Night settled thick and heavy over the abandoned woodland ridge. Beneath the gnarled roots of a fallen titan-tree, Althea sat catching her breath, a faint glowing bubble of energy trembling in her palms.

  It flickered.

  Cracked slightly at one edge.

  But held.

  Keal crouched beside it, studying it carefully.

  “Better,” he said. “Still shaky… but better.”

  Althea groaned. “It feels like trying to hold water in a paper cup.”

  Lyssa smirked softly. “Except the water explodes.”

  “Comforting,” Althea muttered.

  Their little camp was quiet — too quiet. No wind. No insects. No night creatures. Just silence that settled like a blanket over the trees.

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  Keal’s posture shifted suddenly.

  “Wait.”

  Lyssa froze.

  “You feel it too?”

  Althea stiffened. “Is it the scout?”

  Keal shook his head slowly.

  “No. Something else. It’s not hunting us.”

  Lyssa’s hand brushed her dagger. “But it’s watching.”

  That didn’t make Althea feel better.

  Then — from between the trees — a faint ripple of pale light drifted out. Like a floating shard of moonlight. Gentle… but intentional.

  Althea’s breath hitched.

  “It’s… beautiful.”

  Keal stepped forward carefully. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  Lyssa narrowed her eyes. “It’s not magic from Roland. Or Galaxia. Or anywhere I know.”

  The light hovered a few meters away, pulsing softly. Not threatening. Not welcoming. Just… observing.

  “Do you think someone sent it?” Althea asked.

  Keal’s face was unreadable.

  “I don’t know. But whatever it is… it’s studying us.”

  Lyssa shivered. “Things that study us are never good.”

  The light pulsed one final time — almost like a sigh — and then slipped silently into the canopy, disappearing without a single rustle.

  The forest returned to sound instantly: leaves, crickets, wind.

  Althea hugged her knees.

  “What was that?”

  Keal answered quietly. “Something we’re not meant to understand.”

  Lyssa nodded. “And something that definitely wasn’t from this threshold.”

  Before anyone could say more—

  CRACK.

  A metallic rip tore through the eastern ridge — the unmistakable sound of the corrupted scout shifting through phases.

  Althea’s magic sparked wildly at her fingertips.

  Lyssa hissed, “It found us!”

  Keal grabbed Althea’s arm. “We run. Now!”

  As they sprinted into the trees, Althea glanced back once.

  The watcher was gone.

  But the feeling of being observed lingered like a cold hand on her spine.

  Far above the thresholds — in a place she did not know existed — eight unseen figures had just taken note of her.

  And none of them agreed on what she should become.