The Sovereign looked at him, then at the boy's bleeding hands, and finally at the broken door covered in countless sword marks.
Behind the Sovereign, the guards gasped.
"He broke the door?"
"But how—?"
Their voices died the moment the Sovereign slightly turned his head toward them.
Silence fell.
After a moment, the Sovereign focused on the child again.
Though years had passed, the boy now looked like he was in his late teens.
Still, he trembled under the man's gaze.
"Were you trying to escape?"
The boy didn't respond.
He stood there, eyes lowered.
The Sovereign took a step forward.
The boy flinched.
Another step, and then another.
With each movement, the boy seemed to shrink into himself.
When the man placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, everything changed.
They were no longer in the dark corridor.
The surroundings had shifted to a dirt road lined with poorly built mud houses.
Nearby, a crowded building buzzed with noise.
The boy glanced at the Sovereign.
