Aziel and Arthur both rose from their deep sleeps and greeted the horizon over a new view with a smile. The pale orange glow of dawn painted the desolate landscape in hues of amber and gold, transforming the barren expanse into something almost beautiful. The cracked stone beneath them had served as their bed for the night, leaving imprints on their skin and a dull ache in their bones, but there was something refreshing about waking up beyond the field of roses—something hopeful.
They didn't speak at first, instead just enjoying the view and the fact that they were one step closer to making it back home. The morning air was cool against their skin, a welcome respite from what would undoubtedly become scorching heat as the day progressed. In the distance, heat waves already began to shimmer above the fractured ground, distorting the horizon into undulating patterns.
