The cold night air did little to soothe the wounds they carried, both seen and unseen. The ruins behind them stood in eerie silence, a grim monument to the horrors they had barely survived. Tendrils of smoke curled from collapsed corridors, and the stench of burned flesh and old blood still lingered, as though the place itself refused to let go of its tragedies.

  Rein leaned against a jagged rock, his breath shallow, pressing a bloodied hand against his side where the cultists' blade had found him. Though Shilley had already treated the wound, the ache lingered, a stark reminder of how close he had come to a more permanent fate. But the damage wasn’t just from the cultist’s blade, his body still bore the strain of the brief moment he had released his power. His limbs felt heavy, as if drained from within, and faint scorch-like marks trailed along his forearms, remnants of the energy that had coursed through him.

  He ignored the way Shilley’s sharp eyes flickered over him with concern as she knelt by the dwindling fire, her fingers deftly rechecking the bandage on her arm, ensuring the bleeding had fully stopped. Luxana, though less visibly injured, bore the signs of fatigue and strain from the battle, small bruises along her arms, a gash just beneath her armor, half-hidden by the dim firelight. But her exhaustion ran deeper; the weight of celestial energy still flickered in her gaze, as if she too had pushed herself beyond her limits.

  Despite the silence, they all shared the same thought: Xetran. He had been the one to save them, teleporting them out of the collapsing ruins before vanishing without a word. Rein exhaled sharply. "Anyone else wondering where our shadowy friend ran off to?"

  Shilley scoffed. "Oh, he’ll show up when it’s convenient for him. Seems to be his style."

  Luxana’s expression was unreadable, but her golden eyes darkened slightly. "And we’ll have to decide what we do when he does."

  No one spoke for a bit after. Shilley shifted, stealing a glance at Rein before speaking. "You know, you were out for a while. Do you... even remember what happened?"

  Rein frowned, his fingers unconsciously tracing the faint scorch-like marks on his forearms. "Not much. Last thing I remember was the fight. Then... nothing. Just waking up here."

  Luxana studied him, her golden eyes sharp. "You lost control. Your power, whatever it is, it surged. And it wasn't normal. It was something else."

  Rein stiffened, his gaze flickering between them. "I—" he started, but stopped himself. He genuinely didn’t know. And that unsettled him more than anything else.

  His bewilderment was evident, his mind grasping for something, anything, that would explain what they were saying. "You're telling me I..what? Lost control? That power just... happened?" His voice was a mix of disbelief and frustration. "I don’t even remember."

  Shilley and Luxana exchanged a glance before Shilley spoke. "It wasn't just power, Rein. It was something overwhelming. You, your body was barely holding itself together. Your wounds should’ve been worse, but it was like the energy kept you standing until it burned out."

  Luxana folded her arms, watching him closely. "And then there was the creature. The abomination they created. It wasn’t just a failed experiment. That thing, whatever it was…felt wrong on a level I can’t explain. The corruption, the power... It shouldn’t exist.

  And that man, whoever he is, he knew something. He saved us, yes, but he vanished right after. Convenient, don’t you think?"

  Rein clenched his jaw, still trying to process everything. "So, what? Some dormant power inside me decided to wake up at the worst possible time? And that guy just happened to know exactly what to do and when to do it?"

  Shilley sighed. "We don’t know. But if we’re going to figure it out, we need to stick together."

  "We should keep moving. Staying too close to this place feels… wrong."

  “We need rest,” Rein muttered, wincing as he adjusted his posture. “We’re not exactly in fighting shape. And we don’t know how deep the cult’s reach goes. If they had sympathizers in the colony, walking in there unprepared might not be the best idea.”

  Luxana’s eyes didn’t leave the ruins. “You think that thing is really dead?”

  Rein exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Does it matter?”

  Luxana’s fists tightened at her sides. “It does if this was orchestrated.”

  That caught both Rein’s and Shilley’s attention. Rein arched an eyebrow. “Orchestrated? By who?” His tone carried more suspicion now, but also curiosity, Luxana was speaking as if she knew too much. Was she just guessing, or did she have inside knowledge?

  Luxana hesitated before answering. She could feel their eyes on her, as if they were trying to piece together who she really was. “There are celestial factions… powerful ones. Some of them believe that balance requires sacrifice. That the line between mortal and divine should be tested, even if it means failure.” She turned her gaze to Rein, steel behind her golden eyes. “What if they let this happen? What if they wanted to see what would be born?”

  Shilley’s lips pressed into a thin line. “So what? We just played right into their hands?”

  Luxana’s silence was answer enough.

  A slow, bitter laugh escaped Rein. “Great. So we’re pawns in some grand experiment. Again.” He spat onto the ground, eyes narrowing. “So what do we do? March into the heavens and demand an explanation?”

  “No.” Luxana’s voice was quieter now, but firm. “But we don’t let them use us, either. If there are factions in the celestial realm meddling in this, we find out who they are.”

  Rein scoffed. “Because that’ll be easy.” He studied Luxana for a moment, something nagging at the back of his mind. "You talk like you know them. Like you've seen this before."

  Luxana’s jaw tensed, but she didn’t immediately respond. Shilley, noticing the shift, tilted her head. "Yeah… you speak about them like it's personal. Why?"

  Luxana hesitated, then exhaled. "I’ve seen how some celestial factions operate. Their idea of balance isn’t what mortals think it is. If something like this happened, I have to wonder if they let it happen."

  Rein frowned but didn’t press further, for now. The fire crackled between them, filling the quiet until Shilley leaned forward, her expression more serious than usual. "And what about the people they took? The ones who were sacrificed? Do we tell the colony? Do we tell someone specific? Or do we keep that quiet?" “Look, we don’t have all the answers. What we do know is that we’re standing in the middle of something bigger than us, and splitting up now would be the stupidest thing we could do.” Her gaze flickered between them. “We need each other. That’s just the truth.”

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  Rein exhaled, running a hand through his dirt-matted hair. "We have to go back at some point. I need to give Lenora an answer, but the rest… I don’t know. Telling the wrong person could just spread fear or put a target on our backs." Trust wasn’t something he gave easily, but right now, he didn’t have many options. Luxana, for all her rigid beliefs, was right, someone had to be pulling the strings. And Shilley… well, Shilley wasn’t wrong either. The thought of being alone again, after all of this, wasn’t as appealing as it once was.

  Finally, he nodded. “Fine. We stay together. For now.”

  Shilley grinned, though the exhaustion dulled its usual mischief. “That’s the spirit.”

  Luxana, however, remained unreadable. Rein and Shilley exchanged a quick glance, neither of them had outright asked what Luxana really was, but the question hung in the air, unspoken for now. Her gaze lingered on the ruins one last time before she turned away. “We should set up a watch rotation. We don’t know what else might be lurking out here.”

  With silent agreement, they settled in, the crackling fire their only source of warmth in the frigid night.

  As they rested, a rare quiet stretched between them, not out of tension, but of shared exhaustion. Shilley was the first to break it. "Since we’re all stuck with each other for now, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to know a bit more about who we’re traveling with."

  Rein, still tending to his side, snorted. "I think you know enough. I’m some guy with a sword who gets stabbed too often. That’s about it."

  Shilley smirked. "Oh come on, don’t be shy. There’s got to be something more interesting about you. Hobbies? Favorite food? A deep, dark secret about how you used to be a bard and abandoned it all for the brooding warrior life?"

  Rein rolled his eyes, but a small smirk tugged at his lips. "Not a bard. Can’t carry a tune."

  Luxana, who had been quiet, finally spoke. "What about you, Shilley? Since you’re so eager to pry into everyone else’s past?"

  Shilley chuckled, leaning back. "Alright, fair. I suppose I can share. Let’s see... Well, I’ve been in and out of a lot of places, never really stayed put for long. I guess you could say I prefer things that way. Too many attachments, and you just end up hurt."

  There was a beat of silence before Rein exhaled. "Yeah. That makes sense."

  Luxana glanced between them, noting the unspoken weight behind both their words. "And yet, here we are, sticking together. Strange how things work out."

  For a moment, there was only the sound of the fire crackling, before Shilley grinned again. "Well, if we’re doing this, we should make it fun. Rein, your turn. Any ridiculous childhood stories?"

  Rein groaned. "Pass."

  "Not how this works!" Shilley leaned forward, eager. "Come on, just one."

  Luxana, surprisingly, seemed amused. "We could be here all night at this rate."

  Rein sighed, shaking his head, but as the conversation continued, the tension from earlier finally began to fade, replaced by something unfamiliar, but not unwelcome. The weight of uncertainty remained, but for now, at least, they weren’t facing it alone.

  After a while, Rein shifted and let out a quiet sigh. "I need to clean up," he muttered, glancing down at the dried blood and grime caking his skin. "I’ll be back in a bit."

  Shilley raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

  "Looking for a place to wash off," he replied, already pushing himself up. "There’s bound to be a pond or a stream somewhere nearby."

  Luxana nodded slightly. "Don’t wander too far. We still don’t know what else might be out here."

  "I’ll be fine," Rein said before heading off into the night.

  It didn’t take long before he found what he was looking for, a small, quiet pond nestled between the trees. Moonlight reflected on the still water, casting silver ripples as he stepped closer. He undressed and waded in, the cold water shocking against his skin but welcome after everything he had been through.

  Floating on his back, staring up at the sky, Rein let out a slow breath. His body still ached, the remnants of that strange power he had unleashed leaving him feeling drained in ways he couldn’t fully explain. His mind turned over everything that had been said, Luxana’s suspicions, the horror of what had been created in the ruins, and the fact that whatever had happened to him down there had saved them. But at what cost?

  He had no answers, only more questions. And that unsettled him more than anything else.

  His thoughts drifted to the cultists, their unwavering faith in what they were doing, their complete and utter lack of remorse. Even in death, they believed they were serving a greater purpose. The High Priest had spoken of ascension, of sacrifice as a necessary step toward something greater. Rein gritted his teeth. He had seen enough blind devotion in his life to know where it led.

  The image of the corpse he had found in the ruins flashed in his mind, the young woman, tortured, her last moments spent in agony for a cause she never chose. Had she believed in their cause? Or had she just been another victim caught in the gears of fanaticism?

  Rein exhaled sharply, sinking lower into the water. The worst part was, he knew this wouldn’t be the last time he saw something like this. Humans, angels, demons, it didn’t matter. The cycle repeated. All for power. All for control. And yet, he had no idea where he fit in all of this. Was he just another pawn on the board?

  He closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure he wanted the answer.

  A sudden rustling noise pulled him from his thoughts. His body tensed instinctively, and before he even realized it, he had shifted upright, scanning the trees, his muscles ready to react to any threat.

  Instead of danger, he found Shilley standing at the edge of the pond, arms crossed, a wide, mischievous grin plastered on her face.

  "Relax, warrior," she teased, "I wasn’t about to let you drown out here. You were gone a while. Thought maybe the pond swallowed you whole."

  Rein scowled, quickly turning his body to the side, doing his best to keep himself covered. "Ever heard of knocking?"

  Shilley smirked, leaning casually against a tree. "On what? The open air? Please, if I'd known this was such a vulnerable moment for you, I would have given you time to prepare."

  He gritted his teeth, sinking slightly deeper into the water. "What do you want? And turn around already!"

  "Shilley rolled her eyes but turned halfway, making a show of covering her eyes with one hand. "Alright, alright. But I gotta say, I'm not surprised you're embarrassed. I'd be too if I had—"

  "Stop!" Rein barked, cutting her off before she could finish the implication. His face flushed red as he splashed water in her direction, which only made her burst into laughter. "Moonlight, water, deep thoughts… very poetic."