The airship cut through the clouds in silence.
The engines roared steadily, the deck vibrating faintly beneath their boots as the vessel pushed toward the summit at full speed. Cold wind tore across the open deck, carrying with it the smell of snow and iron.
No one spoke.
Fritz lay secured near the center of the deck, wrapped in blankets and restraints, his breathing shallow but steady. Jay remained close, sitting with his back against a crate, eyes fixed on Fritz's rising chest as if willing it to keep moving.
Amelia leaned against the hull, arms crossed. Taylor stood at the bow, posture rigid, hands braced against the railing as she watched the clouds ahead thin.
Ryn broke the silence.
"…It's already started," he said.
No one asked how he knew.
Taylor nodded once. "If Kharvos was right about anything," she said, "it's that pressure doesn't disappear just because you step back."
Jay swallowed. "We gave them an out," he said quietly. "A way to stop it if things went bad."
