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**Spirit Grove – Late Evening**
The grove had settled into a rhythm—not of peace, but of tension. The kind that hangs in the air before a storm breaks. Around the firepit made from ancient moss stones, Elira sat with Lirae, exchanging quiet thoughts.
"So you were summoned too?" Elira asked, twirling a vine between her fingers.
"I don't know if I was summoned," Lirae answered, voice soft and steady, "but I dreamed of the roots… glowing, pulsing, calling me south. When I woke, Shade had already chosen the path."
As if sensing its name, the great spectral wolf lifted its head from its paws, ears twitching.
Elira chuckled. "Still weird that you ended up in this exact corner of the forest. And just in time to save our lives from vine traps and overly dramatic whispering trees."
Lirae glanced toward the trees. "They're still whispering."
From a distance, Kael was sharpening his blades, his wary eyes darting between the elf and her mystical companion.
"I liked it better when the forest *wasn't* handing out magical companions like festival candy," he muttered under his breath.
Brann grunted from where he leaned against a tree. "Still not sure I believe any of this. Spirits, ghost dogs, magic trees… feels like we're in one of those tales grandmothers tell to scare you off sneaking out at night."
"You mean the ones where everyone dies horribly for picking the wrong mushroom?" Elira said cheerfully.
"Exactly those."
---
**Yuki's Hollow – Overlooking the Grove**
Yuki lay coiled beneath the bowing limbs of an ancient tree, watching through a shimmering spirit veil. Sylvaeria hovered above, her arms folded, eyes glowing with quiet amusement.
"They're bonding," she said. "That's a rare thing, for so many threads to cross like this. And in such a place."
"It's annoying," Yuki rumbled. "More variables. More uncertainty."
"You say that like you didn't just mentally bookmark their emotional resonance patterns."
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm allowed to be curious. Doesn't mean I care."
Sylvaeria smirked. "Of course not. The mighty dragon overlord with a budding obsession over a red-haired spirit-sensitive girl definitely doesn't *care*."
Yuki turned slowly to give her a flat, unimpressed look.
"I *will* eat you."
"You won't. I taste like disappointment and mint."
---
**Meanwhile – Limit's Hideout Beneath the Roots**
Far beneath the forest floor, Limit stood with her arms crossed inside a chamber of twisted root-walls and flickering soullight crystals.
Three spectral blades floated before her: one crackling with blue lightning, another burning faintly with inner fire, and the third… silent, but heavy with void essence.
She watched the resonance between them shift.
"So. A dragon. A spirit. A chosen girl. And now an elven tracker bonded to a spirit beast."
Her expression didn't change, but her fingers tightened.
"It's not yet time. But soon… soon I'll test them. And him."
She turned to face a moss-covered stone etched with ancient script.
"If the forest is awakening, then the seals will too. And I'm the only one who knows how to contain what lies beneath."
One of the blades flickered with red light.
"Not yet," she said to it. "But when I strike, it won't be subtle."
---
**Spirit Grove – That Night**
Yuki stepped into the grove just after moonrise.
The moment he crossed the spirit boundary, all conversation stopped. Even Shade lifted its spectral head in alarm.
Elira stood, heart pounding as she turned to face him.
"...You," she whispered.
Yuki inclined his head, voice echoing with layered timbre. "You've seen me before. In vision. In dreams. This is not new."
"Still terrifying in person," Kael muttered, taking a half-step in front of Elira.
Yuki gave him a sideways glance that made the thief visibly sweat.
"I'm not here to fight," Yuki said, gaze settling on Elira, then flicking briefly to Lirae.
Sylvaeria appeared beside him, shimmering like a spirit moon.
"I'm here," Yuki continued, "because too many pieces are moving without my permission."
Elira narrowed her eyes. "So… what, you're the forest's grumpy landlord now?"
"I prefer 'apex overseer of spatial harmony.'"
Kael snorted. "So, definitely grumpy landlord."
Lirae finally spoke. "Why reveal yourself to us now?"
Yuki's tail swished once. "Because she," he said, nodding at Elira, "is beginning to hear the roots. And *you*—" he looked to Lirae—"carry something once bound to this land."
Lirae's expression didn't change, but Shade growled softly.
"I have no intention of taking it from you," Yuki said calmly. "But understand this—whatever drew you here, it's not finished."
Sylvaeria stepped forward. "There are ruins not far from here—old ones, deeper than the ones you found. They're stirring. And what sleeps there… remembers pain."
A hush fell over the group.
Elira looked to Yuki. "And you want our help?"
Yuki blinked slowly. "I want you *not* to die before I figure out why the forest is so interested in you."
"That's probably the closest thing to affection I'll ever get out of you," she said with a smile.
Sylvaeria laughed. "Oh, give it time."
---
**Closing Scene – Spirit Breeze Whispering**
As the night wore on, wind stirred gently through the trees.
From her hidden hollow, Limit listened, one hand pressed to her blade.
"They'll reach the ruins soon," she whispered. "And so will I."
Above, stars wheeled in ancient patterns, and deep in the earth, something *shifted*.
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