The nightmare returned quietly.
That was the worst part.
No screaming fractures.
No monsters tearing through the forest.
No warning.
Just Kai waking up unable to breathe.
Nancy sat upright instantly the second the bond twisted painfully between them.
"Kai?"
Moonlight spilled across the cabin as she turned toward him.
He was already sitting at the edge of the bed, shoulders tense, breathing unevenly.
Silver-black light flickered faintly beneath the scar across his chest.
Nancy's stomach dropped immediately.
No.
Not again.
"Kai."
"I'm okay," he said too quickly.
Lie.
The bond carried the truth straight into her chest anyway—
pain.
Fear.
Confusion.
Nancy moved beside him immediately.
"Let me see."
"It's nothing."
"Kai."
That tone finally made him stop arguing.
Slowly, he pulled his shirt aside enough for her to see the scar properly.
The corruption mark looked different now.
Smaller than before.
Contained.
But alive.
Thin silver-black veins pulsed faintly beneath his skin like something sleeping underneath.
Nancy felt cold all over.
Nyra appeared instantly inside her mind.
The Watcher's influence never vanished completely.
Nancy's heartbeat stumbled.
"What does that mean?"
Residual connection.
Not possession.
Not corruption.
But the scar still remembers it.
Kai looked toward the window quietly.
"I started feeling it yesterday."
"And didn't tell me?"
"You finally stopped looking like the world was ending every five minutes."
His voice softened.
"I didn't want to ruin that."
Nancy stared at him in disbelief.
"You thought hiding possible cosmic leftovers was protecting my feelings?"
"When you say it like that, it sounds bad."
"Because it is bad."
Kai actually smiled faintly.
Which somehow made this worse emotionally.
Nancy grabbed his hand carefully.
The bond spread between them instantly.
Warm gold meeting uneasy silver-black.
The scar reacted immediately beneath his skin.
Pulsing once.
Nancy tensed.
But instead of growing darker—
it calmed.
Like the bond itself was soothing it.
Kai exhaled slowly.
"…Okay, that helps."
Nancy didn't relax.
Not fully.
Because fear had already started creeping upward inside her chest again.
What if the Watcher wasn't truly gone?
What if this was how it returned?
What if—
Kai squeezed her hand gently.
"Nancy."
She looked at him.
His expression softened immediately with understanding.
Which honestly would've been easier if he stopped understanding her so well.
"You're spiraling."
"I am strategically preparing for danger."
"You're catastrophizing."
"That sounds fake."
Kai snorted quietly.
Then winced because apparently laughing while magically injured was a bad idea.
Nancy immediately moved closer.
"See? Pain. Very concerning."
"I survived reality-breaking corruption."
"And almost died."
"But didn't."
The simple certainty in his voice slowed her panic slightly.
Outside the cabin, rain tapped softly against the roof while the forest slept peacefully around them.
Peace.
Still peaceful.
Nancy focused on that carefully.
The bond.
The cabin.
Kai alive beside her.
Real.
Nyra spoke again more quietly this time.
Fear after survival is normal.
Nancy sighed softly.
"I know."
You expect disaster now because disaster kept happening.
Unfortunately accurate.
Kai leaned back against the wall beside her.
For a while neither of them spoke.
Nancy simply kept holding his hand while monitoring the scar like glaring at it hard enough might solve the problem.
Kai noticed eventually.
"You know staring at it won't intimidate cosmic residue, right?"
"You don't know that."
"I feel like I do."
Nancy looked at him sharply.
"You're making jokes about this."
"I'm trying not to let fear control every peaceful moment we finally have."
That hit harder than she expected.
Kai looked toward the rain-covered window.
"If something's wrong, we'll face it."
Then he looked back at her.
"Together this time."
The bond pulsed warmly between them.
Shared burden.
Shared fear.
Shared survival.
Nancy slowly rested her head against his shoulder.
For once—
she let herself believe that maybe together was enough.