The morning after the battle dawned gray, fog clinging to the trees like a shroud. A quiet fell over Stonewake—less the calm of peace, more the hush that precedes a storm.
Elias sat on the highest ledge of the stone wall, overlooking the still-thickening forest. The others were sleeping, recovering. But his mind raced, not from adrenaline, but from consequence.
Last night, they'd shattered another group—eviscerated them in the name of survival. It was justice, maybe. But it hadn't felt like justice when he'd looked into that final survivor's eyes.
It had felt like declaration.
"We protect the weak. We repel the cruel. And we grow."
Ryker's words echoed again.
Stonewake wasn't just a camp anymore.
It was becoming a kingdom.
⸻
"Any scouts?" Kaela asked, approaching with a plate of roasted meat and sliced mushrooms. Her braid was tighter today, her posture more rigid than usual.
"None," Elias answered, accepting the food. "Whoever made it out alive last night probably won't return. Not immediately."
"Or they'll send someone else. Better equipped. More desperate."
"Or more organized," Elias murmured.
Kaela sat beside him and glanced at the horizon. "You regret what we did?"
"No," Elias said. "But I wonder what it turned us into."
A silence passed between them, filled only by the wind and the distant chirp of birds. For the first time in days, it almost sounded like a world untouched by horror.
But it wasn't.
⸻
Below, Ryker limped around the camp perimeter with a carved walking stick, testing each stone laid along their new wall. His injuries were still healing, but his pride had rebounded twice as strong. He checked in on the drying food stores, the weapon racks, the lookout logs—eager to contribute beyond brute force.
Elias and Kaela joined him after breakfast.
"We need more than walls," Ryker said without looking up. "We need water filtration, stronger torch posts, a smoke signal for allies—or warnings."
Kaela raised an eyebrow. "Allies?"
"Assuming anyone decent is still out there," Ryker replied.
Elias crossed his arms. "If there are, they've either stayed hidden… or they're watching us."
"Or we're the first," Kaela said. "The first to carve something real."
That hit a note of silence.
Then Ryker said it.
"We should claim it."
Elias frowned. "We already did."
"No," Ryker said, voice gaining force. "I mean claim it openly. Create a marker. A symbol. Something that says: This place is Stonewake. This is who we are. This is who we protect."
They looked to each other.
And for once, there was no disagreement.
⸻
The symbol took shape by midday—a large slab of stone near the entrance to camp, etched with the rising shape of three blades forming a triangle. Beneath it, Kaela carved their guiding words:
"Unity. Trial. Flame."
Elias felt something shift as she finished the last letter.
Like the Realm itself had taken notice.
⸻
That evening, while Ryker slept and Kaela patrolled, Elias sat by the fire, fiddling with a shattered core crystal he'd salvaged from one of the attackers. It pulsed faintly in his hand—dying energy, but still echoing power.
Insight flickered to life behind his eyes.
Object: Crystal Core
Energy signature: low
Previous user enhancements: increased stamina, night vision.
Warning: residual data trace detected.
His brow furrowed.
Residual data?
He leaned closer, coaxing Ashbrand's warmth into the core—and suddenly, the vision surged forward.
A flicker. A moment.
A memory not his own.
A man running through the woods. The sky above was bleeding violet. Screams in the distance. He was clutching something—a journal, a map—his breathing ragged.
Behind him, something moved.
Slow. Massive. A ripple through the forest, like the trees themselves held their breath.
Then a roar—no, deeper.
A rumble.
The man screamed. Dropped the map. Turned to run again.
Too late.
A shadow fell over him.
Then teeth.
The vision shattered.
Elias staggered back, dropping the core as if it had burned him. His hand trembled.
"Kaela!" he called out.
She was there in seconds, Ryker hobbling behind her, already alert.
"What is it?" she asked, eyes sharp.
Elias pointed at the shattered core. "I saw something. A memory. From one of the enemies. He—he was running from something. Huge. Fast. Wrong."
Ryker knelt, picking up the flickering shard. "Another trial beast?"
"No," Elias said slowly. "It wasn't part of the system. It was beyond it. The Realm didn't send it."
Kaela's expression darkened. "Then what did?"
Elias looked to the forest.
The scent of ash had returned to the wind.
And in the distance, far beyond what eyes could see, the Leviathan stirred beneath the surface of a blackwater lake.
Its hunger newly awakened.
Drawn by the fire that bloomed in a place once forgotten.
Stonewake.