Three Days Later – South of Virewood
The southern forest was nothing like the eastern stretch they had cleansed.
No mana-sickened birds. No half-melted treants. No corrupted wildlife.
Nothing.
The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
Luka crouched near the edge of a stream, eyes scanning the reflection.
The water here flowed unnaturally clear—no rot, no sediment, no fish. Just empty current. Serene stood uphill, her shield on her back, scanning the tree line with narrowed eyes.
"Still nothing?" she asked.
Luka shook his head. "Not even a mana pulse."
Snow gave a soft chirp, circling twice overhead before landing on Luka's shoulder, tail flicking anxiously.
"That's worse, right?" Serene muttered. "It means whatever did this already cleaned up after itself."
"Or it's watching," Luka replied.
He drew a small compass-like device from his belt. A gift from the Artificer's Guild—tuned to leyline fractures.
It didn't spin. It didn't shake.
It was still.
Dead.
Luka's jaw tightened.
