Light burst around them.
When Rafe, Mara, and Lyn stepped out of the Whispering Path, the world snapped back together like a curtain falling into place.
The forest.The air.The smell of earth after a long night.
They were home.
Except—
Selene wasn't standing where they left her.
Rafe blinked.
"Selene…?"
The clearing was empty.
The protective wards around the cottage flickered.Dim.Unstable.As if they had been strained to their limit while the three were gone.
Mara tensed immediately.
"Where is she?"
Lyn's grip tightened around Rafe's sleeve. "S-She wouldn't leave us…"
"She wouldn't," Rafe agreed.
So something happened.
Something bad.
A rustling sound echoed above them.
All three looked up—
And Selene dropped from the branches, landing silently in front of them.
But something was wrong.
Her cloak was torn.Her staff cracked along one side.Her mana flared uncontrollably—sharp, chaotic, leaking through her aura like sparks.
"Selene?" Rafe stepped forward.
She raised a hand sharply, stopping him.
Her eyes were glowing a desperate shade of blue.
"You three… took longer than you should have."
Her voice shook.
Mara narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"
Selene exhaled slowly — not out of exhaustion, but to keep from panicking.
"They came."
Rafe stiffened.
"Who came?"
Selene didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes drifted behind them — toward the twisting path the forest had sealed shut.
"Fate Hunters."
Lyn gasped in fear, clinging to Rafe.
Mara immediately stood in front of him, fists clenched.
"Did they… see us?"
"No," Selene said quickly. "If they had, you wouldn't be standing here."
She rubbed her forehead, eyes tight with pain.
"But they sensed the disturbance when the Primordial marked you, Rafe. And when the Path activated for three minds at once, the tear in the forest's mana grew."
Rafe's pulse thundered.
"So they followed it."
Selene nodded.
"Yes. They came searching for an anomaly."
Rafe swallowed hard.
"And… did they find one?"
Selene looked directly at him.
Her silence was an answer by itself.
Rafe's stomach twisted.
"What did you do?" he whispered.
Selene took a slow breath.
"What I had to."
She lifted her staff, and for the first time ever, Rafe sensed fear in her.
Not fear of the Hunters.
Fear of what she had been forced to use.
"They weren't normal Fate Hunters. They were higher-tier constructs. Faster. Smarter. More violent."
Mara stepped closer. "So you fought them?"
Selene gave a bitter smile.
"I delayed them."
She looked at Rafe again.
"You cannot face them yet. Not even with your Awakening."
Rafe clenched his fists.
"I'll try."
"You'll die," Selene snapped.
Rafe flinched.
Mara bristled, ready to argue.
But Selene continued before she could speak.
"The Primordial's mark… has changed things. You don't understand how much."
Rafe frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Selene leaned closer, lowering her voice to almost a whisper.
"Listen to me carefully. The Fate Hunters used to be after you because your existence is an anomaly."
Rafe nodded.
"Now," Selene whispered, voice trembling,"they want you because you are a claimed anomaly."
Rafe blinked.
"…Claimed?"
Selene's breath shook.
"You belong to something."
The words hit like a blade.
Rafe stepped back.
"No. I don't."
"You don't get to choose," Selene said softly. "It already chose."
The forest trembled. A low pulse — faint, but unmistakable — echoed through the trees.
The Primordial.
Listening.Watching.Waiting.
Rafe swallowed, throat tight.
Mara's hand found his.
Lyn pressed close against his side.
Selene straightened herself and forced stability back into her voice.
"We don't have time. We must leave the forest."
"Now?" Rafe asked.
"Yes. Immediately."
Lyn's voice trembled. "B-But where will we go?"
Selene's jaw tightened.
"To the ruins."
Rafe inhaled sharply.
"The ruins with the relic? For the Ritual?"
"Yes," Selene said. "Because if we remain here, the Hunters will return. And next time, I cannot promise to stop them."
Mara stepped forward.
"Then we'll go. Lead the way."
Before they moved, Selene placed a hand on Rafe's shoulder. Her grip was tight. Desperate.
"Rafe… there is something else."
He looked up at her.
"What?"
Selene hesitated.
Her next words came out like a confession:
"When the Fate Hunters came… the Primordial intervened."
Rafe's eyes widened.
"What do you mean intervened?"
Selene swallowed hard.
"It protected you."
The forest fell silent.
Rafe's heart pounded in his ears.
Protected him?
The Primordial?
Why?
Selene didn't let him speak.
She placed both hands on his shoulders and whispered:
"We need to run before the world realizes what you're becoming."