The wind howled through the narrow mountain pass. It was cold, sharp, and full of whispers that did not belong to the living.
Aria pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, her eyes locked on the winding path ahead. The Moonblade, now sheathed and strapped to her back, pulsed faintly with silver light. Every step she took seemed to stir the ancient ground beneath her, like the land itself remembered her.
Behind her, the group followed in tense silence.
Liora walked beside Serana, her golden hair glowing faintly under the moonlight. "Do you feel that?" she whispered.
Serana nodded slowly, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. "It is like… the Moon is watching us. Feeding us."
Liora smiled softly. "My magic feels stronger. It is humming in my bones."
Further back, Dax walked alone, his jaw tight. He was not shivering from the cold. He was shaking from the storm inside him.
Every time he looked at Aria, he saw Selphira.
