The forgotten outpost appeared at midday — a ruined cluster of stone buildings half-buried in ash.
It had been a watchtower once — before the rifts expanded, before the academy pulled back its borders.
Now — empty windows, collapsed roofs, wind whistling through cracks.
Kael led them inside the most intact building — a low hall with a broken hearth.
He collapsed against the wall — breathing hard.
Miko helped him sit — checked the bandages.
Still bleeding — slower, but steady.
She looked around.
No supplies.
No water.
Just dust and silence.
Kael closed his eyes.
"We rest here.
One night.
Then move."
Miko nodded.
She explored — found a cracked barrel in the corner — rainwater inside, surprisingly clean.
She brought it back.
Kael drank — slow.
Miko drank.
They sat in silence.
Then — voices.
Outside.
Low.
Cautious.
Kael tensed — shadows rising.
Miko stood — hand raised.
Three figures appeared at the doorway — cloaked, but not masked.
Two men, one woman — weapons sheathed, hands visible.
The woman spoke — voice calm.
"We're not here to fight.
We saw your trail."
Kael's shadows didn't lower.
"Who are you?"
The woman pulled back her hood.
Short dark hair.
Scar across her cheek.
"Name's Rhea.
We're survivors.
Rift-walkers.
We live on the edge — scavenge what the rifts leave behind."
Miko stepped forward.
"You're not academy."
Rhea smiled — thin.
"No.
We're the ones the academy forgot."
Kael's shadows eased — slightly.
"What do you want?"
Rhea looked at Miko — eyes lingering on the seal.
"We felt it.
The seal.
It woke up.
We came to see if the stories were true."
Miko tensed.
"What stories?"
Rhea's voice was quiet.
"That the Crimson Seal doesn't just consume its bearer.
It changes the world around it.
Opens doors that should stay closed."
Miko felt cold.
Kael spoke.
"You're not here to help."
Rhea shook her head.
"We're here to survive.
If the seal opens a major rift… we die.
If you control it… maybe we don't."
Miko stared.
"You want me to control it?"
Rhea nodded.
"We have a camp — two days north.
Healers.
Supplies.
People who've seen seals before.
Not like yours.
But close."
Kael's voice was cold.
"You expect us to trust you?"
Rhea looked at him.
"No.
But you're bleeding out.
And she's carrying the weight of something that will kill her if she doesn't get help."
Miko looked at Kael.
He met her eyes.
Then — slowly — nodded.
Rhea smiled — small.
"Then follow us."
They walked.
The seal pulsed — once, curious.
Miko didn't fight it.
For now.
To be continued…