The forest did not breathe.
That was the first thing I noticed. No wind. No rustling leaves. No distant cry of insects or birds. It was as if the mountains themselves had decided to hold their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
The Lanken stood before us, one hand wrapped loosely around Sayla, the other hanging at his side as though he were merely passing time. His fiery halo burned steadily above his head, casting distorted shadows across the trees. The light bent wrong, curving where it should not, stretching where it should end.
Eric's stance was rigid, coiled like a drawn bowstring. Ara and Anak flanked him. I stood slightly behind them, my arm still throbbing where the Lanken had held me. The ache wasn't just physical. It crawled deeper than muscle, settling somewhere behind my eyes.
The Lanken tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle piece he had misplaced long ago and just now found beneath a table.
"You reacted," he said pleasantly. "That settles it."
Eric's jaw tightened. "Let her go."
"She's not your concern," the Lanken replied. "You should be more concerned about yourself. You are next."
Ara stepped forward half a pace. "Not if we get you first."
The Lanken sighed. "You're alive only because I allow it," he said calmly. "Well… not much will change now anyway. Time's up. Others are stirring."
I glanced around, heart pounding. "What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, tightening his grip on Sayla, "that the seals are failing faster than expected. Airen was never meant to last this long."
My chest tightened. "You're going to destroy it."
He smiled. "No. You are. Simply by existing."
Eric stepped forward, rage blazing. "Let her go."
The Lanken looked at him, genuinely curious. "Why?"
"She's a child."
"So was the world," the Lanken replied. "Once."
His words were heavy. But we had no time to ponder. No time to spare.
Eric moved first.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat, fists driving forward with everything he had left. Anak followed a breath later, daggers flashing as she aimed for joints and tendons, while Ara circled wide, searching desperately for a blind spot that refused to exist.
The Lanken sighed.
He stepped into Eric's attack instead of away from it.
Eric's punch should have crushed bone. Instead, the Lanken caught his wrist with two fingers and twisted. There was a sharp crack... bone or pride, I couldn't tell... and Eric was flung sideways, skidding through dirt and roots until he struck a tree hard enough to shake its leaves loose.
Anak's blades found nothing but afterimages.
The Lanken leaned just enough for her strike to pass, then struck her midsection with the back of his hand. Not hard. Not fast. Just precise. Anak folded instantly, the air tearing from her lungs as she slammed into the ground.
She didn't get back up.
"A–Anak!" Ara shouted desperately. But he attacked anyway. That was the only option in front of him.
He came in low, sweeping for the legs, then transitioned into a rising kick meant to shatter ribs. It was a beautiful sequence... one I'd seen him drill a hundred times.
The Lanken stepped on his ankle.
Ara went down with a cry, balance gone, momentum turning against him as the Lanken twisted and threw him headfirst into the forest floor. The impact sent a dull thud through the ground beneath my feet.
Three fighters.
Three breaths.
All of them broken.
I moved without thinking.
I didn't charge.
I didn't fight.
I did what I did best.
I ran.
But this time, I ran straight at him.
The Lanken raised an eyebrow, amused, as I ducked under his reach and grabbed Sayla's arm, pulling with everything I had. For half a second... just half... I thought it might work. I was free. Almost…
Then his grip tightened.
Pain exploded through my shoulder as he yanked me back like a hooked fish, lifting me off the ground. My feet kicked uselessly as he slammed me down at his feet.
"You still don't know when to stop," he said mildly.
I tried to push myself up.
A foot pressed into my back, pinning me to the earth.
Eric staggered to his knees, blood at the corner of his mouth, fury burning through the pain. "Get away from him!"
The Lanken glanced at him. "You're loud for someone who's already lost. What is with you people? Don't you know when to give up?"
But Eric struggled to get to his feet. But it wouldn't mean much. At his best, he couldn't touch the Lanken. Now, he could barely move.
Yet, he raised his hand.
As if to signal that all was not lost.
The air screamed.
Pressure crashed down on us like a collapsing sky. My chest compressed, my vision narrowed, my bones aching as if gravity itself had turned hostile.
Ara tried to move and failed.
Anak didn't move at all.
Sayla whimpered.
"This is where it ends," the Lanken said. "A fitting place. The seal breaks. The town falls. And you... " His gaze settled on me, "... remember just enough to suffer."
The pressure intensified.
Then...
It vanished.
The forest exhaled.
Wind tore through the trees, violent and sudden, bending trunks and ripping leaves free in a roaring surge. The ground split where the Lanken stood, forcing him back a step.
For the first time...
The Lanken frowned.
A presence filled the clearing. Not heavy. Not oppressive.
Absolute.
Footsteps approached. Slow. Deliberate. Unhurried.
The Lanken straightened, eyes narrowing as a familiar aura washed over the battlefield like dawn after a long night.
"…You," he said.
A figure emerged from between the trees.
Tall. Calm. Cloaked in travel-worn fabric marked by dust, blood, and distance. Black hair tied back loosely, eyes sharp and steady... like someone who had already seen every possible outcome and chosen one.
The main character.
Master Lui.
He stopped between us and the Lanken, hands folded behind his back, posture relaxed, as if he had simply arrived late to a conversation.
"That's enough," Lui said quietly.
The Lanken's smile returned, thin and sharp. "You're early."
"I'm late," Lui corrected. His gaze flicked briefly to Eric, to Ara, to Anak... then, just for a moment, rested on me. Something unreadable passed through his eyes.
Regret.
Or resolve.
"You've interfered," the Lanken said.
Lui nodded. "That's usually my role."
The Lanken tightened his grip on Sayla. "You know what happens if I don't leave with her."
"Yes," Lui replied. "And you know what happens if you don't let her go."
Silence stretched.
Then the Lanken clicked his tongue and released Sayla.
"Fine," he said. "I've confirmed what I needed. He's awake... or close enough. I'll let you have your reunion."
His eyes locked onto mine one last time.
"But the end will follow shortly."
And with that, he drifted into the wind… gone.