The glow from the Sentinel faded completely. Its wooden frame tightened and settled back into a still posture, like a statue waiting for orders it had already carried out. Ravel held the sphere close to his chest. It felt different now. The warmth was no longer a faint pulse. It was steady and alive, as if something inside the sphere had woken and was stretching for the first time in ages.
Seris stepped forward and moved around the Sentinel with careful steps. She inspected its stance, then the spot where the sphere had floated.
"It is dormant again," she said. "Whatever it did cost it strength."
Ravel looked up at the towering creature. The green glow in the slit of its head had dimmed to a faint ember.
"Will it wake again?" he asked.
"Not soon. Sentinels sleep for seasons after calling forth a memory."
The forest around them seemed to hold its breath. The mist thinned a little, revealing more of the path ahead. Ravel glanced at the trees. Their branches leaned inward, as if listening.
"What exactly happened?" he asked. "It said something had returned."
Seris nodded. "The first signal."She touched the trunk of a nearby tree and closed her eyes. "I read about it when I was younger. Old legends say the first signal was a call across worlds. A voice meant to bind something powerful."
Ravel grimaced. "That sounds like something I do not want to be involved in."
"Too late for that," Seris said. "The sphere recognized you before the Sentinel did."
Ravel stared at the sphere. Its surface reflected the trees, bending their shapes in the red glow. "Why me? I did not even exist when the sphere was made."
Seris stepped closer. "Artifacts like this do not choose based on age. They choose based on resonance. You touched it. It responded. That is enough."
Ravel sighed. "What if it wants something from me?"
"It will. All old things want something."
"That is reassuring."
Seris shrugged. "Better to know it than pretend otherwise."
They stood there for a moment. The quiet stretched, broken only by the soft drip of water from tree roots.
Ravel finally spoke. "So where do we go now?"
Seris pointed deeper into the woods. "The path ahead leads to the ridge. From there we can reach the inner vale. If the sphere is awake, it will guide us."
"Guide us to what?"
"To whatever memory it carries."
Ravel groaned. "I do not like the sound of that."
"You will like it even less when you see what the sphere wants you to face," Seris said. She brushed past him. "Come on. The forest will not stay calm after a Sentinel's awakening."
They walked.
The trail narrowed. The mist thinned further, though the air grew thicker with the scent of damp earth. The trees here stood closer together. Some had roots that rose waist-high, twisting into shapes like the ribs of giant beasts. Ravel stepped carefully to avoid tripping.
Something tugged faintly at his thoughts. A voice. Not spoken in air but woven through the faint pulses of the sphere.
He heard it again.
Soft.
You have returned.
Ravel stumbled.
Seris turned quickly. "What happened?"
"I heard something," he said. "A voice. Not out loud. It was inside my head."
Seris narrowed her eyes. "Does it feel like the sphere is speaking to you?"
"Yes," Ravel said. "Is that normal?"
"No," Seris answered. "Which means it is exactly the kind of thing that happens around artifacts this old."
Ravel shook his head. "What am I supposed to do with that?"
"Listen," Seris said. "But do not obey."
The instruction made Ravel uneasy. "Why not?"
"Because you do not know who the voice belongs to yet. Memory and identity are not always the same."
Ravel frowned. "That sounds like a warning."
"It is a warning."
They moved through a narrow gap between two massive tree trunks. The space felt almost like the entrance to a cavern. Ravel ducked under a low hanging branch and followed Seris into a small clearing.
The clearing was circular and open to the fading sky above. The mist barely touched the ground here. At the center stood a stone marker covered in moss. The shape resembled a pillar broken in half, the top missing.
Seris approached it and knelt to brush away some moss. Symbols were carved into the stone. Thin lines spiraled inward, all pointing toward a single central groove.
Ravel asked, "What is it?"
"A conduit," Seris said. "A place where the forest stored old energy. It has not been used in a long time."
Ravel walked closer. The sphere warmed as he neared the pillar.
Seris looked at him sharply. "Stop."
Ravel froze. "What is wrong?"
"The sphere is reacting to something in the stone. If you get too close, it might awaken whatever is left inside."
"Is that bad?"
Seris hesitated. "For now, yes."
Ravel stepped back.
Seris stood and brushed her hands together. "We need to move past this place quickly. Conduits attract attention we do not want."
Ravel turned toward the far side of the clearing.
His breath caught.
Four glowing eyes stared back at him from the trees.
Seris drew her sword instantly. "Back away slowly."
The eyes shifted closer. They moved with the soundlessness of drifting smoke. Two were low to the ground. Two were higher. Ravel could make out the shape of slender bodies, long limbs, and thin, ragged fur that hung loose like shredded cloth.
"Not Wretches," Seris murmured. "Shades."
Ravel whispered, "What do they do?"
"Follow. Study. And if they smell fear, they bite."
"They smell fear?"
"Yes," Seris said. "So stay calm."
"That is not something I can do on command."
"Try."
The Shades crept closer. Their eyes glowed white, cold and predatory. Their movements were smooth, almost floating. The larger one climbed halfway up a tree, its claws digging into bark without sound.
Seris positioned herself between Ravel and the Shades. "Stay behind me."
Ravel obeyed. His heart hammered so loudly he feared the Shades would hear it.
Seris kept her sword pointed toward the creatures. "They do not attack unless directed. This might be a test."
"A test by who?"
"By the forest," Seris said. "Or by something inside it."
Ravel felt the sphere pulse in his hands. Once. Twice. Faster.
The Shades stopped.
The largest tilted its head, staring directly at the sphere through Ravel's cloak. A rumble spread through the trees, low and steady like distant thunder.
Seris hissed through her teeth. "They sense the sphere fully awakened."
The Shades spread out, circling the clearing. Their claws clicked against roots. Their eyes narrowed.
Ravel felt his breath shorten.
Seris reached behind her without turning and grabbed Ravel's wrist. "Do not run."
The Shades stepped closer.
Their eyes locked on Ravel.
The sphere grew hot.
Too hot.
Ravel winced. "Seris, it is burning."
Seris did not look back. "Hold on to it. Do not drop it."
The Shades tensed.
Every creature in the clearing seemed to freeze.
Then the sphere pulsed a third time.
Light flashed.
White.
Red.
Green.
The Shades recoiled at once, hissing, their claws scraping backward across the soil.
They retreated to the trees and vanished as quickly as smoke in wind.
Ravel gasped and staggered to a knee. The sphere dimmed slowly but stayed warm in his grip.
Seris knelt beside him. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Ravel said. "But the sphere acted on its own."
"Yes. Which means whatever awakened inside it is aware of what hunts you."
Ravel swallowed. "Then we are being hunted."
Seris stood and helped him rise. "Everything in this forest hunts something. But the sphere will protect you when it can."
"That is not comforting."
"It is the truth," Seris said. "Now come. The forest knows exactly where you are."
Ravel followed her toward the far edge of the clearing.
Behind them, the stones in the conduit glowed faintly for the first time in years. The light spread through the spirals.
And the forest changed direction.
As if the trees shifted slightly to point the way forward.