Slowly, I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes.
For a few moments, I did nothing but breathe and listen to the hush inside the hut. The ache in my body had dulled, but it had not disappeared, and my thoughts felt heavier now than before. Mia's words had opened too many doors at once, and behind every one of them waited more danger than answers.
Then one question rose above all the others.
"System, do you know anything about the corruption in the blood of the tiger and bear beastkin?"
At first, there was no answer.
That alone made my chest tighten.
The system was never truly silent when I addressed it. Detached, mocking, amused, cryptic - yes. But not silent.
A few heartbeats passed.
Then its voice finally came, and the sound of it made my eyes snap open at once.
It was serious.
Not coldly playful. Not lazy. Not laced with that strange, careless superiority I had grown used to over the years. For the first time since I had heard its voice, it sounded grave.
