章 171: going like this

The air was heavy with silence after the battle, each member of the group nursing wounds and exhaustion. They had pushed through the night, adrenaline still coursing through their veins, but now, in the light of dawn, their injuries became evident. Emily sat apart from the others, her hand clenched around the relic. Its surface was warm, pulsing slightly, as if it had a life of its own. She tried to calm her breathing, tried to push away the dark whispers that crept into her thoughts.

"How long can we keep going like this?" Lira's voice broke the silence. She was leaning against a rock, binding a cut on her arm. "We can't keep fighting beasts like that, not without resting."

Darius scoffed, wiping blood from his sword. "If we stop, we die. You saw what that thing did to us. We're not safe anywhere anymore. We have to keep moving."