The inn’s roof still held the chill of dawn when Strax settled on the edge, his arms resting on his knees, his gaze lost on the horizon where the sky was beginning to lighten very slowly. The city below still slept, enveloped in that peculiar silence that only exists before full dawn, when not even the most disciplined merchants had begun their routines, and the few sounds that escaped were too scattered to form any kind of rhythm. The air was clean up there, broken only by a light breeze that carried with it the distant scent of wood, damp stone, and the beginning of a new day that had not yet fully revealed itself.

Tiamat was already there when he arrived.

Seated a few steps away, with one leg bent and the other extended, she maintained a relaxed posture, but her gaze was attentive, fixed on the same point on the horizon that he was now observing. Her golden hair, slightly disheveled by the gentle breeze, reflected the first nuances of light that were beginning to emerge, creating small reflections that contrasted with the more serious expression she carried.

She said nothing when he sat down.

And neither did he.

For a few minutes, they simply shared the silence.

It wasn’t uncomfortable.

It was... necessary.

After all.

Strax let out a slight sigh through his nose, almost imperceptible, before finally speaking, without taking his eyes off the horizon.

"What do you think?" he asked, his voice low but clear, like someone who had been formulating that question for some time, just waiting for the right moment to put it into words.

Tiamat didn’t answer immediately.

Her fingers moved to a strand of her own hair, slowly twirling it between them, in an almost automatic gesture, but one that indicated something deeper—concentration, perhaps, or simply the habit of organizing thoughts before expressing them.

Tiamat didn’t answer immediately. "It’s as I said before," she began, her voice calm, but carrying a subtle weight that wasn’t there by chance. "I’ve never seen anything of that magnitude."

She paused briefly, her eyes still fixed ahead.

"Never," she repeated, this time more quietly, as if reaffirming it to herself.

Strax tilted his head slightly, absorbing each word.

Tiamat continued, slowly twirling the strand of hair between her fingers, her gaze now slightly narrower.

"Ouroboros isn’t someone easy to affect," she said firmly. "Much less to control." Her tone wasn’t arrogant—it was factual. "Even when it comes to something external, invasive... there’s always resistance. There’s always a fight."

She released the strand of hair for a moment, only to pick it up again immediately, in an almost unconscious cycle.

"But that..." she hesitated for a fraction of a second, something rare for her. "That didn’t seem like a losing battle." Strax finally looked away from the horizon, turning his gaze to her with more attention.

"So what did it look like?" he asked.

Tiamat took a deep breath before answering.

"It looked like she didn’t even have a chance to really fight," she said, her voice now lower. "As if... the connection had been severed before the resistance even began."

The silence that followed wasn’t long.

But it was heavy.

Strax looked forward again, his jaw tensing slightly as he processed it.

"She said it was still there," he commented, more to organize his thoughts than to contest it. "That she could see... feel."

"Yes," Tiamat confirmed. "But not control."

She rested her arms behind her, leaning slightly back as she continued to watch the sky, which was slowly beginning to take on lighter hues.

"That’s what worries me," she added. "It’s not just the fact that something interfered. It’s the way it happened."

Strax remained silent for a few seconds.

"A change like that..." he murmured, more quietly, almost like a thought that escaped before it was fully formed. "Too fast. Too clean."

Tiamat nodded slightly.

"Exactly."

The wind picked up a little more at that moment, gently ruffling their hair, bringing with it a chill that was beginning to lose strength as dawn approached.

Strax shifted his weight slightly forward, his elbows pressing against his knees as he interlaced his fingers, his gaze now fixed on an undefined point in the city below.

"She had been changing," he said after a few seconds, his voice lower, more laden with something personal. "Before that."

Tiamat turned her face toward him, her gaze more attentive.

"I noticed," she replied. "But I thought it was..." she paused briefly, searching for the right word. "Control."

Strax let out a small sound through his nose.

"I thought so too," he admitted. "She was always too intense. That possessiveness... it wasn’t exactly subtle."

Tiamat arched a slight eyebrow, an almost imperceptible trace of humor appearing, but disappearing as quickly as it came.

"She basically marked her territory just by looking at you," she commented.

Strax let out a brief laugh, short, without much force, more of an automatic reaction than a genuine one.

"Yes," he agreed. "But that... disappeared."

He raised his gaze again, now more serious.

"And it wasn’t gradual," he continued. "It wasn’t evolution. It was as if someone had... turned it off."

Tiamat was silent for a moment, absorbing it.

"Do you think it’s related?" she asked.

Strax hesitated.

Just for a second.

"I don’t know," he answered honestly. "But it’s too strange to ignore."

The sky was now beginning to truly brighten, orange hues timidly emerging on the horizon, breaking through the dark blue of the early morning.

Tiamat observed this for a few seconds before speaking again.

"She has always been defined by extremes," she said. "Either everything... or nothing."

Strax nodded.

"Yes."

"So this change..." she continued, "doesn’t seem natural."

He didn’t answer immediately.

But he didn’t need to.

They both knew.

Silence returned, but this time accompanied by a slight increase in the sounds of the city below. A gate opening in the distance, isolated footsteps, the beginning of a routine that was still in its infancy.

Strax ran a hand slowly over his face, as if trying to push away the weariness that wasn’t physical.

"I don’t like this," he said finally.

Tiamat let out a small sigh.

"Neither do I."

She pulled her bent leg a little closer to her body, resting her arm on her knee as she looked ahead.

"If it were something external... it would be simpler," she commented. "An enemy. A source. A target."

Strax nodded slightly.

"But it isn’t."

"No," she confirmed.

Another silence.

Shorter.

More tense.

"Then we observe," Strax said after a few seconds, his voice firmer now. "Until we understand what it is."

Tiamat turned her face toward him again.

"More than observe," she corrected, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I will increase my vigilance."

There was something different about that tone. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

More direct.

More committed.

Strax noticed.

"You’re worried," he said.

It wasn’t a question.

Tiamat held his gaze for a second before answering.

"Yes," she said simply. Without beating around the bush.

Without trying to soften the blow.

"Because if this happens again..." she continued, now lower in her voice, "we don’t know if we’ll be able to stop it the same way."

Strax didn’t answer immediately.

But the tension in his jaw was answer enough.

The sky continued to lighten.

And, along with the light—

Came the silent certainty that this was far from over.

The first ray of sunlight timidly appeared on the horizon, breaking the distant line of buildings with a golden light that spread slowly, as if the world itself were breathing after the long night. On the rooftop, Strax and Tiamat remained silent for a few moments, observing this transition unfold, each immersed in their own thoughts, but still connected by the same concern that had marked the entire early morning.

The light began to touch the contours of the city, reflecting off the windows, gliding through the still empty streets, gradually warming the cold air that had prevailed until then. It was a calm beginning, almost too peaceful for what they carried with them, and perhaps for that very reason it seemed slightly out of place—as if the world outside had no idea what had happened hours before.

Strax was the first to move.

He stood up slowly, stretching his body slightly as he exhaled in a controlled manner, his eyes still fixed on the horizon for a last second before finally looking away.

"Let’s go down," he said, his voice low, but now more practical, less reflective than before.

Tiamat nodded, releasing the strand of hair she still held between her fingers, rising with the same tranquility she had maintained throughout the conversation. There was no hurry in her movements, but there was also no hesitation. The night had been a time for thinking—the day, for acting.

They descended in silence.

The inn’s hallway was still quiet as they passed, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the wooden floor, until they reached the room’s door. Strax didn’t knock—he simply opened it, carefully enough not to make unnecessary noise.

The morning light already partially filtered through the curtains, softly illuminating the interior, creating elongated shadows that moved slowly as the light breeze swayed the fabric.

Scarlett was the first to wake.

Her eyes opened slowly, but with immediate alertness, like someone accustomed to waking up alert even in safe environments. She remained lying down for a second, just observing the ceiling, before turning her face slightly toward the door, finding Strax and Tiamat there.

"It’s already dawn," she murmured, her voice still carrying the weight of sleep, but without losing its clarity.

"Yes," replied Tiamat, entering the room and approaching a little closer. "For a while now."

Scarlett propped herself up on her elbows, slowly raising her body as she ran a hand through her hair, brushing a few strands away from her face. Her gaze then automatically shifted to the side.

Ouroboros was still asleep.

But not soundly.

There were signs.

Small.

Subtle.

Her breathing was lighter than before, her body less tense, her fingers no longer moving restlessly as they had the previous night. She was more... stable.

Strax noticed this too.

And, for a brief moment, something inside him relaxed.

Not completely.

But enough.

It was at that instant that Ouroboros moved.

Slightly.

Her eyes opened slowly, as if the morning light were a little more intense than expected, and for a few seconds she just blinked, trying to adjust to her surroundings. Her breathing changed subtly, becoming more conscious, more present.

She didn’t get up immediately.

She just turned her face. And she found everyone looking at her.

There was a brief silence.

Not heavy.

But charged with attention.

Ouroboros frowned slightly, still half asleep, but already understanding enough of the situation to notice the focus.

"...Good morning," she murmured, her voice low, a little hoarse from the recent rest, but steady.

"Good morning," Strax replied, with a slight nod, not exaggerating the reaction, maintaining a natural tone.

Tiamat crossed her arms, observing her attentively, but without the intensity of the previous night.

"How are you?" she asked.

Ouroboros took a second longer to answer.

She slowly supported herself on her arms, raising her body until she was sitting on the bed, her slightly messy hair falling over her shoulders as she ran a hand over her face, as if organizing not only her appearance but also her thoughts.

"...Better," she said finally.

It wasn’t an immediate response.

But it was honest.

Scarlett nodded slightly, still observing.

"You look better," she commented, with her usual calm.

Ouroboros let out a small, almost imperceptible sigh through her nose and looked away for a moment, as if still adjusting to the idea of ​​being observed in that way.

But this time—

She didn’t back down.

Strax took a step forward, moving a little closer, but without invading her space.

"Let’s get back on track," he said, directly but not abruptly. "We’ve strayed far enough."

Ouroboros looked up at him.

There was a split second where something crossed her expression—perhaps doubt, perhaps hesitation—but it quickly disappeared.

She nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "Standing still won’t help."

Tiamat made a small sound of agreement.

"And the sooner we get back, the better," she added. "Less time off-plan."

Scarlett had already stood up completely, adjusting her clothes with simple and efficient movements.

"Then let’s not waste any time," she said.