The red sun was sinking beyond the endless horizon. To the nomads who moved their tribal grounds every few years, these vast plains were a familiar yet harsh embrace that required constant vigilance. No matter where one looked, only low-lying blades of grass and the mysterious forest that circled the continent in a dark blue boundary were visible. ​ In the silence filled only by the heavy breathing of horses and the sound of a quiet wind, Hark Jahan sat motionless atop his horse, staring at the edge of the forest.

'Found you.'

Hark kicked the horse's flanks without hesitation. At his signal, the fine steed lunged forward like an arrow.

After the pursuit, the back of a fugitive gasping for breath came into view. A strange appearance that clearly marked them as a stranger. While Akan circled fiercely overhead to distract the fugitive's vision, Hark leaped lightly from his horse and closed the distance in an instant.

His massive frame cast a deep shadow over the fugitive. In the overwhelming pressure that seemed to freeze the air, Hark drew his heavy sword and stopped it right before the intruder's neck. Yellow eyes glinted with a chilling lethality. A low, calm voice, stripped of emotion, broke the silence of the plains.

Identify yourself, stranger.