章 170: He’s right

The air was thick with exhaustion as the group settled down after the battle with the shadow creature. Their faces were a mix of relief and weariness, the adrenaline of the fight slowly fading into an aching fatigue. Each step they took in the aftermath felt heavier than the last, and the silence that hung between them only deepened the sense of how close they had come to losing everything.

Emily crouched down by the small campfire they had hastily set up, her eyes fixed on the relic they had recovered. It pulsed faintly in her hands, a subtle rhythm like the beat of a heart. There was something about it—something unsettling. It was not just an object of power, it was tied to something far older and more dangerous than any of them had anticipated.

Valen, sitting nearby, looked up at her. "You've been staring at that thing for hours, Em," he said, his voice edged with concern. "What do you see?"