⚔️ **CHAPTER 31 — Nightmares Like Fog**
The next day, the mist clung even closer, damp and cold, pressing into Kael's lungs with every breath. The forest seemed almost sentient now, whispering faint echoes of the visions that haunted him.
As he walked, the nightmares rose again, stronger than yesterday. Faces from burning villages shimmered in the mist, twisted shadows of his past and futures that might never exist. Trees bent into shapes that seemed impossibly human. Whispers, some mocking, some pleading, threaded through the fog.
Kael staggered, gripping his sword tighter, every instinct screaming to flee. But Caelin's steady presence beside him anchored him.
"You're stronger than yesterday," Caelin said quietly. "Don't fight alone. Remember—focus on the path. Step by step."
Kael nodded, forcing himself to inhale deeply. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. The whispers clawed at his mind, but this time, he forced them to the edge of his awareness, pushing them back like water against a dam.
Hours passed, the path twisting through dense trees and hidden roots. The nightmares pressed relentlessly, but Kael felt a faint distance forming between him and them. He could feel the forest testing him, pushing his fear to its limits, but he also felt the faint beginnings of control—the ability to resist the mental pull of the shadows.
By evening, he collapsed beside a small stream, muscles trembling, eyes half-closed. The visions still flickered at the edges of his mind, but their intensity had dimmed.
"Small victories," Caelin said, crouching beside him. "You're beginning to see them for what they are. Not real—tests."
Kael exhaled, swallowing hard. "I can feel it… they're not as strong."
"Yes," Caelin said. "But tomorrow, they will push harder. And the forest… it will notice that resistance. That's when it tests you physically."
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