It took the team several long hours to reach the city.
The sandstorm was merciless, and the path they traveled was lined with haunting reminders of the devastation. Though many of the human bodies had already been buried or swept under layers of desert sand, the remains of monsters were impossible to miss.
At one point, they passed a grotesque hill of carcasses stacked together deliberately, like someone had gathered them on purpose. Tave could only wonder, who had the strength, or the will, to do something like that?
Along the way, Elincia quietly confirmed what Tave had been aching to know: his sister, Lily, was safe.
That single truth was enough to keep him grounded, to stop him from taking flight and racing to the city ahead of the others.
