The north road looked peaceful from a distance.
Warm sunlight.
Soft grass.
A slow river cutting through the valley like a silver thread.
Up close, the calm felt false.
Zyren walked in silence, his steps steady on the dirt path. Selene stayed beside him with her bow lowered but ready, her eyes sweeping the fields like a hunter searching for a shadow.
The world felt heavier since the hall.
The air pressed against the skin.
The ground seemed to listen.
Even the wind moved with caution.
Selene broke the silence first.
"You walked straight into a divine beast," she said quietly. "No fear. No hesitation. Why"
Zyren kept his gaze forward.
"It wanted to see who I was."
"That is not an answer," she whispered.
Zyren breathed calmly.
"I knew it would not attack unless I showed fear."
Selene stopped walking for a moment and studied him. Her silver eyes sharpened.
"You say that like fear is optional."
Zyren glanced at her.
"Fear is not optional. Running is."
Selene stepped closer. The sunlight touched her hair and made it shimmer faintly.
"It is not normal to walk toward danger like that," she said softly. "It is not brave. It is something else."
Zyren said nothing.
The road descended toward a wooden bridge. The river below rippled with cold water that glittered in the light. A few birds perched on nearby stones, watching quietly as the two approached.
Selene rested her elbow against the bridge railing and gazed at the water. The surface shimmered with soft distortions.
"I had a dream the night before the launch," she said. "A voice calling from far away. Not loud. Just enough to pull me in. The moment the sky cracked yesterday, the dream returned."
Zyren lifted his eyes slightly.
"And you think that dream is connected to us."
"No," she whispered. "To you."
Her reflection in the water trembled. The river felt colder than the air. Zyren watched the surface ripple. A faint shadow moved under the water for a heartbeat before fading.
Selene straightened and turned to him.
"I am here because I want answers. But something is changing around you. The world reacts when you walk."
Zyren rested a hand lightly on the railing.
"I noticed."
Selene looked at him for a long moment.
"You are calm about all this," she said. "Too calm."
Zyren turned away from the water and continued walking.
"You get used to silence," he said. "Even when it is dangerous."
Selene followed, her steps quieter now, her breath slower.
"You do not talk about your past," she said. "You hide it behind calm words."
"There is nothing to talk about."
Selene stopped him by touching his forearm gently.
"That is a lie," she said.
Zyren looked at her hand.
She removed it slowly.
The wind dropped.
The grass stilled.
Birds fled the valley in a sudden burst of wings.
Selene's hand immediately went to her bow.
"You feel that," she whispered.
Zyren nodded.
The cold pulse returned inside his chest.
Sharp.
Certain.
A warning.
Something approached.
The voice came next.
Soft.
Barely a whisper carried on the wind.
Zyren.
Selene's eyes widened.
"That voice is not human," she said.
Zyren listened.
The voice repeated his name again.
Clearer this time.
Close.
Selene moved in front of him, bow raised.
"Do not answer it," she whispered. "Do not even think about answering it."
Zyren did not move.
The voice drifted down the hill ahead.
Zyren.
Selene's grip tightened.
"It knows your name," she said. "That is never a good sign."
Zyren stepped past her.
"It is calling me, not us."
Selene grabbed his wrist sharply.
"That is exactly why you do not walk toward it."
Zyren's eyes stayed on the hill.
"It is already here."
Selene turned toward the hill as the shape appeared.
A figure stepped from the grass.
Tall.
Thin.
Wrapped in black mist that curled around its limbs like a hungry shadow.
Its body flickered, as if it was not fully here.
Its face was hidden except for two faint silver eyes that glowed through the haze.
Selene immediately drew the arrow to her cheek.
"That is not a player," she whispered. "That is not an NPC."
Zyren took a slow breath.
"No."
The figure descended the hill without sound. Every step bent the grass without touching it. Mist drifted around its feet like smoke sinking into the earth.
Selene whispered sharply.
"Zyren. Back away."
Zyren stayed still.
The figure stopped five paces away and raised its head. The silver eyes locked onto Zyren with frightening focus.
Then it spoke.
Bearer.
The word scraped across the air like metal dragged against stone.
Selene flinched.
"Zyren," she said quietly. "Why did it call you that"
Zyren did not answer.
The figure raised a hand.
The mist around it swirled.
The wind shifted again.
Selene aimed directly at its heart.
"If you move, I shoot."
The figure did not look at her.
Not even a glance.
It was as if she did not exist.
Its gaze stayed locked on Zyren.
You walk north.
Good.
The path waits for you.
The gate breathes again.
Selene whispered urgently.
"What gate"
Zyren kept watching the figure.
"Why are you here"
The mist thickened.
To warn you.
The Divine Court stirs.
The hunters move.
Your silence fractures their sky.
Zyren felt a cold weight tighten in his chest.
Selene whispered.
"Hunters. What hunters"
The figure tilted its head slowly.
The ones who erase what does not belong.
A shard of mist broke off and drifted toward Zyren. Selene stepped in front of him instantly.
"Stop," she warned. "Do not get closer."
The figure did not raise a hand.
The mist simply halted in the air.
The figure spoke again.
Follow the river.
Find the stone with the carved eye.
The truth sleeps beneath it.
Wake it.
Or be swallowed by the hunters.
Zyren frowned slightly.
"How many hunters"
The figure's silver eyes glowed brighter.
Enough to end you.
Selene inhaled sharply.
"Zyren. We need to get away from here."
The figure's body thinned, dissolving into rising mist.
Before fading, it whispered one last message.
They smell your breath now.
Run or rise.
The mist spiraled upward like smoke.
Then vanished.
Silence returned to the valley.
Raw.
Heavy.
Too clean.
Selene lowered her bow slowly, her arms trembling.
"That thing spoke like a priest," she whispered. "But it felt wrong. Like something wearing a human voice."
Zyren stepped forward.
"It was not speaking to you."
Selene snapped her gaze toward him.
"I know it was not speaking to me. That is why I am afraid."
Zyren looked toward the river.
The water flowed calmly, unaware of the danger above it.
Selene took a step closer, lowering her voice.
"Zyren. Listen to me. Whatever that thing was, it came for you. Not us. Not the players. You."
Zyren turned to her.
"And you still want to walk with me."
Selene's expression hardened into something fierce.
"I did not say I was leaving."
"Why"
Selene stepped into his space.
Close enough for her breath to touch his neck.
"Because someone like you should not be alone," she whispered. "Not when the world is hunting you."
Zyren's eyes lowered slightly.
"And if it gets worse"
"It already is," she whispered. "And I am still here."
The air between them tightened.
Heat and fear mixed.
Not romantic.
Not innocent.
Something sharp.
Something born from danger.
Zyren finally turned away from her and started walking along the river.
Selene fell into step beside him, her voice calmer but still tense.
"What now"
Zyren looked ahead.
"We find the stone."
"And after that"
"We survive."
Selene nodded once.
"Then I stay with you until we do."
The river curved gently toward the northern forest.
The wind whispered across the valley.
Far above, in the Divine Court, a hunter opened its eyes and smiled.