The calmness of the previous day remained on the surface of the city.
But inside me, something began to change.
It wasn't immediate. It wasn't a shock. It was subtle, like an almost imperceptible variation in the air. I woke up before dawn, without a clear reason. No sound woke me. No dream interrupted my rest.
Even so, my eyes opened.
I stayed lying down for a few seconds, observing the dark ceiling. The breathing of the others was steady. The room was stable. Nothing out of place.
But there was a faint impression.
As if something had shifted deep within the silence.
I got up carefully so I wouldn't wake them and went down to the courtyard.
The sky was still between night and day. An undefined tone that comes before the sun.
I took a deep breath.
The magical flow around me seemed normal. But when I concentrated more deeply, I felt small irregularities. Not clear distortions. Just micro oscillations, as if the invisible fabric that sustains everything was being slightly tensioned in distant points.
I closed my eyes.
Concentrated.
Nothing aggressive.
Nothing directed.
But different.
Light footsteps behind me.
Vespera.
"You felt it too," she said, without asking.
"Yes."
She approached and stood beside me, watching the horizon.
"The pattern is not yet classified as unstable."
"But it changed."
"Yes."
A brief silence.
"Origin?" I asked.
"Undetermined."
It was not a comforting answer.
But it was honest.
Soon after, Liriel appeared, followed by Rai'kanna and Elara. Lyannis came last, already awake enough to notice that something was out of the ordinary.
"You woke up too early," Rai'kanna commented.
"He felt something," Vespera said.
Rai'kanna looked at me.
"A threat?"
"Not direct."
Lyannis crossed her arms.
"Describe it."
"It's like… a distant pressure. Not here. Not now. But existing."
Elara frowned slightly.
"Have you felt this before?"
I thought for a moment.
"Before the legendary dungeon, there was anticipation. But it was localized."
Liriel spoke calmly.
"This is different?"
"Yes. Broader."
Lyannis closed her eyes and tried to expand her own perception.
"I feel… something irregular. But it's weak."
Vespera added.
"No hostile pattern has been identified."
Rai'kanna took a deep breath.
"Then it's not a problem yet."
Not yet.
That was the part that bothered me.
We went back inside and followed the normal routine. Simple breakfast. Light conversations. But the sensation didn't disappear completely.
During the day, I tried to act as usual. We went to the guild just to check recent movements. Nothing unusual was recorded. No urgent mission. No reports of abnormal phenomena.
The city remained calm.
But I felt as if we were on the surface of something deeper.
As we walked through the streets, I observed details that would previously have gone unnoticed. A bird suddenly taking flight. A sudden gust of wind that did not repeat itself. Small, almost invisible flaws in magical perception.
Maybe it was excessive vigilance.
Maybe not.
Liriel walked beside me.
"You're still feeling it."
"I am."
"Will you tell us if it gets worse?"
"Yes."
Rai'kanna approached.
"I don't like it when you get quiet like this."
"I'm not hiding anything."
"You're holding it."
She wasn't wrong.
But I needed to be certain before turning an impression into an alert.
In the afternoon, we trained briefly. Not out of necessity. Out of habit.
During the training, I realized that my concentration was sharper than usual. Every movement was calculated with extra precision. Every sound seemed slightly amplified.
Lyannis noticed.
"You are in a state of anticipation."
"Maybe."
"Eliminate that tension if there is no confirmation."
"It's not tension."
It was vigilance.
When the sun began to set, the sensation increased a little. Not in intensity, but in clarity.
As if something were approaching a decisive point.
Vespera stood beside me again in the courtyard.
"The pattern is consolidating."
"Explain."
"There is a subtle convergence of energy in distant regions."
"Directed?"
"Not yet."
That word again.
Yet.
Rai'kanna came out to call us for dinner.
"You two look like statues."
We went inside.
The meal was calm. Normal conversations. Occasional laughter.
But I remained attentive.
At one point, Elara placed her hand over mine.
"If it's something big, we face it."
"I know."
"Then you don't need to carry it alone."
I nodded.
I knew that.
But part of me needed confirmation.
After dinner, we sat in the living room for a few minutes. The calm of the night contrasted with the faint pressure I felt.
Lyannis finally asked directly.
"Do you believe it's related to the dungeon?"
"Possibly."
"Or to something bigger?" Liriel asked.
I looked at all of them.
"I don't know."
That was the truth.
There was no form.
There was no face.
Only the feeling that something was preparing itself.
When we went upstairs to sleep, the sky was clear. No clouds. No visible sign.
I lay down.
The others gradually fell asleep.
I closed my eyes, but my mind remained alert for longer.
The sensation was closer now.
Not physically.
But energetically.
Like a distant echo that begins to gain clarity.
And then, just before finally falling asleep, I felt something different.
Not an external oscillation.
But internal.
As if an invisible mark had been touched.
My eyes opened in the dark.
Nothing in the room had changed.
Their breathing was calm.
But my heart was slightly accelerated.
The feeling was not fear.
It was a warning.
Something is coming.
Not tomorrow.
Not necessarily now.
But it is.
I closed my eyes again.
This time, sleep came heavier.
The last thing I thought before fading out was simple.
The complete calm had ended.
And whatever is approaching has already begun to move.