Morning light filtered softly through the towering trees of the Northern Highlands, but the forest felt heavier than it had the day before—thick with mana and expectation.
Siddhant Choudhury studied the approaching group for only a moment before making his decision.
"You all look like you've walked through a war," he said calmly. "Come to our camp first. Rest. Then talk."
There was no arrogance in his tone—only quiet authority.
Avdhoot nodded once.
"Lead the way."
Siddhant's camp appeared only after they crossed a narrow ridge concealed by moss-covered stone.
It was disciplined.
Tents arranged in a defensive semicircle.
A raised watch perch built from reinforced timber.
Runic markers etched into nearby trees—early warning wards.
This was not a temporary student shelter.
This was a command post.
Veer let out a low whistle.
"Well… now I feel embarrassed about our camp."
Kiran smirked. "You helped pitch ours crooked."
"It had personality," Veer protested.
Despite the exhaustion weighing on everyone, a faint smile passed through the group.
They needed that.
Two students rose as Siddhant guided them inside the perimeter.
A tall boy with sharp features stepped forward first.
"Karan Saxena," he introduced himself, eyes immediately scanning Akshay's condition.
Beside him stood a girl with steady, observant eyes.
"Divya Shankar."
Both moved without hesitation.
"Lay him here," Divya said, already clearing space inside the nearest tent.
Akshay barely protested as they helped him down.
"You need to rest," Karan added firmly. "Walking any further like that is stupidity, not bravery."
Akshay managed a weak grin. "Noted."
Meira was already kneeling beside him, blue mana flowing gently through her hands as she checked his internal channels again. Bhavna hovered nearby, assisting silently.
"He's stable," Meira said after a moment. "But he cannot afford another shock."
Divya folded her arms. "What happened to him?"
The question hung in the air.
It was Siddhant who noticed it first—the fatigue in their posture, the faint instability in their mana signatures, the way even their strongest members seemed restrained.
"You weren't exhausted from travel alone," he said.
Avdhoot met his gaze.
"No."
A quiet settled over the tent as he spoke the words that still felt unreal.
"We encountered a Sky Reaper."
Divya inhaled sharply.
Karan went still.
Even Siddhant's expression hardened by a fraction.
"You survived one?" Mira Bhat asked from the entrance, disbelief clear in her voice as she stepped inside.
She was composed—but her eyes betrayed concern as they flicked toward Akshay.
"Barely," Priya answered.
Veer rubbed the back of his neck. "Would not recommend the experience. Zero stars."
A few tired chuckles escaped.
Humor was easier than remembering the sound of the creature's wings.
"What was it doing this far inland…" Mira murmured.
"Claiming territory," Tara replied quietly.
That answer needed no elaboration.
Outside the tent, the two groups gathered around a low-burning fire.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Siddhant looked directly at Avdhoot.
"You brought your group out alive after facing a Sky Reaper," he said. "That tells me enough about you."
It wasn't praise.
It was recognition.
Avdhoot remained calm.
"We were lucky. Next time, someone else might not be."
Siddhant nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The weight of leadership passed silently between them—understood without explanation.
After a pause, Avdhoot spoke again.
"We'll need every hand we can get if we want everyone to walk out of Wildwood Valley alive."
His gaze shifted briefly toward Akshay's tent before returning.
"Will you help us?"
Siddhant did not answer immediately.
Instead, he glanced toward his group.
Mira Bhat.
Karan Saxena.
Divya Shankar.
Each met his eyes—and gave the smallest nod.
Only then did he speak.
"I am a leader too," Siddhant said evenly. "Their safety is my responsibility. Whatever we do… I will not gamble their lives recklessly."
"Nor will I," Avdhoot replied.
Silence.
Measured.
Then Siddhant extended his hand.
"You have our support."
The alliance formed without ceremony—but its significance echoed louder than any oath.
Priya stepped forward slightly.
"If we don't create a strong plan," she said, voice steady, "someone will get hurt. Or worse."
No one argued.
The forest itself seemed to lean closer as they began thinking—each mind tracing possibilities, dangers, routes.
Veer broke the silence first.
"Well," he said, clapping his hands softly, "we could always ambush it."
Several heads turned.
Tara raised an eyebrow.
"And after that?"
Veer blinked.
"…I was hoping you'd tell me."
A few restrained laughs circled the fire.
Even Siddhant allowed the faintest smile.
"Ambushing a creature that rules the sky is optimistic," Karan noted dryly.
"Bold thinking is step one," Veer defended.
"Surviving step two is usually harder," Divya added.
The humor faded quickly as reality settled again.
They needed more than boldness.
They needed precision.
While the others spoke, Tara had grown quiet.
Her eyes were unfocused—not in distraction, but in calculation.
Routes.
Terrain.
Mana density.
Flight patterns.
The way the creature had responded to pressure.
Pieces began aligning.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Then—
She straightened.
"I have a plan."
The conversations stopped.
Every gaze shifted toward her.
Tara looked around the circle—at two groups now bound by necessity.
"We don't fight it in the sky," she said. "That's where it is strongest."
Her eyes sharpened.
"We trap it."
A beat of silence followed.
Then she finished:
"I have a plan to put that beast in a cage."
No one spoke.
But for the first time since the Sky Reaper had entered their lives—
Hope flickered.
[End of Chapter 16]