The Guardian Titan's roar faded into the forest, leaving behind a trembling silence. Dust drifted down from the trees. Even the insects had gone quiet.
Arin didn't move.
Neither did Eira, Kaien, Razan, Draiven, or Lynx. They all stared at the distant shadow of the Titan slowly settling back into stillness — like a statue carved into the world.
"Okay…" Kaien whispered, wiping sweat from his forehead. "So… giant death robot guarding ancient collapsing temple. Totally normal. Totally fine."
Lynx nudged him with an elbow. "Hey, at least it didn't try to eat us. Yet."
Kaien glared. "Very comforting. Thank you. I feel so much safer now."
Razan snorted. "Relax. If anything wants to eat you, it'll start with Lynx."
Lynx flipped his hair. "Please. If something tried to eat me, it would choke on all the swagger."
Even Eira cracked a small smile at that.Arin tried to. But his mind drifted back to the voice in the rift…Run… before he finds you…
He swallowed.He hated how his hands still trembled.
Draiven stepped behind him quietly. "Breathe, Arin."
"…I'm fine."
"You are lying," Draiven said simply.
Arin didn't argue. He just walked forward.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became—like the forest was losing patience with them.
Branches twisted overhead.The path narrowed.Fog crept around their ankles with every step.
Eira walked beside Arin, close but not hovering. "We're with you. Remember that."
"…I know."
But the knot in his chest didn't loosen.
A Branch Snapped Behind Them.
Everyone tensed—hands on weapons.
A cold breeze swept through the clearing.
And then he stepped out.
The Silver Wraith.
Not emerging dramatically this time.Not tearing the Veil.Not shaking the air.
He simply appeared, as if he had already been standing there the whole time and they had only just noticed him.
Eira gasped softly.Kaien made a squeak that he tried to disguise as a cough.Lynx whispered, "Bro— does this man teleport or just refuses to follow the rules of reality?"
Razan muttered, "Why is he everywhere…"
The Wraith ignored all of them. His eyes locked on Arin. Again.
"Arin Kael," he said softly, "my offer still stands."
Arin took a step back. "I told you— I'm not going anywhere with you."
The Wraith tilted his head slightly. "Refusing answers does not erase the truth."
Kaien whispered, "Can someone tell him we are very comfortable not knowing anything?"
Lynx elbowed him. "Shut up before he deletes your existence."
The Wraith lifted a hand.
Fog spiraled upward, swirling like silver ink—a fraction of a fraction of his aura.
The world bent around it.Trees bent away.Stones cracked at the edges.
But Arin didn't run.
Eira stepped in front of him. "Stop. He said no."
The Wraith glanced at her.
A small, faint smile.
"You are brave. Wrong, but brave."
Then he lowered his hand.
Just like that.
As if he had only been testing what Arin would do.
Arin clenched his fists. "What do you want from me?"
The Wraith stepped closer—but not threatening.Not pressing.
Simply… observing.
"I want you alive."
Arin froze.
"That temple," the Wraith continued, voice quiet but slicing the air like a blade,"will not forgive mistakes. If you go without me, the answers you seek may kill you before they speak them."
Razan muttered, "He's threatening again."
Kaien pushed his glasses up. "No, that's… that's a pretty valid warning?"
Lynx shrugged. "Still sounds like a threat to me."
The Wraith's eyes softened—barely. Almost invisible.
"Arin. Come now, and I will tell you why the Titan woke… and what hunts you in the dark."
Arin's heartbeat echoed in his ears.
He wanted answers.He needed them.But… not like this.
"I'm not going with you."
The Wraith's expression didn't change.
He simply stared—too calm. Too patient.Like he had lived long enough to expect refusal.
Finally he spoke.
"…Stubborn. Like the first you."
Arin's breath hitched. "What does that mean?"
The Wraith did not answer.
Instead, the air behind him rippled — like a shadow flinching.
Something unseen stirred beyond the trees, far away but approaching.
The Wraith turned his head slightly, as if listening to a voice the others couldn't hear.
"It seems… I am out of time."
He took one slow step backward.
"Very well, Arin Kael. Keep your path. But understand this—"
Mist curled around his feet like living smoke.
"—the temple calls for you. And what calls… always comes to collect."
Arin swallowed hard.
The Wraith's form began to dissolve into silver dust.
But before fading entirely, he looked at Eira, Kaien, Razan, and the others.
"You keep him alive," he said.Not a threat.Not an order.A quiet promise.
"And I will keep what hunts him… occupied."
Kaien blinked. "Wait— hunts? Something is hunting him?!"
But the Wraith didn't answer.
He vanished—gone like he never existed at all.
The forest exhaled again.
Silence returned.
Kaien slowly turned to Arin. "Arin… please tell me he's joking about the hunting part?"
Lynx patted his shoulder. "Buddy, nothing about that man says 'joking.' Ever."
Razan grunted. "We move. Before whatever he meant gets here."
Eira's hand slid gently around Arin's wrist. "Are you okay?"
Arin stared at the place where the Wraith had vanished.
"…No."
He finally looked at her — a little lost, a little scared.
"But I'm going anyway."
She nodded. "Then we're going with you."
Draiven stepped forward. "The temple is close. We will reach it before nightfall."
"Hopefully before something reaches us," Kaien muttered.
Arin took a deep breath.
Then he stepped into the darkened path ahead.
The fog shifted.
The ground trembled once.
Something growled far in the distance.
Something massive.
Something ancient.
The Titan?
No.
Worse.