The Everette settlement was unlike any other.
Where most places shared their meager resources among the people, here the difference between rich and poor was carved into every wall, every street, every face.
On one side, crumbling huts leaned together like sick men trying to stay standing. On the other, mansions with strong walls stood proud, guarded by men in armor who did not even glance at the starving beggars on the ground.
It was not a settlement. It was a cage.
A cloaked figure walked silently through its main road, their steps steady and unhurried.
At their side trailed a man carrying a staff, dressed modestly in travel clothes, his face young but sharp.
His eyes lingered on the emaciated children who rummaged through piles of rotting trash for scraps.
He clenched his jaw and finally spoke, his voice low with anger.
"These people… look at them. Skin and bones. They've forgotten what it means to live. All they can do is survive. It's pitiful."
