(Senna POV · Aftermath)
Senna stayed still long after the beast stopped twitching.
That was rule one.
Some echoes played dead.
The boar-thing lay half-sunk into the ruined ground, its warped muscles slowly relaxing as the residual resonance bled out into the soil. Senna watched for the signs she'd learned the hard way—twitching hooves, breath that came too late, the way the land itself tensed before a second lunge.
Nothing.
Only then did she ease her grip on the blade.
She exhaled through her nose and turned her attention to the mapmaker.
He was worse than he looked.
That, too, was a familiar lesson.
The man stood rigidly, as if afraid that relaxing would cause him to fall apart. There was dried blood under his nose, his pupils slightly unfocused. He wasn't shaking anymore, which worried her more than if he had been.
Too quiet, she thought. Too contained.
She'd seen that look on new Resonants right after their first mistake—the moment they realized the world could push back.
"You should sit," Senna said.
"I'm fine," Kael replied immediately.
Of course he did.
She didn't argue. Instead, she crouched and pressed two fingers into the disturbed earth near where the beast had fallen.
The ground felt… sore.
Not damaged. Not broken.
Strained.
Like muscle after being forced past its limit.
Senna frowned.
This wasn't a wild echo. Not even a naturally warped one. The resonance signature was sharp-edged, incomplete—like something dragged into existence before it was ready.
Forced.
She stood and looked at Kael again, more carefully this time.
"You didn't summon it," she said.
Kael blinked. "I didn't—"
"But you called," she continued. "Unintentionally."
That got his attention.
Bren hovered nearby, spear still raised. The villagers watched from doorways and windows, fear thick in the air.
Senna ignored them.
"Have you ever hunted before?" she asked Kael.
"Yes," he said cautiously. "Beasts. Normal ones."
"And when you kill something," she asked, "what happens after?"
Kael hesitated. "The land… settles."
"Exactly." She gestured to the churned ground. "This didn't."
Kael followed her gaze.
For a moment, Senna saw it land on him—the understanding, sharp and uncomfortable.
"I pushed," Kael said quietly.
"Yes," she agreed. "And it answered."
She straightened and wiped her blade clean again, slower this time. Her hands were steady. They always were after a fight.
The inside of her chest was another matter.
"I've been tracking echoes like this for months," Senna said. "They don't wander into villages by accident."
Bren frowned. "Then why now?"
Senna looked at Kael.
"Because something changed."
Kael swallowed. "The ruin."
She nodded once. "Rings don't stay quiet once struck."
The ringing in his ears flared again—she saw it in the way his jaw tightened, the slight hitch in his breathing.
That was interesting.
Resonance feedback usually manifested as pain, distortion, aggression.
Not… alignment.
Senna took a step closer.
He didn't flinch.
That confirmed it.
"You're not a fighter," she said.
Kael almost laughed. "I noticed."
"But you listen," she continued. "And the land listens back."
"That's not a compliment, is it?"
"No," Senna said bluntly. "It's a warning."
She turned toward the treeline. The mist was thinning now, sunlight breaking through—but the resonance wasn't dispersing properly. Something lingered.
Memory.
"More will come," she said. "Not today. But soon."
Bren stiffened. "Then we leave."
Senna shook her head. "Running won't help if the signal stays active."
Kael looked down at his pack.
At the map inside.
"What if I stop using it?" he asked.
Senna studied him for a long moment.
"That would help," she said slowly. "A little."
Kael looked up. "That's not enough."
"No," she agreed. "It isn't."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Senna spoke again—more measured now.
"You don't control this yet," she said. "You react. You improvise. And you overreach."
Kael didn't argue.
"Good," she continued. "Because if you did, you'd be dead."
She turned away, scanning the land once more.
"I'm staying," she said.
Bren blinked. "You are?"
Senna nodded. "Until this settles. Or until it kills us."
She glanced back at Kael, eyes sharp.
"And if you're going to keep ringing bells," she added, "you'd better learn what listens."
Kael met her gaze.
For the first time since the ruin, the ringing in his ears softened.
Not gone.
Just… quieter.
The land hadn't forgiven him.
But it hadn't finished with him either.