The cabin felt too small for the weight of what had just been said.Rain tapped against the wooden roof in an uneven, restless rhythm. Outside, the hunting horns sounded again — closer this time, carried on the cold wind from the direction of the border town. Ethan stood just inside the doorway, dagger still raised, the leather grip slick against his palm. His left shoulder throbbed with every heartbeat. Selene had not lowered her blade. Lirael’s staff remained lit with a low silver glow that cast long, shifting shadows across the rough walls.Elara looked up at them without flinching. Dried blood marked the corner of her mouth. The heavy iron cuffs around her wrists glowed faintly with suppression runes that pulsed in time with her breathing. Her eyes, though clearly exhausted, were sharp and clear. There was no pleading in them. Only a quiet, weary recognition.“Her energy is unstable but not fully corrupted,” the System said inside Ethan’s mind. “S

The black tide rose fast.Ethan barely had time to shout before the unnatural water surged under the stone arches, thick and cold as liquid shadow. It moved with purpose, climbing the stone as if it had hands. Selene grabbed his arm and yanked him hard toward higher ground along the bank. Elara moved with them without needing to be told. Lirael sent a sharp burst of silver light into the rising water, forcing it back for a few precious seconds and buying them the space they needed.Aric’s laughter echoed from the ridge above, calm and almost pleased.“Run if you like,” he called. “The river will find you eventually.”They scrambled up the muddy slope, boots slipping, hands scraping against wet stone, until they reached a narrow ledge half-hidden behind one of the larger arches. The space was tight — barely enough room for the four of them to press in without touching. The stone at their backs was cold and damp. Below, the black water continue

They moved upstream in silence for nearly an hour.The rain had finally stopped, but the air remained heavy and cold, thick with a mist that clung to skin and clothes like a second layer of damp. Ethan’s boots sank into the soft ground with every step. His ribs still ached where Aric’s tendril had struck. The deeper cold of the corruption had faded under the System’s remaining healing, yet a dull, stubborn pressure lingered beneath the skin, like a bruise that refused to finish healing. Every breath carried the wet smell of river mud and something older, something that did not belong in ordinary forest air.Selene walked close enough that their shoulders brushed from time to time. Neither of them mentioned the alcove beneath the arches. Neither of them needed to. The memory sat between them anyway — the heat of her mouth, the solid press of her body against his cold, soaked clothes, the brief moment when survival had not been the only thing in his chest. It ma

The new horns were closer than they sounded. Ethan forced himself to his feet. Every muscle in his body protested. His shoulder burned with a deep, steady fire. His ribs ached sharply with each breath, the earlier tendril strike still making itself known. The last surge of Deviation energy had left him feeling hollowed out, as if someone had scraped the inside of his bones clean and left only the ache behind. He swayed once before he caught his balance. Selene stayed beside him. Her own cut still bled freely down her arm in a thin dark line, but she had not yet bothered to bind it properly. When she glanced at him, the fierceness from the fight with the First Echo was still there, tempered now by something quieter and more careful. Elara remained on the ground, propped on one elbow, face pale and drawn. Lirael stood a short distance away, staff planted in the soft earth, listening to the horns with a tight, focused expression. “Three separate groups,” the System said. “One is Aric’

They left the clearing with a different weight in their steps.The golden warmth the fragment had left in Ethan’s chest had settled into something usable. Residual Seal Insight sat at the edge of his vision like a quiet tool rather than a desperate last resort. When he focused, thin fracture lines appeared across any lingering corruption — weak points he could actually strike.For the first time since waking in this body, he was not only reacting.“The skill will remain stable for several hours,” the System said. “Deviation reserves have recovered enough for limited offensive use. Recommendation: stop pure flight. Create a controlled engagement while the advantage lasts.”Selene glanced at him as they walked. “You’re quieter than usual.”“I’m thinking,” Ethan said. “We’ve been running since the tannery. It’s not working. They keep finding us because we’re always on the back foot.”Elara gave a short, tired laugh. “Welcome to the cycle. Most of