Zone 41-C was supposed to be another "clearing operation."
August and Lyka approached it carefully, expecting to find either evidence of combat or another mysteriously empty settlement. Instead, they found something that made them both stop dead in their tracks.
The zone was half-empty.
"Okay, that's new," Lyka said, studying the scene ahead.
About half the buildings in the settlement were pristine and empty, exactly like Zone 40-B. But the other half showed signs of recent, violent conflict. Scorch marks, shattered walls, and what appeared to be the crystallized remains of several Forsaken scattered across the streets.
"Two different operations," August realized. "Someone cleared half the zone peacefully, then someone else came through and destroyed what was left."
Lyka was examining the blast patterns with a confused expression.
"These scorch marks… they're not from harmonic weapons. This is something else entirely."
"What kind of something else?"
"I don't know. But it's not the same signature we've been following." She knelt down to examine crystallized Forsaken remains. "And these Forsaken weren't peaceful. Look at the defensive positions, the barricades they tried to build."
August's Foundation monitor flickered green as it adapted to residual energy from whatever weapons had been used here.
"My immunity system recognizes this as a different type of threat," August said. "Not the same as the trace energy from the research equipment."
"Two different forces operating in the same zone," Lyka said grimly. "This is getting complicated."
They found the trail marker at the boundary between the empty section and the destroyed section.
Zone 41-C partially cleared. 15 Forsaken eliminated. Hostile interference encountered. Proceeding to alternate route. Standard protocol… interrupted. - A.S.
"Interrupted," Lyka read aloud. "And 'hostile interference.' That's new terminology."
August studied the message more carefully. Something about it felt different from the previous markers, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
"The handwriting looks… stressed," August said. "Like it was written in a hurry."
"Or by someone who was trying to match someone else's handwriting," Lyka said quietly.
August felt a chill. "What do you mean?"
"I mean maybe we should stop assuming all these trail markers are from the same person."
They were investigating the destroyed section when they heard footsteps.
Not the shambling gait of mutated Forsaken or the mechanical precision of Zone Kings. These were confident, measured human footsteps approaching through the rubble.
"Company," Lyka whispered, drawing her sonic daggers.
The figure that emerged from behind a collapsed building looked completely human at first glance. Tall, well-built, wearing what appeared to be normal traveling clothes. The only thing that marked him as potentially dangerous was the way reality seemed to bend slightly around him, like the world was making small accommodations for his presence.
"Travelers," he said, his voice carrying undertones that made August's teeth ache. "You're following the wrong trail."
August's Foundation monitor went solid red.
"Wrong trail?" Lyka asked, keeping her weapons ready.
The man smiled, and August realized with growing horror that his teeth were all perfectly geometric shapes. Not filed or modified - naturally geometric, like someone had redesigned human dentistry using mathematical principles.
"You seek Arthur Solvain," the man said. "But Arthur Solvain is not where you think he is."
"And where do you think he is?" August asked.
"Somewhere safe," the man replied. "Away from those who would use his gifts for unworthy purposes."
The way he said "gifts" made August's Foundation monitor pulse brighter red. This was definitely a human Forsaken, and his immunity system was treating him as an extreme threat.
"Who are you?" Lyka demanded.
"I am someone who understands the value of Arthur's abilities," the man said. "And someone who recognizes that you two are being led astray."
Without warning, the human Forsaken moved.
One moment he was standing twenty feet away, the next he was directly in front of August, one hand inches from August's face. August felt reality trying to rewrite itself around the Forsaken's touch.
His Foundation adapted frantically, building immunity to conceptual manipulation, reality editing, and something it labeled as "existence revision." But the process was taking time - precious seconds during which the human Forsaken could have killed him easily.
"Adaptive immunity," the Forsaken said, sounding pleased. "How interesting. And so well-developed for someone so young."
Lyka lunged with her sonic daggers, but the human Forsaken caught both blades without apparent effort. The resonance weapons screamed against his palms but couldn't penetrate whatever protection he was using.
"Impressive equipment," he said conversationally. "Improvised but effective. You have potential."
August backed away as his Foundation completed its adaptations.
The human Forsaken was no longer an immediate threat to him, but August could see that his immunity storage was now critically full. Any new adaptations would require deleting almost everything else.
"What do you want?" August asked.
"I want you to understand that the trail you're following leads to disappointment," the Forsaken said, releasing Lyka's weapons. "The person you seek to help is not the person leaving those markers."
"You're saying someone's impersonating Arthur?"
"I'm saying," the Forsaken replied, "that Arthur Solvain has not been in this region for quite some time. Whoever you're following, it isn't him."
Lyka and August exchanged glances. This confirmed their growing suspicions, but from a source they definitely didn't trust.
"So who are we following?" Lyka asked.
The human Forsaken tilted his head, considering the question.
"Someone who wants you to believe you're following Arthur Solvain. Someone who benefits from having concerned individuals chase shadows while the real Arthur remains… occupied elsewhere."
"That's not an answer," August said.
"It's the only answer I can safely give," the Forsaken replied. "There are forces at work here that—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his head snapping up to look at something behind August and Lyka.
The change in the human Forsaken's demeanor was immediate and dramatic.
His confident composure vanished, replaced by what could only be described as terror. He took several quick steps backward, his geometric teeth now visible as he bared them in what might have been a snarl or a grimace of fear.
"No," he said quietly. "Not here. Not now."
August and Lyka turned to look behind them, but saw nothing except empty ruins.
"What is it?" Lyka asked.
But the human Forsaken was already moving, backing away rapidly while keeping his eyes fixed on whatever he could see that they couldn't.
"Run," he said, his voice no longer carrying confident undertones. "Both of you. Run now, and don't look back."
"Why should we—" August started.
"Because you're not ready for what's coming," the Forsaken said. "And neither am I."
Without another word, the human Forsaken turned and fled.
Not the dignified retreat of someone choosing to disengage - this was panicked flight. He ran through the ruined zone with inhuman speed, leaping over debris and disappeared buildings like they were minor obstacles.
August and Lyka stood in the sudden silence, staring after him.
"What the hell just happened?" August asked.
"I don't know," Lyka said, but she was already packing her equipment. "But when something that powerful gets scared and runs away, maybe we should listen to its advice."
August's Foundation monitor was still red, but now it was flashing with new warnings. His immunity system was detecting something approaching - something that registered as a threat greater than the human Forsaken.
"Yeah," August said, shouldering his pack. "Running sounds good."
They left Zone 41-C quickly, following the path the human Forsaken had taken in his flight.
Behind them, August's Foundation monitor gradually faded from red to yellow to blue as they put distance between themselves and whatever had spooked their dangerous encounter.
"So," Lyka said as they walked, "we're not following Arthur."
"Apparently not."
"And someone's been impersonating him to lead us… somewhere."
"Somewhere we probably don't want to go."
Lyka was quiet for a moment, processing.
"Sparkles, what if the human Forsaken was right? What if Arthur isn't in any of the places we think he is?"
"Then where is he?"
"Maybe," Lyka said slowly, "he's exactly where he's supposed to be. And maybe someone's been using fake trail markers to make sure nobody finds him until it's too late."
August felt pieces of a larger puzzle clicking into place.
The dimensional crisis that had simple solutions. The zone clearings that were actually collections. The trail markers that led away from optimal clearing routes. And now confirmation that they weren't even following the right person.
"We've been played," August realized. "From the beginning. Someone wanted us to follow this trail, wanted us to discover the Forsaken collection operation, wanted us to think Arthur was behind it."
"But why?"
"Maybe," August said, "to keep us busy while something else happened to the real Arthur."
They walked in thoughtful silence, both contemplating the implications of following the wrong trail for weeks.
"So what do we do now?" Lyka asked finally.
"Now we figure out where Arthur really is," August said. "And we try to get there before whoever's been impersonating him accomplishes whatever they're really trying to do."
Behind them, Zone 41-C fell silent.
Whatever had scared the human Forsaken enough to make him flee remained invisible, but August's Foundation monitor occasionally flickered green, suggesting it was still there, still tracking them.
Ahead of them, the fake trail continued toward zones unknown.
But now they knew they were following a lie, leading them away from wherever Arthur actually was.
The question was: could they figure out the truth in time to help, or were they already too late to change whatever was really happening?
August looked at his map, trying to think like someone planning a deception.
If you wanted to lead people away from Arthur, where would you send them?
And more importantly - where would you hide Arthur while you made sure nobody could find him?
The answers were somewhere ahead, hidden in zones they'd been systematically led away from.
Time to stop following the wrong trail and start finding the right one.