The path did not feel like something they were walking on.
It felt like something allowing them through.
With every step Liora took, the fractured chaos of the Deep Border receded just enough to form a narrow stretch of stability beneath her feet. It wasn't solid in the way the real world was solid. It shifted subtly, as if it were being rewritten with each movement, existing only because she continued forward.
The moment she paused—
It flickered.
"Don't stop," Kael said quietly from behind her.
Liora didn't turn.
"…I noticed."
Cairis stayed close at her side, his presence steady despite the tension that hadn't left him since the encounter. His gaze never left their surroundings, tracking every subtle distortion, every shift in space as if expecting something to emerge at any moment.
"…This isn't a path," he said after a moment.
Kael responded immediately.
"No. It's a response."
Liora's fingers curled slightly.
She already knew that.
