The disturbance didn't take long to find.
It found them first.
The ground shifted slightly beneath their feet, not enough to unbalance them, but enough to draw immediate attention.
The team stopped as one.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
Kael felt it before he saw anything.
The pressure in the air didn't behave the same way it had before. Instead of building steadily, it fluctuated—rising and falling in uneven pulses that made it difficult to anticipate.
"…That's not normal," he said quietly.
"No," Lyra replied.
The first creature appeared from the edge of the clearing.
Then another.
Then a third.
Kael frowned.
"…They're moving wrong."
He wasn't talking about their shape.
He was talking about their timing.
Their movements didn't align.
They didn't follow a consistent pattern.
They didn't respond the way the others had.
"They're desynced," one of the Beastkin said.
The wolf-type stepped forward slightly, his attention sharpening.
"Something is interfering with the field."
Kael glanced at him. "That sounds like something we shouldn't be near."
The creatures moved.
All at once.
The team reacted immediately.
Each movement was controlled, efficient, and practiced.
Kael followed a step behind, trying to adjust as quickly as possible.
The first creature lunged toward him.
He reached for the moment—
Caught it—
But something was off.
The force didn't respond cleanly.
It shifted—
Then resisted.
Kael frowned, adjusting his grip on the movement as he tried to compensate.
"…This is different," he muttered.
The second creature came from the side.
He turned—
Reached—
This time, the force responded too strongly.
It twisted harder than expected, sending the creature off course more violently than intended.
Kael stumbled slightly, thrown off by the inconsistency.
"This isn't stable," he said.
"No," Lyra replied. "It isn't."
The wolf-type moved past them, cutting through one of the creatures cleanly.
"Adjust," he said.
Kael exhaled slowly, forcing himself to focus.
He stopped trying to control the force.
Instead—
He followed it.
The next attack came.
He met it.
Not forcing.
Not resisting.
Adjusting.
The movement aligned.
For a brief moment—
Everything worked.
The creature's momentum shifted cleanly, opening an opportunity that one of the others immediately took.
The fight ended quickly after that.
Silence settled over the clearing.
Kael stood still, breathing steadily but focused.
"…That was different," he said.
"Yes," Lyra replied.
Kael looked at his hands again.
The feeling was still there.
But it wasn't the same as before.
"…It's not just me anymore," he said quietly.
Lyra didn't answer immediately.
Then she said,
"No."
And for the first time—
That felt like something bigger than his own ability.