The sound grew louder with each approach, Atheline had fought at least seven more beasts before he could reach his destination.

His steps were hurried.

"Finally."

When the tree thinned the river revealed itself. It wasn’t as wide as he had imagined but clean and clear.

The water moved over stones reflecting the rising sun. Compared to everything else in the forest, it felt oddly surreal but out of place.

He stood at the edge for a moment, watching and listening for any sudden movement.

There was nothing. Even the weird crawling sensation at the back of his neck had dulled slightly.

"Good enough, " he mummbled, his voice dry from lack of use.

He crouched dipping his hand into the water. It was cold, giving him a sense of being grounded with all the things happening around him.

He took a small gulp, sloshing the water around his mouth as he got rid of the metallic taste.

He had bled a few times on his way.

He spat the red water to his side.

He leaned in and scooped the water again.

He drank slowly at first, then a little more. He could feel the cold sensation patching his dry throat. Fruits couldn’t do the job well enough.

After a while he moved to sit against a nearby tree, just close enough to hear the river clearly.

’I really need a bath’

Atheline could feel his skin becoming itchy but he knew he couldn’t succumb to the temptation since his clothes were akin to an unofficial armour.

His eyes slid closed, but not to sleep just resting under the rising sun. The dull ache in his bones and flesh had finally become a constant companion.

Time passed, a little more than an hour. His eyes remained half lidded, gaze fixed loosely on the flowing water.

His breath slowed, shoulders sagging just a little as the constant strain eased for just a fraction.

’Can’t keep going like this’

Fighting everything, burning through his body despite knowing the risks just to stay alive, and the poison was a huge ticking bomb.

The fact that he was truly lost, didn’t make matters worse.

All of this wasn’t sustainable, he would die in a day or two if he could last through the ever-increasing beasts.

He had been lucky enough not to meet something stronger than him, but what about next time or the time after?

His hand shifted slightly, brushing against the weapons at his side.

’I need to be smarter.’

Strength did rule but he couldn’t wait for Lilith or walk forward blindly.

Far behind him, the shrubs moved before it vanished the land returning to calm. Atheline didn’t notice.

A comfortable breeze moved faintly through the clearing. The first he had felt on what seemed to be a long time. It carried the scent of water and a small hint of flowers.

It reminded him of Lilith.

’I miss my wife...’ his hand covered his eyes "Lily."

His voice was carried away by the winds.

.

.

.

The day before.

Lilith teleported into the forest while splitting fire. She stepped through space itself, as she emerged between the trees still carrying the earlier mood.

The ground beneath cracked, and with each step it expanded further.

Her gaze sharpened instantly but she couldn’t help but feel that something was terribly wrong.

"Where are you?"

Her hand lifted slightly, fingers brushing against the faint invisible connection she knew was always there. That was her reassurance.

The chain.

She felt it, but then it... slipped.

Her expression darkened.

"Thats not possible, " she mumbled her voice echoing in the quiet forest.

Her senses reached outwards threading through the forest, searching, with precise intent.

She should have found him instantly. There was no distance nor interference too great that could keep her away from her beloved and yet, she couldn’t locate him.

She searched again, her senses moving while she also checked their connection.

The connection flickered but it felt different, not the usual response she got when she tracked him. It was pointing her in different conflicting directions all at once.

Her nails pressed lightly into her palm.

"Someone is interfering... again."

She didn’t panic. Her eyes lifted slowly, scanning the trees, listening for anything that sounded out of place.

She didn’t rush it, not yet, it would mess everything up.

If something was actively messing with her ability to track him, moving blindly would only waste time, or worse, delay her further.

So she waited, patiently, the forest would answer eventually.

The next morning.

She found it without much difficulty, once she stopped relying on their connection.

Her gaze settled on the object half-buried beneath roots and damp soil.

Her fingers hovered over the device then she flicked one finger upwards.

It dislodged from the ground and into the air.

"There you are. "

It was deliberately small.

Up close, the object was even more intricate than she had first assumed.

Its surface was inscribed with aether patterns she couldn’t understand, probably a sort of ruin language.

Patterns layered over patterns, too detailed to be randomly made.

Beneath it something different, ancient pulsed. Not aether.

"A blessing?"

That made her hesitate as she recognised it. Most people wouldn’t have noticed anything different. They would have felt disoriented but they wouldn’t have questioned it.

Her fingers gripped the small device slightly harder.

"You hid well."

There was no signature she could immediately name or a clear mark that could directly tie it to a single god.

But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t there. It just made things much worse because it meant one of the two things.

Either the blessing had been deliberately obscured or it belonged to an unnamed god.

Her gaze sharpened.

"Which one are you?"

Of course, no one answered.

Despite that, she could feel its purpose which had somehow been achieved. It was to misdirect her.

Her fingers brushed against it, and for a brief moment, the world stilled.

Her senses split, pulling her in different directions. The connection flickered violently, then the directions were given. Right, left, forward, deeper.

And all those directions felt both correct and wrong.

She stilled instantly, then smiled as realisation set in.

"You’re not hiding him," her grip tightened slightly "You’re hiding the path."

That meant they weren’t trying to keep her away, just delay and confuse her long enough.

Her expression darkened. For anyone that would have worked perfectly.

Her fingers closed around the device, and it resisted the blessing pulsing faintly as it pushed against her.

"There is nothing that can stop me from finding him."

The device cracked.

A sharp brittle sound beneath her grip, as the inscriptions resisted. A small light came on, then, it collapsed.

She stood slowly, letting her senses stretch outwards again.

This time, the connection held perfectly. She deciphered his direction without a problem.

Her head tilted slightly, eyes focused deeper into the forest, towards him.

"Found you."

A small smile touched her lips.

Her smile didn’t last, she had not only found him but also the things around him.

Her gaze hardened.

"Gods meddling in something like this," she mumbled, a quiet breath left her," ... then I’ll break it all the same."

She stepped forward, her shadows taking her.