Morning light filtered through thin clouds, soft and even.
No sharp edges.
No urgency.
Lira woke with a strange feeling—
not fear, not relief.
Direction.
She sat up slowly.
"Kael… I think we're supposed to turn soon."
He felt it immediately.
Not because of danger, his intent replied. Because of need.
The Seer stirred nearby, listening.
"You're sensing pull without pressure," he said.
"That means something is out of balance—not broken."
They packed and followed the quiet instinct Lira felt, moving away from the main path and into low woodland.
Birds scattered as they passed.
Life moved normally.
After an hour, they heard voices.
Not shouting.
Arguing.
Kael slowed, hand lifting slightly.
Careful.
They approached and saw a small group gathered near a stream.
Four people.
Not bonded.
Tired.
Two men argued softly while the others watched.
"We can't keep going," one said.
"There's nothing left."
The other shook his head.
"If we stop, they'll find us."
Lira felt the tension.
Not fear of the Empire—
Fear of each other.
She stepped into view slowly.
The group froze.
"Who are you?" one demanded.
"Travelers," Lira replied calmly.
"We're not here to take anything."
Kael stayed beside her, steady.
The Seer watched quietly.
The woman in the group spoke next.
"We were relocated," she said.
"Orders came. Then nothing."
Lira's chest tightened.
"They moved you… then abandoned you."
The woman nodded.
"They told us to wait.
So we did."
Kael felt the weight of that kind of obedience.
Waiting without direction.
Lira met their eyes.
"You don't have to wait anymore," she said.
The man scoffed weakly.
"And do what?"
Lira didn't give them a plan.
She didn't need to.
"Decide," she said simply.
"Together."
Silence fell.
Then one of them sat down heavily.
"I'm tired of waiting," he said.
Another nodded.
Me too.
The Seer finally spoke.
"This is the space left behind when control retreats," he said.
"It can collapse… or it can become choice."
Lira felt relief ripple—not outward.
Inward.
They stayed only long enough to share water, directions, and the truth:
No one was coming to command them.
When they left, the group was still talking.
Not panicked.
Thinking.
As they walked away, Sera whispered,
"That felt… important."
Kael agreed.
Because it was quiet.
The road ahead bent gently, not demanding, not urgent.
Lira followed it without hesitation.
Because now she understood.
The way forward wasn't marked by orders or resistance.
But by moments when people stopped waiting to be told who they were.