Dawn came slow and heavy.
Theo shifted his weight behind the fallen log, watching the dirt road that wound through the trees. His breath misted in the cold air, and every muscle in his body ached to move — to act — but he held still.
Nova crouched a few feet away, her silver hair tucked beneath a dark scarf. She didn't move either, but somehow it didn't seem like restraint.It was patience. Quiet, sharp-edged patience, like a bowstring pulled taut but unbroken.
"They're late," Theo muttered.
Nova shook her head. "No. We're early."
He watched her a moment longer, the way she seemed almost stitched into the landscape itself. Like she belonged to the world in a way he had never quite managed.
You used to be like that too, he thought bitterly. Before the Collapse.
Movement on the road snapped him back.
A line of covered wagons trundled into view, pulled by thin, ragged horses. Merchants, travelers, and a handful of guards clustered around the edges. They looked exhausted. Fragile.
Theo's chest tightened.
These people will matter, Nova had said.Not heroes. Not warriors. Just ordinary people who would, somehow, someday, tilt the balance.
If they survived.
Theo scanned the woods beyond the caravan — the place where the threads had started to twitch in Nova's vision.
There.
Shadows among the trees. Fast. Armed.
Bandits, maybe. Or worse — scavengers, the kind who treated life like another thing to be bartered or broken.
"They're moving," Nova whispered.
Theo felt it too. A subtle shift, like the moment before a bowstring snaps.
He glanced at Nova. "Plans?"
Nova's lips thinned.
"Minimal interference," she said. "Push the caravan toward survival. No flashy powers. No big scenes."
Theo flexed his fingers. The Origin Core inside him pulsed, eager to act.
But she was right. Too much meddling this early would attract attention — and not the kind they wanted.
"Alright," he said. "We guide, not command."
Nova nodded once. Approval, maybe. Or just agreement.
The first arrow loosed from the trees.
A scream tore the air, and chaos exploded on the road.
Theo didn't wait for a signal. He moved.
He hit the first attacker low, a blur of motion. Not enough to kill — just enough to break a knee, to shatter the momentum of the ambush. The man went down hard, shouting in shock.
Theo swept up the fallen dagger without thinking and flung it into the brush, forcing another would-be raider to dive aside.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Nova moving too — not fighting, but weaving. Her presence guided the caravan guards, shoving fate subtly, nudging them into smarter choices: a shield raised just in time, a sword thrust that found its mark instead of missing.
It was beautiful in a way Theo had never seen before.Less like a battle, more like a dance.
The caravan began to rally, the guards forming a ragged defensive circle.The survivors held the line — barely — but held it.
Theo ducked a wild swing from one of the scavengers and slammed the butt of his fist into the man's throat. Quick. Efficient.
The world shivered around him, threads pulling taut.
And just like that — the ambush faltered.
The attackers hesitated, sensing the shift.Their advantage was gone.
Another minute, and they broke, scattering back into the woods like rats before a flood.
Theo stood in the churned-up mud, breathing hard, watching the caravan survivors regroup.
Nova appeared at his side, her expression unreadable.
"You could have killed them," she said quietly.
Theo wiped blood — not his own — off his knuckles.
"I could have," he agreed.
Nova's gaze lingered on him a moment longer than necessary.
Then she turned toward the road.
A small girl was tugging at the sleeve of one of the caravan guards, pointing at Theo and Nova with wide, tear-filled eyes.
Theo felt his stomach tighten.
They're afraid of us.
"Come on," Nova said, already moving. "Our part's done."
Theo followed without argument.
As they disappeared into the trees, he risked one last glance back.
The caravan survivors were battered, bloodied — but alive.
The threads around them shimmered faintly, like morning dew catching the first light.
They would go on.
They would matter.
Theo didn't know how, not yet.But for the first time in a long time, he believed it was possible.
And that was enough.
For now.