The old road was cracked and uneven, stones broken and half-buried in dirt.
No birds sang here.
No wind moved the air.
Lira felt it immediately.
"Kael… this place feels wrong."
He nodded, eyes scanning the path ahead.
Stay close, his intent flowed through the bond.
They moved carefully, step by step.
The Seer walked a few paces behind them, silent.
The sun dipped lower, painting the road in orange and red.
Then
A sound.
Soft.
Crying.
Lira froze.
"Did you hear that?"
Kael did.
A child's voice.
Weak.
Afraid.
"It's coming from ahead," Lira whispered.
Kael stopped.
This could be a trap.
She felt his doubt—and his resolve.
"I know," she said quietly.
"But if it's real…"
Kael exhaled slowly.
They moved again, slower now.
The crying grew clearer.
Behind a pile of fallen stones
A small boy sat curled up, shaking.
Lira rushed forward instinctively.
"Wait—" Kael started.
Too late.
The boy looked up.
His eyes were empty.
Not scared.
Not alive.
The crying stopped instantly.
The ground shifted.
The stones around them sank inward like mud.
Lira screamed as the ground pulled her down.
"KAEL!"
Kael grabbed her arm and yanked her back with all his strength.
The earth closed where she had been standing.
A deep, hollow sound echoed.
The Seer shouted:
"It's a lure! Back—now!"
The "boy" twisted, his body cracking and stretching.
Bones bent the wrong way.
The face split open, revealing darkness inside.
Kael pulled Lira behind him.
Her heart was racing wildly.
He felt it slam into his chest through the bond.
"It tricked us…" she whispered, shaking.
The creature rose fully from the ground.
Tall.
Thin.
Limbs too long.
Its voice changed.
"You came…"
Kael raised his sword.
"Stay back."
The creature laughed a broken sound.
"The girl almost fell."
Lira felt fear surge.
Kael felt it too—and forced it down.
Breathe, his intent pushed to her.
The creature stepped forward.
"Give her to the road."
The Seer raised his staff, wind gathering.
"This thing is bound to the path. Don't let it circle you!"
Kael stepped sideways, keeping Lira behind him.
The creature moved with them.
Always trying to get around.
Lira clenched her fists.
Her light flickered unsteady.
"Kael… I'm scared…"
He turned his head slightly toward her.
I know. But you're safe.
The creature lunged.
Kael met it head-on.
Steel struck shadow.
The impact sent cracks through the road.
The creature screamed.
But instead of blood
Dust poured out.
The road beneath them began to sink again.
Lira cried out as the ground shifted.
The Seer shouted:
"It feeds on fear and movement! Stop running!"
Kael planted his feet.
He pulled Lira close.
Trust me.
She nodded, forcing her breathing to slow.
The creature hesitated.
Its body flickered.
Kael raised his sword again.
This time, he didn't attack.
He stood still.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Lira felt his calm spread into her through the bond.
Her fear softened.
The road stopped pulling.
The creature shrieked in frustration.
"WHY WON'T YOU FALL?"
Kael stepped forward once
And struck.
Shadow and light burst together.
The creature shattered like dry stone, collapsing into dust.
The road went still.
The silence returned.
Lira collapsed into Kael's arms, shaking.
"It… pretended to be a child…"
Kael held her tightly.
It won't touch you again.
The Seer stepped closer.
"That was not the real test," he said grimly.
Lira looked up, afraid.
"Then what was that?"
The Seer answered:
"A message."
Kael's grip tightened.
From the heir.
The road ahead remained open.
But now they knew
Every step forward would cost them something.