They didn't talk much after it happened.
The forest had gone quiet again. Not peaceful. Just quiet, like it was listening. Thomas's hands were still shaking, Jude's blood drying in the dirt behind them. Nia moved stiffly, holding her arm where the cut had soaked through the strip of shirt she'd tied around it.
They kept walking.
They didn't say why.
A flicker blinked across Thomas's vision.
[XP Awarded: 250]
[Combat Bonus: Assist in Player Injury +50 XP]
[Sync Progress: 9%]
He stared at the text. Cold, white, and emotionless. A machine's version of a pat on the back.
Nia saw it too. "So it liked that," she said, flat and bitter.
Thomas didn't answer. He just kept walking.
They followed the slope of a ridge, cutting through soft moss and thick underbrush. The trees here were taller, warped into strange spirals, bark lit faintly from within like veins glowing beneath skin.
The world pulsed gently beneath their feet.
The silence wasn't real. It felt full, like something was always breathing just out of sight.
Thomas's ankle still throbbed, but he barely noticed. Adrenaline blurred the pain.
A few minutes later, his screen lit up again.
[Trait Path Update: NULL PATH (Hidden)]
[Sync Threshold Reached: 10%]
Class Adjustment: Undefined to Nullborn Initiate
New Ability: Null Veil (Active)
Effect: Five seconds of total concealment. No sight, sound, or heat signature
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Warning: Overuse may attract high-tier entities
"Veil," Thomas murmured, eyes scanning the description.
Nia glanced over. "You get something?"
"Invisibility," he said. "For five seconds. But the system says using it too much brings attention."
"Of course it does," she muttered. "Nothing here's free."
They walked on until the trees thinned. A ridge curved ahead, dotted with strange growths. Broad stalks opened and closed like lungs. Beyond them, the terrain dropped into a shallow valley.
That's when they saw it.
A tower. Or something like one. Rusted steel beams rose from the ground, wrapped in thorny cables and flickering red lights. Around its base, shapes moved. Figures. People.
More lights. Shelter. Movement. A place.
Nia crouched low, her hand brushing the hilt of her spear. "Looks like a camp."
"Could be a trap," Thomas said.
"Could be worth the risk."
Thomas nodded. "We get closer. Quiet."
They crept to the edge of the tree line and ducked behind a fallen log. Below, the camp came into focus. Makeshift walls of scrap metal and bark, solar panels tilted toward light that didn't seem to come from any sun.
Two people stood guard at the main opening. One leaned on a metal staff. The other sat against the wall, head tilted up toward the sky.
She looked wrong. Not in a monstrous way. Just too still. Pale. Her eyes were open, and something shimmered faintly in them like glass catching sunlight.
She turned her head. Looked straight at them.
Thomas froze.
She smiled. Just a little. Then looked away.
"That woman," he started.
"I saw her," Nia said. "She shouldn't have seen us."
"She looked right at me."
"She looked like she knew you."
Before he could respond, Thomas's screen flickered. The image broke up with static. A message tried to break through, jittering in the air.
[Error 401: External Intercept]
[Incoming Message – Source Unknown]
Crackling static. Then a voice. Warped, but human.
"…not supposed to activate yet… Thomas, if you can hear this…"
"…stay away from…"
[Signal Lost]
The message vanished.
Nia turned to him sharply. "That was your name."
"Yeah."
"Someone's watching us."
"Or warning me."
Thomas stared down at his hands. His fingers were still stained from the fight. They were cold now.
Below, in the camp, lights flickered on. A soft alarm rang from somewhere deep inside. Two short tones. A signal. Figures moved. One of them carried a rifle. Another dragged a crate wrapped in glowing wire.
[Trial Time Remaining: 68:41:10]
"We going in?" Nia asked.
"If it's a trap," he said, "we'll find out fast."
"If it's not," she replied, "it's the first roof we've seen."
Thomas nodded.
"I'll scout ahead," he said. "Use the veil."
"Don't overdo it," she said. "You saw the warning."
He didn't reply. Just closed his eyes and activated the ability.
The world blinked.
Sound vanished. Light dulled. Even the ache in his ankle faded. For five seconds, he didn't exist.
But something far away noticed.
Something old.
Something watching.
And it began to turn its attention toward him.