The forest swallowed the light as they moved deeper, roots twisting over the path like veins.
Trafalgar glanced at Garrika ahead. Her ears flicked, tail tense, every step light and deliberate. Sylven followed behind her, bow half-raised, eyes flicking from shadow to shadow.
"She's tracking something," Sylven murmured.
"Yeah," Trafalgar replied, voice low. "She's been sniffing the air for a while."
Garrika crouched near a patch of torn moss, brushing her fingers against faint claw marks. "Fresh. Big ones. Three at least."
Sylven's eyes glowed faintly silver as he activated [Aether Trace]. Lines of blue light spread over the ground, sketching spectral silhouettes that circled their position. "They're close. One to the left, two flanking from the front."
Trafalgar cracked his neck. "Then we don't wait." He brushed his thumb against his palm — and Maledicta materialized in his grasp, humming like a contained growl.
