Night had fallen across the continent, but the world wasn't resting.
Not anymore.
In a quiet forest somewhere in the northeast, two Shadow operatives crouched in the tall grass.
Their cloaks blended in perfectly with the trees, making them nearly invisible. One of them, a short woman with sharp eyes and a relaxed posture, held a thin lens up to her eye as she peered through the bushes.
"Three beasts. All mid-tier. Looks like they're sniffing around the outer area," she whispered.
Her partner, a tall man with a bow on his back, nodded. "Same kind we've been tracking?"
"Yeah. It has the same patterns, too. They're avoiding roads. Going for the hills instead."
They didn't move. They didn't attack.
They just watched.
After a few minutes, the beasts passed by without noticing them.
"Should we mark this as a pass-through zone?" the man asked quietly.
The woman tapped her jade slip and made a note. "Yeah. They're not settling here. But it means they're scouting."
