Stonecross was ash and splintered stone.
Ilen was found two days later.
Alive.
Barely.
She didn't cry when Elian reached her. She clung to him instead, fingers digging into his sleeve as if letting go would undo everything.
She wouldn't look at me.
No one from the village did.
The official conclusion cited delayed response and abnormal monster behavior. Threat projections were updated. Routes were revised.
The system logged the event as acceptable loss.
That word stayed with me longer than it should have.
That night, I reviewed the data again.
Mana fluctuations.Dungeon clear times.Monster escalation curves.
The pattern was no longer abstract.
It was mapped.
I closed the interface.
For the first time since this life began, the sensation that settled in my chest wasn't confusion.
It was weight.
Not guilt.
Not yet.
But something had finally begun to press back.