The mist was thinner here.
Elira stepped beyond the ruin's threshold, her breath steady, her eyes scanning the woods. Kael lay sheltered behind her, still unable to move, the twins swaddled and resting.
They had no food.
No clean water.
No way to survive without help, or knowledge.
So Elira moved.
Each step into the Lower Realm was like stepping into a world not meant for mortals. Trees twisted skyward like frozen lightning. Flowers bloomed only to vanish when touched. The earth hummed beneath her boots.
She followed the shimmer in the trees, hoping it led somewhere. Anywhere.
Then, movement.
A flicker in the corner of her eye. She spun, magic sparking to life in her palm.
Nothing.
But the trees swayed, though there was no wind.
Elira pressed on. Past a silent stream. Past a ring of mushrooms that rearranged themselves when she wasn't looking.
And then she saw it.
A symbol. Carved into a smooth slab of stone, half-buried beneath moss. It matched the ones from the ruins.
She stepped closer.
And the mist thickened.
A voice, not words, but feeling, brushed her thoughts.
Not Watchers.
Something else.
She turned.
Nothing there.
But she wasn't alone.
Not anymore.