The moment Keiji confirmed our next destination for the day, something in the group shifted.
We didn't waste time lingering at the campsite. Everyone looked exhausted, but urgency trumped rest. And I could feel it… the way all their breaths synced into this tense, unspoken rhythm.
We were running against a clock counting down toward something none of us could outrun.
Fine. If time wanted a fight, then we'd fight.
I tapped the map, the cold surface lighting up beneath my fingers. Blue sigils spiraled outward in a circle around us. "Everyone in," I said.
The urgency in my voice must've bled through, because they didn't even tease me for it. They stepped close, too close, Kael brushing against my shoulder, Zeref hovering at my other side like I'd decided to stop walking without telling him.
Light flared. The ground vanished.
We reappeared at the foot of the Icy Mountains, where cold air slapped my face hard enough to make my eyes sting.
