The air felt thicker now. Heavy, charged with something unseen but deeply present.
Thalina stood at the edge of the Shimmering Lake, the glow of its waters casting silver ribbons along her skin. Her reflection wavered beneath the surface, distorted and flickering, like she was staring into another world.
She sighed and turned away from it, taking in the silent audience around her.
The stags.
There were so many of them.
Earlier, she hadn't realized their numbers—her focus had been on Tharion, on the panic pressing against her ribs like an iron fist. But now, standing here, fully aware, she finally saw them.
Tall. Majestic. Otherworldly.
Their snow-white fur gleamed under the soft light, silken and flawless, as if woven from the very fabric of this place.
It was perfect.
Everything here was perfect.
She felt strangely small in their presence.
The stag she had saved earlier stepped forward.
Its deep, knowing gaze met hers as it spoke.
"It is time."
Thalina swallowed.
