The ruins were no longer still.
The city that had stood untouched for centuries now hummed with something unseen.
Lyla could feel it, the shift, the weight, the awakening.
The air carried a charge, like the moment before a storm, when the sky held its breath.
The Marked Ones stood behind her, weapons drawn, eyes darting across the broken remains of the world that had once belonged to something older than them all.
They had fought against packs.
They had fought against the Elders.
But this?
This was different.
This was something forgotten by time.
And now, it was stirring.
Jorin spoke first, his voice quiet but firm.
"We need to move."
Lyla didn’t answer immediately.
She was still listening.
Because something was here.
Watching.
Waiting.
But it had not revealed itself yet.
