The forest did not return to normal.
Even after they moved away from the Dead Tree, even after minutes passed without anything strange happening, the air remained heavy.The light stayed muted and gray.And the wind seemed to have learned a new rhythm—slower, wary.
Borin was the first to break the silence.
"We need to get out of here. Now."
Draven threw both hands up.
— "FINALLY! A PLAN I CAN SUPPORT!"
Ren didn't respond.
He walked ahead, a little separated from the group, as if something were pulling him forward while something else held him back.The living roots recoiled subtly whenever he approached, which only made Lyra walk even closer—as if proximity alone could protect him.
"Ren," she called softly, "stay with us."
He stopped.
But before he could speak, his body stiffened.
Lyra noticed instantly.
"Ren?"
His eyes narrowed.
A shiver crawled up his spine.
"There's someone here."
Borin raised his axe on instinct.
Draven immediately dove behind a rock that barely covered anything.
"WHERE?! WHO?! WHAT?!"
Ren turned his gaze upward.
Not toward the shadows.Not toward the roots.Not toward the Dead Tree.
But toward the canopy.
Where the feeling came from.
Lyra raised her bow toward the same place.
"Is it the Shadow?" she asked.
Ren shook his head.
"No."
Whatever it was…was not cold.Not gray.Not empty.
It was presence.
A warm presence.Experienced.Cautious.
And hidden.
"It's not her," Ren repeated.
Borin scowled.
"Then who?"
Ren was silent for several seconds.
Then murmured:
"Cultivators."
Lyra's stomach sank.
Draven peeked from behind the rock, horrified.
"CULTIVATORS?! AS IN… REAL PEOPLE?!"
Ren nodded slowly.
"They're… watching."
"How many?" Borin asked, voice low.
Ren closed his eyes.
He felt the shift in the leaves, the weight on the air, the way the forest seemed to hold its breath.
"Three."He opened his eyes."Not too far. Not too close."
Lyra inhaled shakily.
"They're hiding?"
"No," Ren replied."They're… testing."
Silence fell.
Draven collapsed onto his rear.
"TESTING WHAT?!"
Ren turned toward the canopy.
And understood.
They had seen the Dead Tree.They had felt the forest tremble.They had sensed the spiritual rupture.
But they had not seen the Shadow.
They had seen him.
"They're trying to figure out who caused this," Ren said.
Borin stared at him.
"And they think it's you?"
Ren didn't answer.
The silence was enough.
Lyra grabbed his arm, firm and protective.
"We won't let anyone touch you."
But Ren didn't look away from the trees.
"They don't want to attack."
"HOW DO YOU KNOW?!" Draven screamed.
Ren stepped slightly closer to the tallest tree.
"Because they're… afraid."
The wind died.
The forest seemed to hold itself still.
Lyra drew closer.
"Ren… can you talk to them?"
He thought for a moment.
Then said:
"They don't want to talk."A pause."They want to watch."
Draven's voice cracked.
"WATCH WHAT?!"
Ren turned around.
Slowly.
And for the first time that day, the gray glint in his eyes did not come from the Shadow—but from something awakening inside him.
"What I'm going to do next."
Borin stepped back.
"And what are you going to do?"
Ren inhaled deeply.
And said:
"Nothing."
Lyra finally exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
Ren didn't strike a pose.Didn't lift his staff.Didn't summon energy.
He simply stood still.
And waited.
For a second, the forest was silent as stone.
Then—very quietly—the three presences shifted.
Like birds startled by a predator.
Swift.Light.Soundless.
And they vanished.
Ren's shoulders relaxed.
Lyra cupped his face.
"Are you okay?"
Ren blinked and returned fully to himself.
"I'm fine."
Draven ran up and hugged him like a lifeline.
"DON'T SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!"
Borin let out the breath he'd been holding.
"They saw something they shouldn't have."
Ren nodded.
"They did."
"WHAT exactly did they see?" Borin asked.
Ren looked toward the Dead Tree in the distance.
Toward the gray trace.Toward the silence.
And answered in a low voice:
"They saw the beginning."
Lyra frowned.
"Beginning of what?"
Ren looked at her.
And answered:
"The Path."
She touched his hand.
"Her path?"
Ren hesitated.
Then smiled—a real smile.
"No."He looked toward the horizon."My own."