For a few seconds after Albedo's words left his mouth, none of them moved. Albedo looked down, spotting the ritual circle that was pulsing faintly at all of their feets, crimson lines twisting like exposed nerves.
The surrounding earth warped into something that felt less like soil and more like scar tissue. The air itself was wrong, it was simply too thick and too sticky. The mana in the environment was clinging to their lungs like damp smoke.
Lucian was the first to exhale.
"Good," he said, rolling his shoulders once, tension bleeding from his stance now that Albedo was here, "Because I really didn't want to do all of this by ourselves. Nice to have some extra help,"
Raphaeline let out a quiet huff of amusement, her wings shifting slightly behind her as she turned and began walking toward the deeper forest. "You always find trouble quickly, Albedo. You've barely returned to the Kingdom, and you're already out hunting."
