so tall they were lost in the mist above. Light flickered along the roads from streetlamps t

sl

ace. But no. Here, in the forgotten corners of the world, I was nothing more than a castaway. The city

ruit that no one seemed to want. I could hear the faint rumble of distant conversations, shouts, and the sound of iron hitting iron - the clashing of blacksmiths in the forge. The deeper into

his world, unseen

heard a

new, are

at me from beside a fire. Her face was wrinkled, weathered by time and hardship,

smell rich and earthy, though cle

eat," s

from her, sipping the broth. It was warm, and for the first

ng me carefully. "Happens every few years. You've

ned. "

ke up here. Sometimes they die fast. Sometimes they make it." She shrugged, her voice dipping into the l

sion flooding me again

ple like you and me. You can't even look at the towers without getting a headache." She

ld around me flickered. My vision wavered briefly, like a sc

so

chest, reverberating like the

. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "

ld feel something stirring in the back of

n't just hungry anymore

you mean?

're watching you. Don't think for a second that it's just because you

ld feel her warning settle like a stone in my stomac

ings," she continued. "Yo

fore I could, a loud, sharp

glaring at me. His posture was aggressive, but his eyes were cal

licker of recognition, or maybe sympathy. She lifted her hands, feigning innocence. "Yo

his spear held firmly in his h

l and raw. My fingers tingled. There was a crackle, then a sharp, electric blue flash from my hand - a bol

last glance at the woman - who seemed to