C225 WHAT LINGERS AFTER THE ENEMY LEAVES

The dawn did not arrive gently.

It broke over the village like a wound reopening—raw light flowing across scorched earth, broken fences, and the uncomfortable bodies of mortals who slept knowing they might not wake the same way they had before. Smoke from last night’s fires still clung to the air, thin and bitter, seeping into lungs and memories both.

Aria woke before the sun fully rose