[center][h2][b]. . . ╰──╮Kaiji Serelith╭──╯ . . .[/b][/h2]
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Location: Dogfall                                                       Interactions: None yet [/center]
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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250620/911b453c42ce7d8076cb09fc01088279.png[/img]
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[i][b]BANG. BANG. BANG.[/b][/i]

The harsh thudding echoed up the walls, a desperate rhythm—fast, erratic, panicked. A figure slammed both fists against the iron-bound doors.

[color=#1e9c0b]“Please!”[/color] came the cry. [color=#1e9c0b]“Please, help me—let me in!”[/color]

Torches flared above, casting their light down on the man below.

He stood hunched, gasping for breath, one hand pressed to his side where crimson stained the white of his torn undershirt. His cloak—tattered and muddied—hung in ribbons off his narrow shoulders, and the once-fine traveling garb he wore was ruined with dirt, ash, and what looked like dried blood. Long black hair clung wet to his face, his skin pale and slick with sweat. Scratches marred his arms and neck, thin but numerous, as if he'd barreled through brambles or clawed his way from a collapsed structure.

When he looked up at the wall, the torchlight caught his eyes—wide and silver-grey, shimmering like glass caught in moonlight.

[color=#1e9c0b]“They’re coming!”][/color] he shouted, voice hoarse, shaking. [color=#1e9c0b]“I was with a caravan—we tried to outrun the wave—please, I don’t want to die out here!”[/color] He staggered forward a step before crumpling to his knees, hands trembling.

For a moment, silence. Then murmurs on the wall.

[color=#b6b8a5]“Could be a trap…”[/color]

[color=#888a72]“Grim wouldn’t beg, would they?”[/color]

[color=#b6b8a5]“Look at him. He’s barely standing.”[/color]

[color=#888a72]“Light have mercy… open it, just a crack!”[/color]

Chains clanked. Mechanisms groaned. The gate began to shift.

And Kaiji, still kneeling in the dust with dirt under his nails and blood on his breath, allowed himself the faintest smile—too quick to be caught, too quiet to be real.

Just a crack was all he needed.