The valley remained silent after Haya's words.
Even the strange figure beside Feroz had stopped moving.
Watching her carefully.
Like it didn't fully understand her yet.
Feroz kept looking at Haya.
There was something different about her presence.
Not power.
Not strength.
Calm.
And after everything that had happened—
that calm felt strange.
Haroon finally broke the silence.
"You said your brother crossed the threshold."
Haya nodded once.
"Years ago."
"What happened after that?"
Haya looked down for a moment.
"As time passed... people stopped being able to stay near him."
Feroz's chest tightened slightly.
Because that sounded too familiar already.
Haya continued quietly.
"At first it was small things. Voices sounding farther away. Space feeling wrong. Then eventually..."
She paused.
"...even standing beside him became difficult."
Younus listened carefully.
"And the figure?"
Haya slowly looked toward the shape beside Feroz.
"My brother had one too."
The air in the valley suddenly felt colder.
Haroon looked toward Feroz immediately.
"Then we need to stop this now."
"You can't," Haya answered softly.
Haroon frowned.
"You don't know that."
Haya looked at him calmly.
"I said the same thing once."
That answer silenced him.
Because there was no arrogance in her voice.
Only experience.
Feroz looked at the figure again.
It still stood there quietly beside him.
Not attacking.
Not speaking.
Just existing.
And somehow—
that made it worse.
"...what happens if it finishes?" Feroz asked quietly.
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Haya finally spoke.
"I don't know."
Feroz looked at her.
"But I know what happens if you panic."
"The noise gets louder," he said quietly.
Haya nodded.
"And it pulls harder."
Younus slowly stepped closer to the edge of the boundary again.
Carefully this time.
No sudden movement.
No force.
He studied Haya closely.
"Why can you stand near him without resistance?"
Haya stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then:
"...because part of me already crossed a long time ago."
Those words changed the atmosphere immediately.
Haroon's expression hardened.
"What does that mean?"
Haya slowly pulled back the sleeve of her left arm.
A faded mark rested near her wrist.
Different from Feroz's—
but similar enough to make everyone notice instantly.
Even Zarqaan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Feroz stared at the mark.
"...you have one too."
Haya covered it again calmly.
"Mine never fully awakened."
Younus looked at her carefully.
"Why not?"
For the first time—
Haya looked uncertain.
"...I think my brother took most of it with him."
Silence returned again.
Feroz slowly looked away.
Something about her words bothered him deeply.
Because for the first time—
he realized someone else had already walked part of this path.
And failed.
The figure beside him suddenly shifted again.
Its face flickered slightly.
Still unstable.
Still incomplete.
But clearer now than before.
Feroz immediately looked away from it.
Haya noticed.
"Don't stare at it too long."
He looked back at her.
"Why?"
"Because eventually..." she said softly,
"...you stop noticing the differences."
Those words unsettled him immediately.
Haroon exhaled slowly.
"So what do we do now?"
Haya looked toward Feroz.
"He needs distance."
Haroon frowned instantly.
"Distance from what?"
"Everything familiar."
The answer hit harder than expected.
Feroz stayed silent.
Because deep down—
he already felt it too.
The valley no longer felt stable around him.
Even standing here felt temporary now.
Like sooner or later—
something would force him forward.
Younus looked toward Haya again.
"You came here alone?"
Haya nodded.
"I've been following the distortions for days."
Haroon looked surprised.
"You tracked this?"
"The broken spaces become easier to feel once you've lived near them long enough."
Zarqaan finally spoke again after remaining silent for so long.
"And yet you still came closer willingly."
Haya looked at him without fear.
"My brother disappeared alone."
A pause.
"I'm not letting it happen again."
Feroz looked at her quietly after hearing that.
For the first time in a long while—
someone was speaking to him like he was still human.
Not a weapon.
Not a key.
Not a danger.
Just someone in trouble.
And somehow—
that scared him too.
Because he didn't know how long that would last.
The figure beside him slowly turned its head again.
This time—
toward the dark forest outside the valley.
Then the pressure changed.
Sharp.
Sudden.
Everyone felt it instantly.
Haroon's expression darkened.
"...someone else is here."
The fog beyond the valley shifted violently.
And somewhere deep in the trees—
something started moving fast toward them.