The second morning was silent. Sunlight poured over the temple ruins and the battlefield. Kael stood at the entrance, looking out.
The sea of bones and rubble stretched out before them, shadows dancing where there should be none.
Elric spoke.
"We can't afford to waste time today. If we search as a group we'll cover way more ground. We need to split up."
The group squirmed at the suggestion. After what they had seen the night before, splitting up the already small group didn't sit well.
Talia spoke up.
"If we're splitting up, we need to make sure each team has someone who can fight for themselves." She looked at Jarek who was buckling up his gauntlets. "And someone who can watch for traps."
"Agreed," Elric said. "I'll take the rest. Kael, you go with Talia."
Kael nodded, but he felt a shiver. Something about Elric's voice was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shrugged it away.
"Stay in sight of each other as much as possible," Elric said, his voice brooking no argument. "We regroup here before sundown. No exceptions."
Kael and Talia headed east, threading through the bones and rubble. The air was heavy with the same weight as the day before, every sound—every step—seemed loud against the silence.
"Think we'll find another today?" Talia asked, her voice low but conversational.
Kael looked at her. "If we don't, we're not leaving."
"Always the optimist," she said, a small smile on her face.
Their banter was forced.
Kael found himself looking at Talia out of the corner of his eye. There was something about her—something just slightly... off. She was walking with her usual confidence but her movements were wrong.
He shook his head, telling himself he was being paranoid. The temple, the battlefield, the constant stress—it was getting to him.
They didn't have to wait long before trouble found them. The ground trembled slightly, Kael felt it through the soles of his boots.
"Hear that?" Talia asked, stopping.
Kael nodded and drew his blade.
"Something's coming."
The Ravager appeared a moment later, emerging from behind a pile of rubble. A low-tier creature, humanoid in shape but twisted and ugly. Its skin was a patchwork of Blight scars and its eyes burned with a feral light.
Kael and Talia moved as one, she adapted to his attacks perfectly. It was instinctive. Kael feinted left, the creature followed and Talia darted in from the right, her Etherion blade flashing.
The creature screeched, its voice like grinding metal, and swung its claws. Kael ducked under the swing and stabbed upward, his blade hitting the Ravager's chest.
It fell to the ground, twitching once before going still.
> ◇ Ravager (Rank E) Eliminated. 20 VRP Gained.
> ◇ Current Void Resonance: Level 2 (520/1000 VRP).
"Not bad," Talia said, wiping her blade.
Kael nodded but his eyes lingered on the creature for a moment. Something about the way it moved—didn't sit right with him.
Meanwhile Elric's group moved west. Jarek took point, his eyes scanning the ground for traps.
"Hold up," he said, holding up a hand.
Elric and the others stopped immediately. Jarek crouched low and brushed dirt away from a faintly glowing rune etched into the stone.
"Tripwire," he said, pointing to the nearly invisible strand of Etherion-infused thread stretched across the path.
"How did you see that?" Darren asked, his voice a mix of surprise and awe.
Jarek grinned.
"It's the best way to scavenge in the settlement. You'd be surprised how many idiots die because they don't look where they're walking."
He disarmed the trap, muttering to himself as he worked. Elric watched him, nodding when the path was clear.
"Good job," Elric said.
Back on the eastern side of the battlefield Kael and Talia had found two more low-tier Ravagers. The fights had been quick but unsettlingly easy. The creatures were slow, predictable.
As they stopped to catch their breath Kael found himself looking at Talia again.
Her breathing was even, too even for someone who had just been in combat. She wiped her blade with the same exact motion she'd used after the first fight, her face expressionless.
"You're looking at me," she said without turning.
Kael turned.
"Just thinking."
"About?"
Kael hesitated. "Nothing."
She looked at him, a small smile on her face.
"You're terrible at lying."
Kael didn't say anything, his discomfort growing.
As the day went on Kael started to notice other small things. Talia repeated phrases she'd already said that day, her tone and inflection exactly the same. When they found another Ravager she moved in battle exactly like she had the first time.
Kael's head spun. Was he just imagining things? Or was something off?
Was the trial getting to him? Or them?
By late afternoon they'd covered a lot of ground but found no more idol pieces. They regrouped at the temple as the sun started to set.
"How was it?" Elric asked Kael and Talia.
"No luck," Talia said, her voice breezy but annoyed.
Kael nodded but didn't say anything.
"What about you?" Talia asked Elric's group.
Elric turned. "None either."
The others talked and Kael remained silent, his head spinning. The repeated phrases, the same mannerisms, the too-easy teamwork—it all felt off.
He looked at Talia who was laughing at something Darren said. Her smile was perfect, her movements fluid.