The fire crackled, a cheerful, ordinary sound against the unnatural quiet of the camp. Eric stood at its center, the heat washing over him. He felt… settled. The desperate, clawing void in his gut was filled, replaced by a heavy, potent warmth. Fifty-nine units of mana. He'd never held so much. It felt like a coiled spring in his core, a reservoir of stolen life.
He took another mechanical bite of the jerky. It tasted like ash and salt, but he finished it. A human action. He needed to remember those.
