Familiar.
---
Elsewhere—
Persia quietly worked alone.
The giant radio on his back lay disassembled.
Wires stretched across the table.
Metal cylinders.
Explosive powder.
Small magical crystals.
One Outlaw approached.
"What're you making?"
Persia didn't look up.
"Maintenance."
"Looks complicated."
"It isn't."
The Outlaw scratched his head.
"...If you say so."
Once he left—
Persia reached into his bag.
Pulling out...
A tiny black crystal.
Unlike the others.
He quietly embedded it inside the radio.
Then smiled.
"...Almost."
---
As evening approached—
The marketplace became livelier.
Music echoed through the streets.
Cooking fires were lit.
People gathered around shared meals.
Kai found himself eating alongside the Outlaws.
One handed him grilled lizard.
"It tastes better than it looks."
Kai took a bite.
"...It actually does."
"Told you."
Another Outlaw laughed.
"See?"
"The desert grows on people."
Kai looked around.
They laughed.
Argued.
Teased one another.
Shared food without hesitation.
It reminded him...
Just a little...
Of Asphyxia.
And for a brief moment—
He forgot these people were technically criminals.