He left the ruins behind.
Didn't look back. There was nothing for him there. Just silence, and that burning reminder that he didn't belong in this world.
The path ahead was narrow and foggy. No markers. No real direction. Just more of that pale gray glow, thicker now, it seemed almost alive. Fog hugged the ground like a creeping thing, rising slowly, swallowing his legs as he walked.
Then he heard a sound, a howl, low, sharp.
Not from any real animal he knew, It echoed, like it came from too many mouths at once. Some too high, some too low.
He stopped, cold. Little rodents and animals scattered away in fear.
The dagger in his hand suddenly felt useless.
Another howl, it sounded like it was closer this time.
The mist thickened, curling around him. He couldn't see more than a few feet ahead. Shapes moved just outside his vision. Shadows flickering in and out like candles, always shifting, never still.
Then it stopped, nothing, everything went still.
Then the first one hit him.
Not a body, more like a force slamming him from behind. He hit the ground hard, rolled fast, lifting the blade just in time. He caught a glimpse, glowing eyes, jaws wide. He slashed. Steel met smoke.
The thing vanished. Dissolved like it was never really there.
Another lunged from his side, He twisted his body fast but its claws raked his arm. His skin burned, the cold in the wound made his teeth clench.
He swung again, wild and desperate. The blade caught something, it hissed and then vanished in a flash of fog.
More appeared around him, their shapes flickering in and out. Always circling, never fully solid.
His breath came fast. His legs shook in fear, He couldn't track them.
He wasn't going to win this, he wasn't even sure he could survive it.
Another one darted in, then everything seemed to stop.
A flash of silver cut the air.
The wolf vanished mid-leap, gone in a blink.
He blinked too and stared closer, he could see a figure standing ahead of him, it looked female.
Then in a clearing, he saw her. She was standing in front of him. Cloaked, masked. Still standing like a statue with a sword in her hand.
She didn't move and the fog didn't seem to touch her.
Her blade was long, one edge, worn but steady.
She stepped forward, another wolf jumped.
She slid to the side, smooth like water, and cut it down with one swing.
No wasted motion, no sound. Just gone.
The rest hesitated. Then vanished like they were never there.
The silence returned, heavy. But different now.
She turned slowly. Her mask was bone-white, carved with faded lines. Her dark hair was tied back. Her presence was sharp, like steel.
"You shouldn't walk the fog alone," she said.
Her voice was clear and controlled. Not soft, but not cruel either.
He coughed out blood. Tried to stand, but the pain stopped him.
She didn't move or try to help him.
"Get up," she said. "If you can."
He pushed himself off the ground, legs trembling. He forced himself to stand upright.
"Who are you?" he asked, breath ragged.
She didn't answer at first. "You're lost," she said.
Not judgment. Just a fact.
He didn't deny it.
Her eyes flicked to his hand. The rune still glowing there, faint and pulsing.
"You wear the mark," she said. "But there's no grace in you. No bond, no guide."
She stepped past him. Her cloak brushed his shoulder. Her sword stayed ready.
"You weren't meant to survive," she said quietly. "Yet here you are."
He turned to follow. Took one step and collapsed again. His ankle gave out with a sharp jolt of pain.
She didn't stop walking then suddenly she did.
Just a few steps ahead, her back still turned.
"I don't know where I am," he called after her.
She stood still.
Then finally spoke. "The Witherlands," she said. "Where the dead wander, and the living wish they didn't."
She turned her head slightly. Just enough for him to see the edge of her mask.
"This world doesn't care who you used to be," she said. "And it won't save you."
She kept walking.
He tried again to move, but his body refused.
Still, he reached out. "Wait."
She paused once more,
"If you want to live," she said without looking back, "then stop dying on your knees."
Then she vanished in the fog, just like she came. Leaving him there alone once more.