The war room was cold and silent, carved deep beneath the earth where even the siege fires could not reach.
Reyna stood at attention before General Valthor, armor still streaked with soot and blood, crimson eyes steady. She did not fidget. She did not embellish.
She simply reported.
"The city of Vaelor's Reach still stands," she said, voice flat and clinical. "The soul quota came up empty. The outer districts fell on schedule, but the inner wards and civilian resistance proved… more resilient than projected. We withdrew before total collapse to preserve remaining forces."
Valthor sat motionless on his iron throne, blackened plate reflecting the low torchlight, shattered horns casting long shadows across the stone. He listened without expression, without interruption.
Reyna continued, choosing her words with precision.
"There was an unexpected variable. A woman moving through the lines with living ribbons of pink and azure. The entity responded before commands were given. It protected, drained, and adapted in ways that did not match any known infernal signature. Possibly infernal in origin. Impossible to confirm from the field data."
She paused, then added the detail she knew would matter.
"The ribbons moved like they were thinking."
Valthor's eyes narrowed by a fraction. That was the only reaction.
He asked one quiet question, voice low and deliberate.
"The hair. The eyes. The way the ribbons moved. Did they seem… familiar?"
Reyna met his gaze without flinching.
"Pink and azure," she answered. "The ribbons moved with purpose. Protective. Almost… personal. The host was human. Female. Long brown hair, caravan leathers. The entity appeared bonded, not controlled."
Valthor went very still.
He did not explain why he was asking. He did not need to.
Reyna noticed the shift. She was smart enough to know when someone outranked her curiosity. She simply inclined her head once, accepting the silence.
Nothing was said directly.
Everything was understood.
The report was over.
Valthor remained seated in the cold stone chamber long after Reyna had been dismissed. The torchlight flickered across his armor, but the general did not move.
Somewhere far above, the city of Vaelor's Reach still breathed.
Below, in the dark, two very different hunts had just quietly connected.