The forest did not welcome him.
It observed him.
Azrael felt it in the way the wind moved through the leaves subtle shifts, unnatural pauses.
Branches creaked though there was no breeze. Birds went silent when he passed beneath their nests.
Mana: 12/200
Stamina: 46/150
Health: 51/100
The numbers floated faintly at the edge of his vision, updating every few minutes as his body slowly stabilized.
The regeneration was inconsistent sometimes steady, sometimes stuttering like a failing heartbeat.
Divine Residue (Unstable) pulsed in red.
“Still watching?” he murmured.
“Yes,” Quinn replied. “Multiple signatures.
Distant. Careful.”
“Define careful.”
“They are not reaching. Not yet.”
Azrael stepped over a fallen log, boots crunching against damp bark. “So they’re waiting to see if
