The morning after was gray and bitter. Mist rolled down from the jagged cliffs, curling into the cave like pale smoke. Ragnar woke first, his body stiff from the cold stone floor. The fire had burned down to ashes in the night, and the shadows pressed heavier without its warmth.
He sat up slowly, listening. The cave was filled with small, human sounds—Dax snoring, Ruin grinding his teeth in restless dreams, Selene's faint uneven breathing, Kael's steady silence by the entrance.
Hunger gnawed at Ragnar's stomach. They hadn't eaten since the fight with the Purge Unit. Even monsters needed to feed.
He pushed himself up and stepped outside. The world was quiet, except for the drip of water down the rocks and the rustle of wind through skeletal trees. The forest below stretched endless, dark veins across the land. Smoke rose faintly from a village in the distance—too thin to be life, too thick to be safe.
"Going alone?"
The voice came from behind. Selene had followed, her silver chains faintly glowing in the mist. She looked pale, the curse etched deeper into her skin, but her eyes were sharp.
"I hunt faster without a crowd," Ragnar said.
Her lips curved in the faintest trace of a smirk. "And yet you're never truly alone, are you?" She glanced at the shadow writhing faintly at his feet.
He didn't answer. There was nothing to say.
They walked in silence until they reached the edge of the forest. Tracks dotted the mud—claw marks, heavy and wide. Ragnar crouched, brushing his fingers against the damp soil. "Beast," he muttered. "Close."
A growl split the air before the words finished leaving his mouth.
The creature burst from the thicket—twice the size of a wolf, fur bristling like iron, its eyes burning with a strange red haze. A broken collar hung around its neck, etched with faint sigils.
"Another one of their experiments," Selene hissed.
The beast lunged. Ragnar moved first, his body twisting low, shadows coiling like serpents around his arm. His fist struck the air, and black flame lanced forward, slamming the creature sideways. It crashed through a tree, snapping bark like bone.
Selene raised her chained wrist, threads of silver light sparking against the curse. She grimaced but still loosed a bolt of shimmering force that seared into the beast's flank.
The monster staggered, howling, but it wasn't done.
Ragnar's shadow whispered, hungry, urging him to finish it. But he didn't. Instead, he caught the beast's next charge head-on, planting his feet in the wet earth. His eyes glowed crimson-black as he tore the sigil collar from its throat. The metal cracked, light sputtered, and the beast collapsed in a shuddering heap.
Selene lowered her arm, sweat glistening at her temple. She stared at him, chest rising and falling. "You… spared it."
Ragnar didn't respond right away. He stared at the twitching animal until its red haze faded to dull amber. Just a beast again. No more chains.
"Not everything deserves to be devoured," he said finally. His tone was flat, but there was weight in the words.
Selene blinked, surprised. Then, for the first time since they met, her expression softened. "You're not the monster you think you are, Ragnar."
He turned away, unwilling to meet her eyes. "I'm worse."
By the time they dragged the beast's carcass back to the cave, the others were awake. Dax immediately cheered at the sight of meat, Ruin muttered something about Ragnar showing off, and Kael… Kael just watched, his gaze sharp, calculating as ever.
The fire roared back to life, filling the cave with the smell of roasting flesh. For a brief moment, laughter broke out—thin, awkward, but real.
And as Ragnar sat apart, watching his strange companions eat like starving wolves, he realized something that unsettled him more than the Purge Units, more than the cursed chains, more than the whispers of his shadow.
He was starting to feel the weight of them.
Not as burdens. Not as pawns.
As people.