Isolde watched Adam wipe the last traces of the worm’s core residue from his lips, her pale eyebrows rising slightly. "Hee, you’re so greedy, eating anything and everything without a second thought."

Adam shrugged, completely unbothered by her judgment. "It’s basically like taking vitamins, good for maintaining my health."

Ignis chimed in immediately, nodding enthusiastically as if Adam had just stated an obvious fact. "Having a big appetite is a good thing, you know! It means you’re strong and healthy."

Adam glanced at her, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite the grim surroundings. "You’re right, Ignis. But I’m not as greedy as you. Your whole existence is basically built on eating everything in sight."

Ignis puffed out her chest proudly. "Exactly! That’s why I’m so magnificent!"

Isolde, walking a few paces behind, let out a soft, almost inaudible snort. "Magnificent. Sure."

Adam was about to respond when Lilith’s movement caught his eye. She had stopped walking altogether, her head tilted, her silver-threaded gown suddenly still despite the faint breeze that had been brushing against them moments before.

The playful atmosphere evaporated.

Adam’s hand rose slowly, a silent signal for the others to halt.

"I sense a presence," she said quietly, her threads stirring around her fingers. "Could be a monster, could be someone, it’s not far from here."

Isolde shook her head, her pale gaze sweeping the desolate horizon. "No one has survived out here for hundreds of years. If anything’s alive in this place, it’s definitely a monster."

Adam activated his Hunter’s Tri-Sense without another word, the world sharpening around him as his awareness expanded. Faint but unmistakable, a presence pulsed at the edge of his perception—not close, but not impossibly far either. "I feel it too."

They changed direction, heading toward the source of that faint signature. The cracked earth crunched beneath their boots, and the silence pressed in heavier with every step. But every time they seemed to get closer, the presence shifted further away, always staying just out of reach.

"It’s moving away from us," Adam said, his jaw tightening. "Like it’s leading us somewhere."

Lilith’s smile turned knowing. "Or like it’s inviting us in."

Adam’s pace quickened, his boots crunching against the cracked earth as he pushed forward. "Let’s move faster. We can’t lose it. And don’t let anyone get separated."

The group broke into a jog, staying close, their eyes fixed on the horizon where the presence seemed to linger just out of sight. The grey sky pressed down on them, the silence thick and oppressive, broken only by the rhythm of their footsteps and the soft rustle of Lilith’s gown.

They ran past clusters of jagged rocks that looked ancient, their surfaces weathered by winds that had howled across this barren land for millennia. Strange bulbous creatures clung to the shadows between the stones, round as boulders, their surfaces pulsating slowly as if breathing. Some had too many eyes, blinking in uneven rhythms. Others had no eyes at all, just rows of small, wet mouths that opened and closed soundlessly.

Overhead, things flew.

Their shapes were wrong, twisted, malformed, with wings that beat too slowly or too fast, bodies that seemed to bend at angles that defied nature. One had a cluster of limbs where its head should be, each one twitching independently. Another had no discernible features at all, just a dark, writhing mass that somehow stayed aloft.

Ignis’s flames flickered nervously. "What... what are those things?"

"Don’t stop to look," Adam said, his voice sharp. "Keep moving."

They ran.

The presence flickered at the edge of Adam’s senses, always ahead, always just out of reach. He pushed harder, his legs burning, his wounds protesting. But the others kept pace, and they didn’t slow.

Then, without warning, the presence vanished.

Adam skidded to a halt, his arm shooting out to stop the others. His crimson eyes swept the barren landscape, searching for any sign of the trail they had been following.

"Gone," Lilith said quietly, her threads stirring around her fingers. "It just... disappeared."

Adam’s chest heaved as he caught his breath, his gaze sweeping their surroundings. The terrain had changed while they were running. The cracked earth had given way to a field of jagged stones, some as tall as a man, others small enough to crush underfoot. The air was heavier here, colder, and the silence pressed against his ears like a physical weight.

It was then he noticed the eyes.

Dozens of them, scattered among the rocks. Some blinked slowly, others stared unblinking, all of them fixed on the group. The bulbous creatures they had seen earlier were everywhere, clinging to the stones, nestled in crevices, half-buried in the ash-covered ground.

And they were surrounded.

Isolde’s voice came out tight, controlled. "We’ve walked into their territory."

Adam’s eyes narrowed. He let out a slow breath, his crimson eyes sweeping the assembled monsters.

"Seems like we’ve been lured into a trap."

Adam didn’t take his eyes off the creatures surrounding them. His voice was low, steady.

"Everyone, stay calm. Don’t make any sudden movements."

Ignis’s flames flickered with barely contained aggression. "Why not? They’re just a bunch of ugly rocks with eyes! I can burn them all!"

"Because we don’t know what they can do," Adam said, his gaze sweeping the assembled monsters. "And we don’t know if there are more of them hiding."

One of the bulbous creatures detached itself from a nearby rock, rolling forward on what might have been dozens of small, stony legs. Its body pulsed, and a low, rumbling sound emanated from somewhere within its form.

The sound was answered by another creature, then another. The rumbling spread through the cluster like a wave, growing louder, more insistent.

Isolde’s pale eyes narrowed. "They’re communicating."

Lilith’s threads stirred around her fingers, silver strands catching the dim light. "Should I silence them?"

"Not yet." Adam raised a hand, holding her back. "Wait."

The rumbling stopped.

For a long moment, the creatures simply watched them, their many eyes blinking in uneven rhythms. Then, as if by some silent signal, they began to move. They didn’t attack. Instead, they parted, rolling aside, crawling down from the rocks, creating a path that led deeper into the stone field.

Adam’s eyes narrowed. "They want us to go that way."

Isolde’s voice was tight. "It’s another trap."

"Probably." Adam took a step forward, then another. "But we didn’t come this far to turn back now."

Ignis fell into step beside him, her flames burning brighter. "If they try anything, I’ll burn them all."

Lilith glided behind them, her threads ready. Isolde brought up the rear, her blood stirring around her hands.

They walked through the path the creatures had made, the eyes of the monsters following their every move. The stone field stretched ahead of them, and at its center, half-hidden in the shadows of the largest rocks, something gleamed.

A structure.

It was ancient, its walls crumbling, its shape almost swallowed by the rubble that surrounded it. But the stonework was unmistakably crafted, not natural. Archways led into darkness, and symbols, worn by time but still visible, were carved into the lintel above the entrance.

Isolde’s breath caught. "This is... this is older than anything I’ve ever seen."

Adam stepped closer, his crimson eyes tracing the symbols.

The monsters did not follow. They had stopped at the edge of the path, their many eyes fixed on the structure, but none of them crossed the invisible line that separated the stone field from the ruins.

"They’re afraid of this place," Lilith observed.

Adam’s hand moved to his pouch, fingers brushing against the ornate box that held the broken compass.

"The Loom of Fate," he said quietly. "This has to be it."