Egypt

Previously

…An oasis, it was called, a place where water flowed pure and green things still thrived. But it was not unguarded. The scrolls spoke of a mythical beast, a creature of immense power, whose tears, shed not in sorrow but in profound empathy, held the very essence of renewal. Khepri’s heart, which had felt so heavy and leaden, began to beat with a fragile, unfamiliar rhythm. Hope. It was a dangerous thing, a flickering candle in the face of a gale, but it was also the only thing he had left. He reread the passage, his lips moving silently, the words “mythical beast” and “healing tears” echoing in the quiet library