[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Verdantis]

[Embereach]

Fiona heaved out another long breath, the sound misting into the freezing Verdantis air as her sabatons pressed through layers of snow. The streets of Embereach had grown too quiet. Not the peaceful quiet either. Not the kind that came after snowfall when a city slept beneath winter skies. This silence felt unnatural, as though the city was holding its breath and waiting for something terrible to finally arrive.

The distant pounding against the barriers never truly stopped.

Even from here, far from the outer walls, she could still hear it.

The Abyssal Creatures.

Thousands upon thousands of claws and malformed bodies hurling themselves against the magical defenses protecting the city. The impact carried through the stone beneath her feet in dull tremors every few moments. Some weaker than others. Some violent enough to shake frost loose from rooftops.

Fiona's ears twitched beneath the ornate accessories covering them, flattening ever so slightly at another particularly heavy impact somewhere in the distance.

Her salmon-pink eyes lifted toward the sky again.

Those tears remained overhead.

Black fractures splitting open reality, leaking that foul darkness. Even after days of seeing them, Fiona still felt uneasy every time she looked too long. There was something deeply wrong about them. Something that made her instincts crawl.

The cold air brushed against her exposed skin, but she barely noticed it anymore.

Her armor, however, was another matter entirely.

The Solkari woman subtly adjusted one shoulder with a small grimace. The metal had begun to feel suffocating after wearing it almost endlessly for days. The weight no longer felt protective; it merely felt exhausting.

Sweat dried beneath layers of cloth and alloy, muscles ached, and sleep had become shallow and inconsistent.

But removing her armor was not an option.

Not when the world looked like this.

"It was supposed to be a simple visit to Verdantis..." Fiona thought bitterly, her gaze remaining on the twisted skies above. "Discuss trade routes, improve relations between Galadriel and Verdantis, attend political meetings... normal things."

A humorless smile touched her lips for barely a second.

"Of course, the tears decided now was the perfect time to act up."

The timing could not have been worse.

Entire nations were already strained trying to contain the Abyssal outbreaks. Supply routes were failing, and cities were becoming isolated. Fear spread faster than any army ever could.

And now even Embereach — a fortified Verdantis city reinforced by one of the strongest mages in the north — was nearing collapse under pressure.

Fiona exhaled slowly through her nose.

Complaining would solve nothing.

At the very least, she could still help.

That thought alone kept her moving through the snow-covered streets.

Most civilians had already been evacuated toward the city's center where teleportation formations were being prepared to transport them deeper into Verdantis territory. Somewhere safer and farther away from the outer breaches.

But evacuation took time, far too much time.

Children cried, families refused to separate, and elderly citizens struggled to move quickly through the snow. Panic caused delays, and fear caused mistakes.

And every second mattered.

Because the barriers would not hold forever.

Fiona knew that.

Everyone did.

Eventually, the Abyssal Creatures would break through the walls. They would pour into the city like a flood of black. Their energy alone was enough to contaminate entire districts. Buildings would collapse. Streets would become unusable, and corpses would pile up beneath ruined stone.

Embereach would cease being a city.

Another ruined location on a growing map of disasters.

"That's simply how dangerous they become in larger numbers..." Fiona thought grimly, her jaw tightening.

"Lady Fiona."

The voice cut through her thoughts, one of her ears twitched immediately.

Fiona turned on her heel smoothly, snow crunching beneath her as her eyes landed upon the approaching figure.

"Ah, Ingrid."

The young woman approaching her carried herself with striking composure despite everything happening around them.

She looked dignified beyond her years.

Long black hair framed a face so serene it almost resembled a carefully made doll, but there was nothing lifeless about her emerald-green eyes. They were sharp and constantly observing. Her silver armor gleamed beneath the dim light spilling through the broken skies overhead. Blue accents lined the plating beautifully, and the embedded gem at the center of her chestpiece emitted a small glow.

Even now, Ingrid's posture remained perfect.

Fiona studied her for a brief moment before speaking again.

"Are you finished searching the western district?"

Ingrid gave a small nod.

"Yes. No civilians remain within the western sector." Her voice was calm. "The final group was escorted toward the evacuation point several minutes ago."

Fiona visibly relaxed at that, if only slightly.

"That's good." She brushed a loose strand of hair behind one of her human ears. "I haven't found anyone remaining here either."

Though even as she said it, her expression dimmed again.

Too much of the city already looked abandoned. Shops left open, windows shattered from earlier panic with snow gathering over dropped belongings no one had time to retrieve.

It felt wrong.

Ingrid's gaze drifted northward.

"The northern districts remain unaccounted for."

Fiona immediately followed her line of sight.

Toward the northern side of Embereach, toward the loudest impacts. Toward the sections closest to the outer pressure points of the barrier.

Ingrid spoke again.

"There are likely still civilians trapped there."

Fiona frowned.

"Likely frightened too," she murmured. "Some people refuse evacuation until the last possible moment. Others freeze entirely once panic sets in."

"They may also distrust the teleportation circles," Ingrid added. "Several citizens earlier believed the magic formations themselves were unstable."

Fiona sighed tiredly.

"Wonderful. As if the sky splitting open wasn't enough to deal with."

A sound escaped Ingrid then, not quite a laugh but close.

Fiona blinked in mild surprise before Ingrid spoke.

"The northern districts are dangerous," she continued instead. "Barrier integrity in those areas has weakened significantly. If a breach occurs while civilians remain trapped—"

"They die," Fiona finished bluntly.

"Yes, these Abyssal Creatures may be weak individually, but they are still far too much for the average person to handle," Ingrid confirmed quietly, her composed voice carrying through the street as snow drifted across the abandoned roads.

The young knight's expression did not shift much as she spoke, but Fiona had begun to notice that was simply how Ingrid carried herself. As though every emotion had first been weighed before being allowed to surface. Even now, with the distant sounds of violent impacts sounding against the city barrier, the girl's emerald eyes remained steady.

Fiona exhaled through her nose, her breath fogging in the cold air as her salmon-colored eyes swept across the empty district ahead of them.

"Does not help that they're so horrid to look at either," Fiona muttered, ears twitching beneath the ornaments. Her tone held dry disgust more than fear. "Every single one of those things looks like something dragged out of a nightmare." She paused briefly before rolling one shoulder beneath the weight of her armor. "But let us move."

Snow crunched beneath her as she started forward again without hesitation, Ingrid immediately falling into step beside her.

The streets of Embereach felt eerie.

The buildings still stood tall beneath layers of snow. Lanterns still burned dimly outside certain homes. Market stalls remained where merchants had abandoned them in panic, cloth covers fluttering weakly in the wind. There were even signs of lives interrupted halfway through ordinary routines. A basket of produce overturned near a doorway. A child's scarf half-buried in snow beside a bench.

Yet there were no voices.

Only the distant, constant impact of Abyssal Creatures throwing themselves against the city's barrier.

Fiona's gaze drifted upward for a brief moment toward the sky above the city again. The tears still loomed there, her expression hardened slightly.

"But have you heard word from the Capital City at least?" Fiona asked after several moments, finally breaking the silence between them. "Anything useful or reassuring."

Ingrid gave a small nod.

"Yes." Her voice remained level. "Court Mage Lyra is currently occupied in the western section of Verdantis alongside two Inheritors. Reports indicate the Abyssal outbreaks there intensified several hours ago." Her eyes shifted briefly toward Fiona before returning ahead. "Most of the remaining Inheritors have been spread thin attempting to suppress large-scale manifestations across the nation."

Fiona clicked her tongue softly.

"So everyone's drowning everywhere at once," she murmured bitterly.

Ingrid did not deny it.

"The situation remains unstable in every major territory."

Fiona let out another sigh, longer this time.

"I'm guessing that means we won't be receiving help here?" she asked dryly, though she already knew the answer before the words left her mouth.

"None for the time being," Ingrid confirmed without embellishment. "Communication lines are strained. Teleportation resources are being prioritized for evacuation efforts and reinforcement of the Capital." Her tone softened only slightly. "We must assume this city is done for."

Fiona's ears twitched sharply at the blunt statement.

The Solkari woman glanced sideways toward Ingrid, studying the younger girl more carefully now. Despite her age, she carried herself with a kind of disciplined resolve Fiona had seen more often in aging veterans than young knights.

Still.

The words sounded cold.

"Rather bleak way to look at it for someone so young," Fiona murmured.

Ingrid remained silent for several steps.

Their steps crunched through the snow as freezing wind swept down the narrow street between buildings. Somewhere far in the distance, another section of the barrier groaned beneath pressure.

Then Ingrid finally spoke.

"One needs to be practical," she said quietly. "Especially now."

Her emerald eyes did not waver.

"If resources are limited, then protecting what can still realistically be protected becomes more important than clinging to everything." She folded one armored hand lightly over the other behind her back as she walked. "If we waste too much time attempting to save locations already beyond recovery, we risk losing even more."

Fiona frowned slightly. "Experience talking, I assume."

Ingrid's expression shifted almost imperceptibly.

"Perhaps."

Fiona watched her for a moment longer before looking ahead again.

"You know," Fiona started after a pause, her tone quieter, "people always say practical things like that when they've already lost something."

That caused Ingrid to finally glance at her properly, for the first time since they had begun moving together.

"The world does not stop for grief," Ingrid replied. "So eventually you learn to keep walking while carrying it."

Fiona went silent after that, not because she disagreed, but because she understood. The wind howled harder through the street, sweeping loose snow across the ground in pale streams.

CRRRRSHHHHKKK—

A violent sound suddenly tore through the air, it sounded like glass shattering. Not ordinary glass, something far larger and far heavier. The noise ripped across the city with such force that even the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble from it.

Fiona's ears twitched instantly.

Both women stopped simultaneously.

The distant air seemed to distort for a moment as another deafening crack echoed across Embereach.

Fiona slowly lifted her head.

Her heartbeat sharpened.

"…That sound…"

Ingrid's gaze had already turned toward the northern section of the city, her calm demeanor tensing immediately into focus.

"That was the barrier," Ingrid noted.

No hesitation followed her words, only immediate understanding. And that realization alone caused the atmosphere around them to change completely.