He patted the side of the wyrm's head. The animal did not react: it was a stone fallen from the sky, still smoldering.

Being alone is easier than having a family. When you have a family, you are responsible to each other. It’s easier to navigate the world without that burden.

If souls existed, they resided in flesh.

Men and women who had worn suits for decades traded punches powerful enough to crush elephant skulls, dodged and deflected attacks too fast for the eye to follow, and died suddenly, often before the crowd registered the killing blow.Victors and dead men were separated by a blink of the eye.