They ate in silence, or at least, Lilia did.

  Ariel only stared at the small portion in her lap. The vegetable had seen better days. It sat there in the cloth, seeming to grow heavier with each passing moment

  When she didn't move to eat, Lilia glanced over, her expression full of concern. "You should try to eat something," she said gently. "Even just a little."

  Ariel didn't answer. She just turned her face away, toward the rough stone wall of the hollow. The surface was dark and pitted, marked with thin veins of some mineral that caught the firelight like threads of copper.

  Lilia watched her for a moment, then set down her own portion. She shifted closer, her voice quiet. “You need your strength."

  Still nothing. Ariel's jaw tightened, but she kept her gaze fixed on the wall.

  Lilia didn't push further. She just reached out and gently touched Ariel's shoulder, a brief reassurance, before pulling back.

  When it became clear Ariel wasn't going to eat, Lilia let out a soft sigh. She carefully pushed Ariel's share aside and wrapped the food back in its cloth with tender movements, like she was handling something precious. Lilia said softly. "...When you're ready, it'll be here."

  For a while, only the sound of the crackling fire filled the hollow.

  It was a small fire, they couldn't risk anything larger, but it pushed back just enough of the cold to make the space almost bearable. The hollow itself was barely tall enough for Lilia to stand in, carved into the side of a rocky outcrop they'd stumbled upon in the grey hours before dawn. Probably some animal's den once, abandoned long ago. The entrance was narrow.

  It smelled of damp earth.

  Ariel sat with her back against the stone, legs drawn up, arms wrapped loosely around her knees. She was thinking, piecing together fragments of what she now knew about the thing that stalked them.

  The first was simple: it was strong.

  Not just strong in the way most aberrations were strong, warped and wrong and dangerous. This was different. Deliberate. It didn't charge blindly or lash out in mindless hunger. It tracked. It waited. It adapted.

  She wasn't sure of its exact classification.

  The aberration ranks were hazy in her memory, half-forgotten lectures from tutors who'd spoken of them like distant myths rather than tangible threats. But by the way it hunted, by the way it lingered even when wounded, it had to be at least a Forgotten.

  If the creature Ryn had killed back in Solvara was a Forgotten Curse, this one was something far worse. The way it moved, the way its body seemed to shift—melting and reforming, flesh rippling like water—it had to be atleast a forgotten chimera.

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  Maybe even a Faded.

  The thought alone made her shudder.

  Forgotten-class aberrations were dangerous enough that most cities kept specialized hunters on retainer just in case one wandered too close to populated areas.

  And Faded... Those in that rank were capable of wiping out entire villages if left unchecked.

  She closed her eyes, forcing herself to think through what she'd seen.

  It had too many limbs. She was sure of that now. When it had lunged at them in the forest, she'd counted at least six appendages, some that looked almost human, others twisted and jointed wrong, ending in hooked claws. And its head... heads? She wasn't sure. There'd been too many eyes, too many angles. Like something had tried to sculpt a face from clay and given up halfway through, leaving it half-formed and wrong.

  That was the other thing—the light.

  It was sluggish during the day, its presence dull, like it was retreating from the sun.

  She'd noticed it first when they'd during the forest walk that afternoon, they'd felt nothing. No prickling awareness, no sense of being watched. They’d almost thought they'd lost it.

  Then the sun had dipped below the mountains.

  The moment the light grew thin, it stirred again. Stronger. Hungrier. She'd felt it like a physical weight, pressing against the edges of her awareness.

  It followed her. Not them—her.

  Lilia was in danger because she was with Ariel, but the creature's attention... that was fixed on something specific. She could feel it like a cold hand on the back of her neck, drawn to the faint trace of divinity she couldn't hide.

  If they stayed like this, it would only keep hunting them. They'd run and hide and starve until, eventually, they couldn't anymore.

  She turned to look at Lilia and the cart.

  The thought of waking up alone, of facing whatever came next without them— Her fingers curled into a fist.

  She needed them… even for just a little longer

  Noticing Ariel’s tense expression, Lilia’s brows furrowed.

  “Ariel… is everything okay?” she asked, her voice soft but laced with worry.

  At first her lips parted once, but no sound came.

  The fire popped, sending up a small spray of embers.

  She looked up, her voice quiet but steady. "We need to reach the trial."

  Lilia turned toward her, firelight catching in the dull silver of her hair. Strands had come loose, framing her face. There were dark circles under her eyes.

  "By the end of today," Ariel continued, her gaze fixed on the faint light spilling through the cracks in the hollow, filtered through the brush they'd piled at the entrance. "Before night falls again."

  Lilia only looked at her for a while. Her expression was soft

  The firelight flickered between them, casting shadows that moved like living things across the cramped stone walls.

  Finally, she nodded.

  “Alright”

  Then, she smiled. It was a small one.

  She reached for the waterskin and took a long drink. Hesitating, she offered it across the fire.

  Ariel paused before grabbing it.

  She watched Ariel drink for a while, then finally she muttered.

  "B-But you're eating before we leave… “

  Despite everything… Ariel obliged.

  "...Alright."