An hour later, Silas and Cher finally left the castle behind.

Neither of them had stepped inside. Instead, they had remained outside for a while, talking only occasionally while Cher struggled to sort through her emotions.

Even now, she walked beside him with her head lowered and her gaze unfocused. The usual confidence and sharpness were nowhere to be seen. Watching her like this, Silas could only sigh inwardly, hoping that meeting Lara and the others would help distract her from thoughts of her father.

As they continued across the wilderness, Silas gradually noticed something strange.

When they had first approached the garrison post, they had encountered numerous stray Dark Hunters. Now, however, the surroundings felt unnaturally empty and silent, as though the entire world had been abandoned except for the two of them.

After half an hour, he finally voiced his doubts.

"That’s strange. There isn’t anyone around, no Dark Hunters, no soldiers, not even a single garrison Enhancer."

His words pulled Cher out of her daze. She looked around for a few moments before releasing a bitter sigh.

"It’s his doing."

Her voice grew quieter.

"My father... When he sets his mind on something, he can be ruthless. He must have ordered the soldiers and Enhancers to stay away from this area."

Seeing the scepticism in Silas’s eyes, she shook her head.

"You don’t know him."

"He wants to isolate us and make us feel alone. If nobody supports us, we’ll start doubting ourselves sooner or later. Once that happens, it’ll be easier for us to give in."

Silas remained silent.

He had never met her father and knew little about the man beyond what Cher had told him. Still, there was one detail her explanation failed to address. She might have explained the absence of the soldiers, explained the missing Enhancers...

’But what about the Dark Hunters?’

’Where have they gone?’

The question lingered in his mind.

Cher’s reasoning accounted for only half of the situation. The rest remained suspicious enough for him to maintain his vigilance. As they travelled, he stayed ready to summon his daggers or use his abilities at a moment’s notice.

Fortunately, nothing happened. The journey remained uneventful until they reached the rendezvous point, where a shuttle was already approaching from a distance. It descended steadily before landing a short distance away.

"Let’s see how many babies Lara managed to tame this time."

Silas attempted a joke, hoping to lift Cher’s spirit. However, when the shuttle doors opened, only Darius stepped out. After greeting them, he stood aside, as Silas and Cher continued staring at the shuttle, waiting for Lara and Alfred to appear.

Yet, nobody did.

"Where are Lara and Alfred?"

Silas frowned as he looked at Darius.

There were plenty of things he wanted to ask his friend, especially regarding the mysterious detour he had taken earlier. At the moment, however, none of that seemed important.

’Why had Lara and Alfred failed to return as planned?’

Meeting Silas’s suspicious gaze and Cher’s puzzled expression, Darius raised an eyebrow in apparent surprise.

"Aren’t they with you?"

He even glanced around as though searching for them.

"When I boarded the shuttle, it was empty. I assumed the two of them had already come here and sent it back to pick me up."

Cher immediately activated her wristwatch and sent Lara a message. Only then did she realise that she had not contacted her friend for several hours. Silas, meanwhile, felt increasingly certain that Darius was hiding something.

"She isn’t responding."

Cher’s voice suddenly cut through the silence. The depression she had maintained until now vanished, replaced by unmistakable worry over her friend.

She tried calling Lara directly, but the connection failed. It was as if Lara’s wristwatch had stopped functioning entirely.

"Let me try Alfred."

Darius attempted to contact him and received the same result. The moment Cher saw that, panic surfaced in her eyes.

"Something must have happened to them."

She took a step toward the shuttle without hesitation.

"I have to go and find them myself."

She turned to Silas, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

Part of him understood her point. Another knew she wasn’t thinking clearly. More than anything, he could tell she wanted to leave this place, to put as much distance as possible between herself and her father.

Silas wanted to help her, but the situation was quickly slipping out of control. By now, the team should have gathered here before heading to the mine and spending a few hours finalising their preparations before the dragon arrived.

Instead, Lara and Alfred were missing, and Cher wanted to leave. The carefully constructed plan was beginning to crumble, leaving him unable to decide what the right course of action was.

Amid his uncertainty, Darius suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder. Silas turned to him and found his friend simply nodding. He didn’t provide any explanation, any advice, just a calm nod.

’Screw this, man.’

’Can’t you tell me what your ability is and make my life easier for once?’

Silas rolled his eyes, but Darius only smiled and remained silent.

"Fine."

In the end, Silas decided to trust him. Or rather, trust Gaia’s Calling.

"Go. Just keep me updated on your location and let me know if anything changes."

The moment he gave his permission, Cher’s face brightened with the first genuine smile he had seen from her in hours.

"Thanks."

The single word carried far more than simple gratitude. Without wasting another second, she boarded the shuttle.

Silas watched it disappear into the distance before turning to Darius, crossing his arms expectantly.

"Explain."

"Not now."

This time, however, Silas refused to let it go.

"I want answers. Now."

Darius met his stare with unusual calmness before glancing around.

"We aren’t alone. We’ve been watched for quite some time."

"Watched?"

Silas immediately looked where Darius was staring. At first, he saw nothing unusual. Then he narrowed his eyes and focused. There he spotted several blurred silhouettes, slowly moving in the distance.

They were incredibly difficult to notice. Had Darius not pointed them out, Silas would have never spotted them. And the realisation left him uneasy.

He and Cher had assumed they had been abandoned, yet it seemed they had never truly been left alone.

Before he could think further, Darius suddenly grabbed his arm and pointed in another direction.

"We need to go there. Now."

Silas followed the gesture and couldn’t hide his surprise.

"Now?"

His confusion wasn’t because Darius was pointing toward the mine. It was because he wasn’t. The direction led slightly eastward, toward one of the garrison posts rather than the mine itself.

Noticing the look on his face, Darius spoke seriously.

"You need to trust me on this."

"We’ll return later and regroup with everyone."

"But until then, we still have a few hours. Standing here won’t accomplish anything, so let’s make use of that time."

Silas was beginning to grow paranoid, yet whenever doubt surfaced, Gaia’s words echoed through his mind.

"My trust has limits. So does my patience."

Being kept in the dark was becoming increasingly irritating.

"Soon enough, you’ll understand everything."

Darius remained completely unfazed by his frustration.

"But for now, since we’re being watched, it’s better not to discuss it."

Silas had hoped that a more direct approach would finally crack Darius’s infuriatingly calm expression. Yet it didn’t.

’Screw you, Gaia.’

Letting out a resigned sigh, he shook his head. And Darius immediately understood.

"Lead the way, Darius the Mysterious."

Darius ignored the joke and simply started walking. Silas followed. And so did the figures trailing them from afar.