The forest seemed to shift around us, the oppressive silence broken only by the faint rustle of leaves and the occasional drip of dew falling from the silver canopy above. The air was thick with mana, its subtle hum pressing against my fur like an invisible weight.
My legs ached with every step, the strain from the earlier fight still burning in my muscles. The horned rabbit moved ahead, her sharp blue eyes scanning the undergrowth, her movements as fluid and silent as the streams weaving through the mossy ground.
Then, I felt it—a soft pulse in my chest, faint but insistent.
"Wait," I said, stopping abruptly.
The horned rabbit paused mid-step, her ears swiveling back toward me before tilting forward, catching something I couldn't hear. She glanced at me over her shoulder, her expression unreadable but questioning.
"It's the orb," I murmured, placing a paw over my chest. The warmth had grown stronger, almost guiding me like a thread pulled taut.
