The sun reached the clearing for the first time in days, slipping between the tall leaves and painting the ground in golden patches. Light touched the cabin and illuminated Ren and Lyra still sitting on the floor. He slept with his head resting on her lap, breathing steadily, while she remained awake, keeping her hand on his chest as if guarding that heartbeat was the only thing that mattered.
When Ren finally opened his eyes, he saw the sunlight first, then her face. Lyra blinked slowly, exhausted, but she still smiled.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked softly, careful not to disturb the quiet around them.
Ren nodded, feeling a tightness in his throat."Better than I expected."
He rose slowly, and Lyra moved with him. A comfortable silence hung between them until Draven appeared at the cabin door, hair messy, eyes wide.
"Ren!" he shouted, running to him. "Dude, you're… you're better, right?"
Ren smiled weakly."I am, Draven. Thank you."
The boy exhaled so sharply it was almost comical. For a moment, he looked more like a child than a fighter."You scared us last night."
Borin approached next, wiping his axe with a cloth."If it were an enemy, I'd know how to hit it," he grumbled. "But this kind of thing… can't smash it."
His attempt at humor came out rough, but it was his way of showing concern.
Ren looked at the three of them. His chest tightened.They were all here because of him. Their fear had been for him.And that weighed more heavily than any root of the Cycle.
"I'm sorry I made you worry," he said.
Lyra frowned immediately."Ren, don't talk as if it's your fault."
Draven shook his head vigorously."Yeah! If anything tries messing with you again, we'll break it!"
Borin crossed his arms."Or blow it up. Or burn it. Or cut it. Your choice."
Draven gave a proud grin.Lyra rolled her eyes.Ren laughed for the first time since his encounter with the Cycle.
Something shifted inside them.
The Guild wasn't healed—not yet, not entirely—but the weight pressing down on Ren wasn't so suffocating anymore.
They all stepped outside into the clearing. The morning air was crisp and cool, refreshing. The White Spirit Flower looked livelier too, as if it had recovered somehow.
Ren sat beside the flower.Lyra stood near him, always attentive.Draven kicked small stones, testing little flickers of flame in his hands.Borin watched the group like an old guardian.
"We need to train later," Ren said quietly. "Yesterday… we were out of sync."
"Sure," Borin answered. "But now's not the time for physical practice. Now's the time to breathe."
Ren opened his mouth to argue, but Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder.
"He's right."She knelt in front of him."You haven't slept properly in days. And we're all shaken. There's no synergy without balance."
Ren closed his eyes briefly.Yes, he knew that.He could feel it.
"I just…""…don't want to be a burden," she finished softly.
Ren looked up.Lyra was seeing straight through him.
"You've never been a burden to anyone here," she said. "Never."She hesitated, then added quietly:"Not to me."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward.It was warm.Full of something that neither of them dared to name yet.
Draven, noticing too much without understanding, looked away with a small grin.Borin pretended not to notice—badly.
Ren felt his face warm.
But for the first time in a long while, he felt calm.
This was how the Cycle tried to break him: by isolating him, fracturing him, pushing him away from those who cared.
And this was how he fought back: with bonds the Cycle couldn't comprehend.
Ren stood, took a deep breath, and looked at all three of them.
"Thank you," he said, honest and gentle. "For being here."
Draven raised a fist."Always!"Borin nodded with a grunt.Lyra simply smiled—the kind of smile that felt like wind passing through warm leaves.
The day went on quietly.
They gathered water, reinforced parts of the cabin, divided chores.None of them spoke much about the night before.None of them needed to.
Later in the afternoon, Ren felt something strange.
The staff in his hand pulsed—softly, almost shyly.As if responding to his emotional state.As if recognizing that something in him had settled.
He closed his eyes.
The Cycle was still there—watching, waiting.
But the Guild stood firm.
And that was enough for now.
When night fell again, Ren didn't walk into the forest.He didn't isolate himself.He didn't let the shadows swallow him.
He sat beside Lyra, Draven, and Borin, listening to their small stories, their laughter, their teasing.
It was the first time he was truly present.
And maybe that was what the Cycle feared most.