The settlement was bustling with activity from early on. Voices mixed with the sound of tools striking wood and pots bubbling over the campfires.
For Eun-woo, all of it was overwhelming. Every conversation he overheard seemed to carry a hidden code he couldn't understand. Greetings, jokes, and everyday remarks crossed the air like pieces of a puzzle he had never been allowed to access.
He walked beside Rhys, trying not to bump into the people who moved with such certainty among one another. He kept his arms close to his body and his face lowered, his eyes fixed on his own steps.
Inside his shirt, close to his collar, Nebu stayed hidden. The creature had shrunk to the size of a mouse. Its tiny tentacles clung to the fabric and, every now and then, it nestled against Eun-woo's skin, sending a faint tickle through him. Nebu's presence was the only thing that gave him a sliver of calm amid the confusion.
