Captain Edrin didn't move right away.
He stayed half a step in front of Lyra and Tomas, weight balanced, one hand near his weapon without fully committing to it. He stared at the feather the way you stared at a sleeping predator. Not expecting it to wake up, but not trusting it to stay asleep either.
"Nobody touches it," he said.
Lyra gave a sharp nod. Tomas murmured, "Agreed," like he had already felt what the air was carrying.
I kept my face calm and my hands still. My pulse was loud in my ears, but I didn't let it show. I had learned a long time ago that panic never helped. Panic only made people look at you harder, and I could not afford that right now.
Edrin turned his head slightly, not taking his eyes off the center of the chamber. "Theo. Is that… something you can read?"
I chose my words carefully. "Maybe. But not up close. Not yet."
That much was true. I could feel the pressure of it from where I stood, a faint tug behind my ribs, like a hook caught in fabric. My Archivist sense wanted to categorize it, label it, store it in neat, safe lines. The moment I tried to do that, something inside me hesitated, almost like my mind was stepping back from a ledge.
Lyra's gaze flicked to the walls, to the symbols above us. "This place is still active."
"It is," I said before I could stop myself.
Edrin caught it, just a slight shift in attention. "Explain what you mean."
I took a slow breath, steadying the shape of the thought. "The structure doesn't feel dead. It feels… reset. Like it finished a process."
Lyra frowned. "I don't think that's comforting."
"It's not meant to be," I said.
Tomas moved, careful and deliberate, and took out one of the small vials from his pack. Not to drink, but to hold. His fingers stayed close to it like it was a lucky charm.
"Let's mark the room first," he said. "Make sure nothing else changed."
Edrin nodded once. "Lyra, perimeter. Tomas, check for instability and loose supports. Theo stays where he is. Eyes only."
Lyra's grin was gone now. She moved with the same quiet precision she always had, boots barely making sound as she traced the outer edge of the chamber. Her eyes stayed sharp, scanning cracks in the floor, dark gaps between stones, places where something might be hiding.
Tomas crouched and pressed his palm to the ground, then lifted it, rubbing his fingers together like he was feeling for grit that wasn't there. "No tremor now," he said. "But the air's wrong."
I almost laughed at that, but I didn't. The air was wrong in the way a room felt wrong after an argument, even when no one was speaking anymore.
Edrin took two steps toward the center and stopped, keeping distance. "We came for relics," he said quietly, mostly to himself. "We get a feather."
Lyra called out from the far side. "There's no fresh collapse. No new tunnels. But the symbols… look at this."
Edrin motioned for her to speak without leaving his line. Lyra angled her lantern upward. The carvings near the ceiling had shifted. Not in shape, but in emphasis. Lines that were faint yesterday looked darker now, as if the stone itself had decided to highlight them.
"They're not just decoration," Lyra said. "They're active writing."
I swallowed.
That was a reader-friendly way to say what my Archivist sense was already screaming. Those symbols were not just marks. They were instructions. And something had rewritten them.
Edrin's voice stayed calm, but I heard the steel in it. "Theo. Can you tell what changed and why?"
I stared at the wall without stepping closer. I let my focus soften like I was looking past the stone instead of at it.
My vision shimmered.
A faint overlay slid into place at the edge of my perception, not a full window, more like a thin layer of meaning.
Archivist Sense: Partial Record
I didn't force it. I didn't chase it. I just let it show me what it wanted.
Most of the script still refused to settle into plain language. It slid away when I tried to name it. But certain parts did not.
Not because they were easy. Because they were meant to be seen.
My throat tightened.
"It's… a story," I said slowly. "Not a prayer or a trap script. It's kind of like a record."
Edrin didn't push. He waited.
I continued, choosing simple words. "It used to describe containment. Locking something in place. Keeping a presence from leaving."
Lyra's ears, so to speak, sharpened in the way her eyes narrowed. "Used to."
I nodded. "Now it describes… proof? Evidence? It's not very clear."
Tomas looked up sharply. "Evidence of what?"
I glanced at the feather.
"Evidence that the seal succeeded," I said.
Silence hit the chamber.
Edrin exhaled through his nose. "So this feather is meant to be found, I suppose."
Lyra's jaw tightened. "That makes it worse."
Edrin turned slightly toward me. "Can you tell if it's safe to transport?"
The honest answer was no.
But the practical answer was that Edrin had to bring something back. This expedition existed for a reason. They weren't going to return empty-handed, especially not after all the time and risk it took to come here for a second time.
I met his gaze. "I can tell you it's significant. I can tell you it's connected to whatever powered the seal. I can't assure safety."
"That's enough," Edrin said.
He shifted his stance and looked around the chamber again. "We do this carefully. We document where it sits, mark the positions then we decide whether we lift it."
Lyra finished her circuit and came back toward us, stopping beside Tomas. Her eyes went to the feather, then to me, then away again. She didn't ask what I wasn't saying. Lyra was good at reading people, but she wasn't the type to pry when someone looked like they might snap.
Tomas reached into his pack and pulled out a thin roll of cloth, the kind used to wrap fragile things. "We can use this," he offered. "No skin contact nor direct touch."
Edrin nodded, then looked at the carrier.
The carrier had stayed near the platform, pale-faced, breathing shallow. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, preferably in a different lifetime.
"You," Edrin said, voice firm. "Do not move until I tell you."
The carrier nodded too quickly.
Edrin started issuing tasks, steady and clear, the way he did in fights. "Lyra, set a boundary line, no one crosses it. Tomas, prep the cloth and a box. Theo, keep reading the wall. If anything change, you tell us immediately."
I didn't question it. I just turned my attention back to the symbols.
My Archivist sense caught faint threads of meaning in the stone, and every thread led back to one idea. This feather wasn't random. It was an answer someone prepared in advance.
A cover story like Astrae said. A lie written in stone.
I felt Failure Converter stir, not loud, not flashing. Just a quiet pressure, like a hand resting on the back of my neck.
Not danger atleast not yet.
There's wrongness.
The kind of wrongness that did not belong to accidents or bad luck. The kind built by intention.
Behind me, Lyra's voice softened. "Theo."
I glanced back. "Yeah?"
She pointed subtly, not at the feather, but at Edrin.
"He's deciding whether you come back up with us," she murmured.
I blinked. "What? Why? I was the one who asked to come back here.
Lyra shrugged slightly. "He's got orders. If he thinks you're compromised, he'll take the relic and leave you here. I'm telling you this because I owe you with the worm queen.l
The words were blunt, but her tone wasn't cruel. Just honest.
My stomach dropped. It's really hard to trust anyone.
Not because I blamed Edrin. If I were in his position, I might do the same. Keep the relic safe, follow orders as given.
But if they took the feather and left me behind, then whatever thread I had just grasped would snap. And worse, I had a feeling that leaving this chamber without understanding it would not end the problem. It would move it.
I forced my expression to stay neutral. "He won't."
Lyra's eyes studied me. "You sure? You don't know the captain…"
No I don't.
But I couldn't afford doubt right now.
"I'll make it worth keeping me," I said quietly.
Lyra didn't smile, but her gaze softened a fraction. "Good."
Edrin called, "Theo."
I turned.
His eyes were steady, but there was something guarded behind them. "If we take this feather and something follows, I need to know you won't freeze."
I understood the question underneath. If things went bad, would I be a liability again.
I nodded once. "I won't freeze. I think I've done well with the queen."
Edrin watched me for a long beat, then accepted it with a slight tilt of his head. "You're right."
He took the cloth from Tomas, then stopped, holding it in his hands without moving closer.
"Last chance," he said, mostly to the room. "Anything else change?"
I focused again.
The wall script shimmered faintly.
Then, for a brief moment, my Archivist sense caught one clear phrase, simple and brutal in its intent.
Witness Accepted.
My breath caught.
The words vanished before I could say them out loud.
Failure Converter pressed harder.
And then it hit.
Not a sound. Not a tremor.
A shift in the air, sharp and sudden, like the room inhaled.
Edrin felt it too. His posture snapped tighter. Lyra's hand went to her weapon. Tomas swore quietly.
"What was that?" Tomas asked.
I stared at the feather.
For the first time since time resumed, the feather moved.
Not physically. It didn't roll or lift.
But the light around it changed, brightening along the edges like a thin flame trying to form.
Edrin took one step back. "No one touches it."
Lyra whispered, "Theo… did you do that?"
I shook my head. "No."
The glow sharpened.
Then, just as suddenly, it dulled again.
Like it remembered it wasn't supposed to be seen.
Edrin's face hardened. "We're not staying longer than needed."
He looked at Tomas. "Box. Now."
Tomas nodded and moved quickly, hands steady despite his pale face. Lyra set her boundary line with chalk and a piece of string, a small ritual of control in a place that refused control.
I stayed where I was and kept my eyes on the stone script, because something in me was certain of one thing.
This was not over.
This feather was not just a clue.
It was a message.
And it had been left here for whoever came next.
For us.
Or for the people watching us from far higher places.
~~~
The climb out of the chamber was slower than the descent.
No one rushed. Not after what we had seen. Not after what we had taken.
The lift carried us upward in heavy silence, stone grinding against stone in a way that felt too loud in the narrow shaft. Edrin's lantern threw long, warped shadows across the walls, bending old carvings into shapes that seemed almost aware of us leaving.
When the platform finally settled and the tunnel opened back into the upper passage, I felt a breath leave my chest that I had not realized I was holding.
We moved carefully through the corridor, past places where shattered bone and dust still marked earlier fights. The firelights along the walls dimmed one by one as we passed, until the tunnel behind us fell into darkness, like the place itself had decided to sleep again.
By the time we stepped back into the open air, the sun was already lowering. Heat rolled over us in a dry wave, followed by wind that dragged sand across the rocks in thin, whispering trails.
Edrin raised his fist, and the group stopped just outside the cave mouth.
That was when I saw her.
She stepped out from behind a cluster of broken stone, slow and hesitant, as if she was afraid we might vanish if she moved too quickly. Her robes were torn and dust-stained. Her feet were bare. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, tangled and dull from sand and sweat.
She looked young. Too young to be out here alone, almost like on her mid teens.
Fifteen, maybe. Sixteen at most.
Fragile.
Lost.
The kind of sight that made your chest tighten before your thoughts could catch up.
I kept my face neutral.
I felt the shift around me immediately.
Lyra relaxed first. Just a fraction. Her shoulders lowered the way they did when she stopped reading something as a threat and started seeing it as a problem that needed solving.
Edrin did the opposite.
His hand went up again, firm and controlled. Everyone froze.
"Don't move," he said calmly, eyes locked on the girl.
She flinched, then froze in place.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. Her voice trembled in just the right way. "I didn't mean to scare anyone."
Her gaze flicked from Edrin to Lyra to Tomas, then landed on me for the briefest moment. There was no signal in her eyes. No recognition. Nothing that anyone else could catch.
Perfect.
Lyra stepped forward slowly, stopping well short of Edrin's line. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing as she studied the girl.
"You're alone," Lyra said.
The girl nodded. "Yes."
"What happened?"
Her lips trembled. "My parents run a small merchant caravan. Cloth, dried food. We were crossing the sands when the ground started shaking. A giant worm came up out of nowhere. Everyone ran. I got separated."
She swallowed, hard.
"I couldn't find them again."
The story fit too neatly.
And yet, no one interrupted.
Tomas stepped up beside Lyra. He didn't touch the girl. He didn't need to. His eyes closed briefly as he focused inward, checking things that had nothing to do with sight.
A few seconds passed.
Then he opened his eyes.
"I don't feel anything," Tomas said. "No pressure. No distortion. She feels like a local. No abilities. No latent surge either. She's safe."
Edrin didn't look away from the girl. "You're sure."
"As sure as I can be," Tomas replied.
Lyra glanced back at Edrin. "She's harmless."
The word landed heavier than it should have.
Harmless. I almost laughed. The girl that's standing in front of them had murdered them multiple times without breaking a sweat.
The girl stood quietly while they spoke about her, hands clasped in front of her, shoulders slightly hunched, eyes lowered just enough to look frightened without looking broken.
"I can walk," she said softly. "I won't slow you down. I just don't want to be alone out here and I wanted to find my family."
Edrin's gaze sharpened. He glanced briefly at the crate secured behind the carrier, then back to her.
"You didn't come out of that cave," he said.
She shook her head quickly. "No. I was hiding among the rocks, it's safe there and then I saw you come out."
True. Just not the full truth.
Edrin turned slightly toward Tomas. "You're certain."
Tomas nodded. "Yes."
Lyra crossed her arms. "We can't leave her here captain."
Edrin went quiet.
I watched Astrae from the corner of my eye.
She stood perfectly still, fear worn like a second skin. Every movement was careful. Every breath measured. She wasn't pretending to be human.
She was wearing it.
Finally, Edrin exhaled. "What's your name?"
"A-astrae," she answered softly.
"Astrae what?"
She shook her head, "We don't have a family name."
Tomas added, "There are Aestherian that don't have last name. Small groups scattered around the region."
"Okay then," Edrin said, "You can come."
Relief flooded her face so convincingly it almost hurt to watch.
"But," Edrin continued, "you stay with us. You follow orders. You don't wander. And you don't touch anything we carry. Understood?"
She nodded quickly, her eyes soft and thankful. "Yes. Thank you."
Edrin's eyes shifted to me.
"You," he said.
I blinked. "Me?"
"She stays with you."
I frowned. "Why me?"
"You notice things before they go wrong," Edrin replied. "And you're positioned in the safest part of our formation. If something is off, you'll catch it early. If she's with anyone, it should be you."
Lyra nodded. "That makes sense."
Tomas added, "And you won't scare her like captain would."
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it again.
Arguing would draw attention.
"I'm not exactly good at protecting people," I said instead.
Edrin met my eyes evenly. "You don't need to protect her. Just stay aware."
That was the truth of it.
I nodded. "All right, I suppose I could do that."
She looked at me then, eyes wide and hopeful. "Thank you."
I gave a small nod. "Stay close."
She did.
As we moved out, the group naturally reformed its positions. Lyra took point. Tomas stayed near the center with the carrier. Edrin drifted where he was needed.
Astrae walked beside me.
Up close, she looked even smaller. Younger. Her steps were careful, uneven at times, like she wasn't used to rough ground. She stumbled once, just enough to sell it.
To anyone watching, she was a lost girl clinging to safety.
I saw a goddess who had learned how small she could make herself.
"You okay?" I asked quietly.
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you for letting me stay."
Her voice was soft. Ordinary. Empty of the weight I knew she carried.
Ahead of us, Edrin glanced back once, eyes lingering on the two of us before turning forward again.
The desert stretched on, wide and quiet.
And as we walked away from the hidden chamber, carrying a feather that should not exist and a goddess pretending she did not matter, I had the unsettling feeling that this was the calmest moment we were going to get for a long time.