Kael woke to the sound of his own breath.

  Shallow. Fast. Wrong.

  For a moment he didn’t know where he was. The ceiling beams above him blurred, then sharpened. The tower. The same corner of old straw. The same cold stone under his back.

  And then the memory hit him.

  The clearing.The eyes.That thing turning toward him.

  His chest tightened so fast it hurt. Kael shot upright and grabbed the nearest wall, steadying himself as his vision swam. He forced himself to look toward the window slit.

  Empty.

  He swallowed hard and leaned closer. Still empty. No shadow moving between the trees. No shape waiting at the edge of the village.

  Still……nothing felt safe.

  I should go down. Just to check.He stayed frozen in place.

  Minutes dragged. Maybe an hour. His heartbeat refused to settle, thumping like it was trying to punch its way out. Every breeze brushing through the window made him flinch.

  Only when the silence stayed perfectly still — almost suspiciously still — did he manage to move.

  One slow step.Then another.

  He reached the tower’s wooden ladder, staring down at the dim interior below. His hands trembled. His Blessing nudged him — not courage, but function.

  Just go. You’re already here.

  He descended carefully, each rung creaking too loudly. When he reached the bottom, he crept toward the door, pressing himself to the wall and listening.

  Nothing.No footsteps.No breathing that wasn’t his own.

  He stuck his head out just enough to see the ground outside. Clear. He let out a breath he didn’t notice he’d been holding. But he still couldn’t make himself look toward the river or the forest. His eyes refused.

  I’m not going there. Not today.

  His stomach twisted, reminding him that the only thing he’d eaten was a handful of berries… yesterday.

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  Great. Fear and hunger — perfect combination.

  He stayed near the wall of the tower, thinking hard.

  He couldn’t go to the river. Not even close.He couldn’t wander blindly into the forest.So… what options did he really have?

  Kael forced himself to scan the opposite side of the village — the side furthest from the trees. A few ruined houses sagged in that direction. Only one still had enough walls to qualify as a structure.

  He approached slowly, never turning his back completely toward the forest side. His heartbeat stayed too fast, too loud. He imagined something hearing it.

  When he reached the abandoned house, he froze again.The doorway gaped open — dark, hollow.

  No way. I’m not sticking my head into that.

  So he circled the outside instead. It was safer. Safer enough.

  Then something caught his eye a splash of color behind the ruined house. Round shapes hanging from a branch.

  An apple tree.

  Kael blinked.Then blinked again.

  “Are you kidding me…?” he whispered under his breath.

  He approached carefully, half-expecting something to leap out from behind the trunk. But nothing moved. The apples were small, misshapen, but real.

  He reached up and plucked one.

  It felt unreal in his hand — food that didn’t require hunting, fighting, or dying.

  A laugh slipped out of him. Quiet, shaky, but real.

  He picked three more, holding them carefully like precious treasure. His shoulders loosened a little. A tiny bit of pressure lifted off his chest.

  But then he noticed the light.

  The sun had already dipped lower than he realized.

  A cold spike ran through him.

  No. Not again. Not outside.

  He clutched the apples and ran. No looking around. No checking corners. Just running. His legs burned but he didn’t stop until he hit the tower ladder.

  Only when he scrambled inside the upper floor did he allow himself to turn toward the forest.

  Still nothing.Still silent.

  He pressed his forehead to the window frame and breathed — long, uneven breaths. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

  He took a bite of an apple. The taste was sharp, sour, not great… but it didn’t matter. Food was food. He ate slowly, never taking his eyes off the line of trees.

  Then, just like the night before, the fireflies appeared.

  Not a few. Dozens. Then more. Soft, drifting lights gathering near the forest edge, spreading outward like a quiet tide. A faint shimmer hung in the air as they clustered together.

  Kael stared.

  It looked like they were forming a line — not close to the village, but close enough to notice. A moving, glowing boundary between the open grass and the dark beneath the branches.

  A barrier.Not solid, not strong… but unmistakably a line.

  …Are they trying to keep things in? Or out?

  That thought did nothing for his nerves.

  He kept eating, eyes fixed on the forest until hours passed and exhaustion finally pressed down too heavy to resist. He lay down, still facing the window.

  A gust of wind swept past the tower, and Kael jolted upright with a gasp.

  Nothing.

  Just the wind.

  He let himself fall back again slowly this time, letting his heartbeat settle inch by inch. His eyelids drooped. His mind drifted.

  The fireflies flickered softly in the dark.

  And eventually despite fear, despite everything sleep caught him.