The first scout died without screaming.
That alone told Jade everything.
She was sharpening her dagger when the sound came — not a shout, not a horn, but the absence of forest noise. Birds gone. Wind stalled. Even Kael's stomach had gone quiet.
That scared her more than anything.
Kael stood up slowly.
He didn't look around.
Didn't ask a question.
Didn't reach for food.
He picked up his sword.
Dill swallowed. "That's… bad, right?"
Jade didn't answer. She was already moving, slipping toward the treeline, eyes sharp. "Kael," she muttered, "please tell me you hear that too."
Kael nodded once.
Then he walked past her.
Straight toward the trees.
"Hey—!" Jade hissed, then cursed and followed.
They found the body five steps in.
A man in leather armor. Not a beast. Not a demon. Human. His throat had been cut cleanly, professionally. No struggle. No wasted movement.
Dill crouched, pale. "Scout. From the war camps."
Jade's eyes flicked over the corpse, then to the ground. Footprints. Heavy ones. Too heavy.
"…They're close," she said.
Kael knelt.
He pressed two fingers into the dirt. Sniffed the air once.
Then he frowned.
"…Hungry," he said quietly.
Jade stared at him. "You're what?"
His stomach growled.
Low.
Controlled.
Not desperate.
A warning.
Jade's grip tightened on her dagger. "That's not hunger. That's you gearing up, isn't it?"
Kael stood.
Behind them, the forest cracked.
Something big moved.
And someone spoke — calmly, confidently — from the shadows.
"So this is him," a voice said. "The boy without systems."
Dill's heart nearly stopped.
Jade shifted in front of Kael without thinking. "Funny way to introduce yourself."
A man stepped out. Human. Robed. No weapon visible. His eyes glowed faintly — not with Aura, not with Ether.
With knowledge.
"We've been looking for you for a long time, Kael Silpatra."
Kael tilted his head.
"…Meat?" he asked.
The man smiled.
"Oh," he said softly. "You have no idea what you are."