Time moved strangely now.
Without sun or moon, the sky remained in a stagnant twilight—forever stuck between night and dawn.
The group scattered through the clearing. Maksym leaned against a tree, sharpening his blades. Yurko rested with his back to the wolf, cleaning the crossbow. Shchek carved something unknown into a stump with the edge of his axe.
Methodius, near the stream, knelt with his head bowed low, muttering scripture. The Holy Text in Kyi's lap fluttered open in the still wind, his eyes scanning verses while his fingers glowed faintly with the merged power of water and light.
But Lybid was gone.
Khoryv found her deep in the cavern again, standing before Mara's sleeping body.
The Staff of Verdance glowed faintly in her hand. Her eyes were locked on the sleeping goddess—her form tangled in roots and branches, a monument to a still-beating end.
She didn't turn when Khoryv stepped beside her.
"You keep coming back," he said.
Khoryv remained silent.
"I don't fear her," she continued. "I fear that… everything we're doing is just another turning of the wheel. What happens if we fail?"
She looked up at the mass of bark, rot, and divinity.
"Or worse… what happens if we succeed."
Khoryv exhaled. "Life is not a circle. Nor a spiral. It's just like this forest."
Lybid looked at him.
He continued. "Some trees grow tall, some rot. Some are cut down to make room for others. Life branches in infinite directions. We prune. We plant. But the forest decides where the roots will take hold."
She was quiet.
"Fate," he said, "is not written. It's grown."
Her fingers tightened on the staff.
"Without us, nothing would grow."
The words lingered.
Then, the ground trembled.
A low, rumbling quake shook the cavern. Dust fell. Roots pulled slightly.
Lybid steadied herself, staff digging into the stone.
"What was that?" she whispered.
Khoryv turned toward her, eyes narrowing.
"That," he said grimly with a smile, "was a sign."
He looked back toward the exit.
"Looks like we'll have to shift our plans too."
He stepped into the tunnel.
"It begins now."