Not a mountain.
Not a cliff.
Buildings.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Some still standing.
Most leaning.
Others broken in half.
Ancient towers pierced the sky like cracked spears.
Massive bridges connected structures that had long since collapsed.
A giant circular tower leaned at an impossible angle.
Its upper half missing.
Farther away—
A colossal wall stretched across the horizon.
Half buried.
Covered by centuries of sand.
Kai stood frozen.
"..."
"...That's..."
Munnu quietly finished the sentence.
"Oheyo."
Nobody spoke for a long time.
Even the usually noisy outlaws had fallen silent.
The city...
Still felt alive.
Not because people lived there.
Because it refused to disappear.
Like history itself had rejected being forgotten.
---
They continued toward the ruins.
The closer they came—
The stranger everything looked.
Roads made from smooth black stone.
Glass that somehow hadn't shattered.
Street lamps standing perfectly upright despite centuries of neglect.
Large metal frames covered in faded magical circuits.
Kai couldn't stop looking around.
"...It's..."
Persia spoke.
"Different from anywhere else."
Kai nodded slowly.
"It feels..."
He searched for the right word.
"...Wrong."
Munnu smiled.
"Exactly."
---
The entrance to the city had once been magnificent.
Now—
Only half remained.