The gate sealed behind them with a sound like grinding stone. Dante watched his team walk away, seven figures moving through Floor 17's twilight forest with formations that were tight despite missing their leader. Astrid took point because her berserker instincts read the terrain for threats while Ren anchored the rear, his massive shield catching what little light filtered through the canopy. Between them walked the others—Vex with his magitech eye scanning constantly, Ravenna moving like smoke through the shadows, and Leon and Sera maintaining their cautious distance. They were good, they were ready, and the hardest pill to swallow was that they didn't need him for this.
He stood in the shadow of an ancient tree until they vanished around a bend and the sound of Ren's heavy footsteps faded into the forest's ambient whispers.
