Silence clung to the cottage long after the light returned.
The echo of the man's disappearance still vibrated faintly in the air, like ripples left in water after a stone sinks. Rafe stood motionless at the doorway, the fading warmth on his forehead the only proof that the encounter had even happened.
Mara held his arm tightly, fingers trembling but refusing to let go.
"Rafe," she whispered, "say something."
He didn't.
He couldn't.
The man's final words burned in the back of his mind.
Because someone loved you enough to rewrite fate.
Who?Why?How?
He didn't know. And not knowing felt heavier than any wound he had taken so far.
Selene finally approached, her staff dim but still in hand.
"Rafe," she said carefully, "look at me."
Rafe slowly turned toward her. His eyes were normal — no glow, no distortion — but something behind them was altered. A weight. A clarity. A fracture.
Mara moved in front of him, shielding him partly out of instinct.
"What did he do to him?" she demanded.
"Nothing harmful," Selene said. "He gave something up."
"Gave what?" Mara snapped.
Selene hesitated.
"His tether to this world."
Rafe's breath hitched.
"He wasn't a ghost," Selene continued. "He wasn't a person. He wasn't even a normal construct. He was… a discarded path. Something fate cut away."
Mara frowned deeply. "And he still cared about Rafe."
Selene looked down. "Remnants often cling to purpose."
Mara didn't like that answer. Rafe could tell.
He finally forced out words. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"He said everything that was supposed to hunt him… is coming for me instead."
Mara's grip tightened painfully.
"No," she said. "No one's hunting you. Not while I'm breathing."
Rafe managed a faint smile. "I don't think they'll ask your permission."
She glared. "Then I'll break their legs first."
Selene cleared her throat. "Legs won't stop what he meant."
Mara glared harder. "I wasn't being literal."
Selene smirked. "I know."
Lyn stirred then, her small body shifting under the blanket. The golden glow around her faded completely as her eyes blinked open.
"Rafe…?" she murmured.
Rafe knelt beside her, smoothing her hair gently.
"I'm here."
"What happened…?" she asked, voice fragile.
"You fell asleep," Mara lied quickly. "And had a weird dream."
Lyn blinked. "Why does it feel like the whole house is sad?"
Selene looked at the door.
"Because a piece of fate walked in… and then vanished."
Lyn frowned softly, not understanding.
Rafe touched her shoulder.
"It's okay. You're safe."
Lyn nodded, trusting him instantly.
Selene let out a long slow breath.
"We need to talk," she said. "All of us."
Rafe stood, his legs steadier now, though something inside him still shook.
"What now?"
"Now," Selene said, "we plan. What happened here changes everything."
Mara crossed her arms. "Explain."
Selene looked at each of them — at Mara's fierce determination, at Lyn's still-glowing mana, and finally at Rafe.
"When fate rewrites itself," she said slowly, "it creates disturbances. Echoes. Openings."
She tapped her staff once against the floor.
"And enemies."
Rafe swallowed.
"You said the world is correcting itself," he said. "What does that mean."
Selene didn't sugarcoat it.
"You will be tested," she said. "Over and over. Until fate decides you deserve to stay alive."
Mara's expression twisted with anger.
"He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone."
Selene met her gaze.
"He already did," she said quietly. "That's why he's alive."
Mara's breath caught.
Rafe's heart clenched.
Lyn looked between them, confused and worried.
"But we'll protect him," Lyn said softly, her voice trembling. "Me and Mara… and you, Miss Selene."
Selene blinked, surprised.
"…Yes. You are not facing this alone."
Rafe exhaled, tension leaving his shoulders just a bit. He didn't want to rely on anyone. Not in his past life, not in this one. But this time… he didn't have a choice.
Selene stepped closer.
"Rafe."
He met her eyes.
"You carry two shadows now," she said. "The one that vanished… and the one inside you."
Rafe felt something crawl at the base of his spine — not fear, not darkness, but possibility.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
Selene's voice was low.
"That your awakening… will shake more than just this forest."
Rafe's pulse quickened.
Mara stepped beside him.
"Then we'll be ready," she said. "All of us."
Lyn nodded, small but determined.
Selene smiled faintly.
"Good. Because training resumes tomorrow."
Mara groaned.
Rafe almost laughed.
Lyn blinked in confusion.
And outside the cottage, the forest rustled — as if watching them. Waiting.
Something had begun.
And nothing would stop it now.