Even though they left the blighted marsh behind, its weight still clung to them. Mud slicked their boots, the stink of rot refused to lift from their cloaks, and though the sun had returned, the sky above Sarynthil's southern slopes seemed perpetually gray.
For a day and a half they followed ancient paths, weaving through a quiet woodland that was uncomfortably silent. By the third day, the trees thinned into stony foothills. There, the land offered no road, only jagged ridgelines and tangled brush. The map Callis carried was little help now—the terrain had shifted since it was drawn. Even so, the group pressed on, the looming peaks of the Caverns growing clearer with each mile.
Rei walked a few paces ahead, silent, his cloak drawn tight. The others followed behind, each lost in their own thoughts. No one had spoken much since the marsh.
Finally, Eno broke the silence. "So. You're really a Worldbreaker."
Rei didn't turn. "That's what all of the signs point to."
Callis gave a grunt. "Whether its true or not, I won't pretend I'm not uneasy. People used to build cities just to keep Worldbreakers out. If you're going to crack the earth beneath us, I'd at least like a warning."
"I'll try to give you that," Rei said, dryly.
Eno adjusted his satchel, glancing back the way they came. "You could have lied. We'd never know. Why tell us now?"
Rei finally looked at her. His eyes were tired. "Because keeping that secret… it wears you down,"
Rei continues, voice low. "And after everything, I figured you'd take it about as well as anyone could."
They walked in silence after that.
By midday, they came upon a crumbled stone path half-swallowed by moss and roots. It led to a ruin—a ring of broken columns and an altar split in two.
"This is an old Watcher's site," Callis said, kneeling to inspect the markings. "This was empire-era. Before the fracture."
Symbols lined the stone, worn but still visible. Rei stepped closer. One emblem caught his eye—a spiral of stars with a single vertical slash through the center.
He'd seen it before.
Not in this life. But in a vision. Or maybe a dream. He touched the edge of the symbol, and something stirred behind his eyes.
A distant voice says. "You fell twice. Once by choice. Once by force."
He jerked his hand away.
Binx growled low at the altar, his ears flattened.
"We're not staying," Rei muttered. "Let's keep moving."
It wasn't long before they spotted movement on the next ridge—figures, small at first, then clearer: four riders in black cloaks, circling back and forth like hounds catching a scent.
"Those are scouts," Eno whispered. "They aren't locals."
Callis swore under his breath. "They found us fast."
"We can lose them," Rei said. "Come on."
They veered off the ridgeline, descending into a gulley choked with brambles. The ground turned slick, Callis and Eno both fell, but they got up—they didn't stop. Only when the hoofbeats faded did they dare pause for breath.
Eno bent over, panting. "Someone probably tracked the anomaly from the marsh."
Callis nodded. "And they don't seem to be friends of ours."
Rei said nothing. But as they moved on, he noticed a sigil burned into a tree near the gulley: a ring of thorns around an eye.
Crimson Inquisition.
That night they made camp near a slanted slope of stone. The caverns were visible now in the distance—black mouths yawning from the mountain's side, mist curling from their depths.
The fire crackled quietly.
"You know," Eno said, poking at the embers, "I once met a man who claimed he'd seen a Worldbreaker. Said she tore a fortress in half with her scream. Said she died right after."
Rei stared into the fire. "Sounds about right when I compare it to the stories I've read about them."
"I don't think you're her," Eno added. "But if you ever scream like that, I'm running."
Callis chuckled, then looked serious. "I joined this journey to find answers. If you're part of those answers, then I'll stay by your side but I won't follow a tyrant."
Rei nodded. "I wouldn't follow one either."
Binx curled up beside Myra, who had fallen asleep, her head on Rei's lap. Silence stretched between them, but it wasn't heavy anymore, ust tired.
By morning, the trail became a narrow cliffside path. Below them, a fog-swirled ravine yawned open. They moved slowly, one by one, pressed against the cliff wall.
Myra nearly slipped, but Binx meowed sharply, startling her back into balance.
"Thanks, little shadow," she whispered.
Finally, they crested the last rise. Before them, the entrance to the Caverns gaped wide—a stone arch, half-collapsed, chiseled with symbols older than the Church.
Callis stepped forward, then stopped.
"You feel that?"
Rei did. A pressure in the air. Not magic. Not quite. Like something listening.
A whisper brushed the edge of his mind:
Welcome back.
Rei turned to the others. "This is it."
They didn't need to ask any further questions.
Together, they stepped into the dark.