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Dinner was simple—roasted meat, bread, and fruit. Nothing fancy, but after a day of training without their powers, no one complained.
Rias sat cross-legged near the fire, hair pulled up in a messy knot. She poked at her food with little energy, then sighed. "Everything hurts."
Akeno smirked, leaning back against her elbows. "That's because you charge in like a bull and forget footwork exists."
"Shut up," Rias muttered, too tired to argue. She stabbed another piece of meat and ate it with the expression of someone who thought chewing might be too much work.
Kunou appeared halfway through the meal, dragging her pillow and yawning. She plopped down between her mother and Rias, tail flicking lazily as she reached for bread. She insisted she wasn't tired, though her head kept bobbing forward.
Kaelthar smiled faintly at her stubbornness, but his own plate sat mostly untouched. His mind was elsewhere. The ripple he'd felt earlier still gnawed at him.
The others didn't notice. Or at least, they pretended not to. Yasaka's sharp eyes lingered on him once or twice, but she said nothing, simply keeping Kunou tucked close against her side.
The fire crackled. Akeno yawned and stretched before standing. "If I don't sleep now, I'll regret it tomorrow." She shot Kaelthar a sly grin. "Don't stay up too late. You already brood too much."
He managed a small chuckle, and she disappeared into the guest house. Kunou dozed off soon after, curled against Yasaka. Without a word, Yasaka lifted her daughter in her arms and carried her away.
That left Kaelthar and Rias. She lingered longer than the others, tossing twigs into the flames. Her crimson eyes studied him.
"You're somewhere else," she said quietly.
Kaelthar leaned back against the log. "I'm always somewhere else."
Her brow furrowed. "No. This is different."
He met her gaze, saw the stubborn determination behind her exhaustion. For a heartbeat, he considered telling her the truth. But then he saw the bandages on her arms, the weariness in her posture. Not yet.
"Just thinking," he said.
She didn't look convinced, but she let it drop. "Fine. But don't keep pushing us away." Rising, she gave him one last look before walking off toward her room.
Silence fell. Only the fire and the quiet hum of the dimension around him remained.
Yasaka returned a few minutes later, alone now. She didn't sit beside him, but across from him, her golden eyes catching the firelight. She didn't ask questions, didn't press. She simply looked at him—calm, steady, as if she already knew.
Kaelthar gave a faint nod. That was enough for her. She turned and left, soft-footed, leaving him alone.
He closed his eyes.
And then he let go.
His awareness stretched outward—not just across this dimension, but across the infinite lattice of creation itself. Layer upon layer of existence unfolded before him: planes of fire and shadow, seas of stars, realms bound by gods, and stories still writing themselves in countless universes. The endless sprawl of it all pressed against his mind, yet he sifted through it, searching.
There it was. A whisper. A bruise forming on the fabric of reality. Not here, not close, but somewhere deep in the tapestry of existence, chaos stirred. It was small, so small it could be mistaken for nothing at all. But Kaelthar knew better.
Chaos was taking form.
He pushed deeper, tracing the ripple through countless worlds and countless narratives. But it slipped from him like smoke, evading his sight. Something was hiding, shifting whenever he tried to focus.
Vorath.
Kaelthar's jaw tightened. The ancient one was cunning, more elusive than anything else in creation. He would not reveal himself until he sensed his other fragments. And when he did, the cults and servants scattered across the multiverse would answer.
That was why Kaelthar couldn't wait. He had to find those fragments first. If Vorath gathered them…
His eyes opened again, gaze fixed on the stars of this pocket dimension, which pulsed faintly like living hearts.
The ripple was gone. But not for long.
The hunt had already begun.
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