Everyone froze.
For a long moment, no one even breathed.
The serpent's voice—low, warped, wrong—still echoed through the air, rippling like thunder underwater.
They had all fought monsters that could imitate human speech before—some could even whisper lies into their heads—but this was different. This wasn't mimicry. This was awareness.
And that single word it spoke—
Orion.
It wasn't just nonsense.
Everyone knew that name.
Orion—the constellation, the hunter among the stars. A word more likely to be found in astronomy books than in dungeons. It wasn't something a creature from another realm should have known.
Zaira's lips parted slightly, her voice barely audible. "Did… did it just say Orion?"
Mio's brow furrowed. "That's… not strange."
"It's speaking our language," Mel muttered, tension lacing his tone. "Is this some sort of auditory trick? Like the phantoms?."
Eli stood completely still, his breath shallow.
