The Partial Truth Revealed in Section 91

A crude Carriage rattled along a path through the Forest.

A muffled groan sounded, and a disheveled figure sat up inside the Carriage, clutching his forehead.

His head pounding, Francois fought down an indescribable nausea and forced his aching eyes to take in the patchy scene around him.

As his vision and mind cleared, the terrifying shadows rushing past became tall, straight Birch Trees, and the mounts making hoarse, monstrous cries became creaking wheels.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake."

At the sound of the voice, the other people in the carriage gave him strange looks.

"Where am I...?"

Whenever Francois tried to remember what had happened, a tearing pain shot through his skull.

"We're nearly at Breeze City," said a weathered-looking man. "After more than ten years away from home, I'm finally back..."

"What time is it...?"

"Just after dawn."

The treetops on either side of the road stood between shadow and the faint light of dawn.

Francois closed his eyes, letting tears moisten the dry eyeballs whose every movement made his head ache.

"What happened...?"

“That’s what we’d like to ask you,” the weathered man said. “You burst out of the Forest onto the road and passed out. If your clothes hadn’t looked expensive, we’d have left you there... We saved you, so how are you going to repay us—”

A horrific memory suddenly exploded through Francois's mind. Remembering something, he muttered incoherently, "Dead... They're all dead..."

The other passengers looked faintly pleased at his misfortune. The simplest pleasures often came from someone else's misery.

Francois abruptly stopped trembling. Blood seeped from his eyes like tears, his handsome face twisted with terror, and he raised his head to roar at them all: "I'm a Street Sweeper! Get back to Breeze City, now! The Rat Tide is invading the Northern