The words hung in the air.
Athena chewed slowly, eyes narrowing in thought. Gemma exhaled through his nose, gaze drifting toward the cathedral's towering doors.
Gemma clicked his tongue, irritation finally breaking through his usual restraint. "You should know him better than me," he said, kicking a loose stone across the cathedral floor. It skittered and bounced before disappearing into a crack between the slabs. "He's a stubborn fool when he wants to be, and he's dead set on getting that Shard. How he even knows where it is, I have no clue. But that's Adam for you—once he decides something, that's it."
He exhaled sharply. "And I don't even get why he's in such a rush. It's not like anyone else is about to stumble onto it anytime soon."
Athena let out a short laugh, deep and unrestrained. She gnawed the last scraps of meat from the bone, teeth scraping clean what little remained, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Finished, she tossed the bone aside without ceremony.
It clattered across the stone and came to rest at the feet of the massive statue enshrined at the back of the cathedral—the Nameless Goddess, faceless and towering, her outstretched hands frozen in eternal offering. The bone looked absurdly small at her base.
"Adam's got his quirks," Athena said easily, leaning her shoulder back against the wall. "But he's never led us wrong before. Not once. I trust him."
She grinned, eyes bright. "Besides, doesn't the whole thing fire you up? Lord Shards. Toppling a tyrant. Raising an army and marching back to the Waking World like some grand legend from the old days." She laughed again. "I don't know about you, but that kind of thing gets my blood pumping."
"Not everyone's a brute like you," Gemma muttered.
There was no real bite behind it.
Kai slid the finished arrows back into his quiver, movements smooth and unhurried. "I think we have a real chance," he said thoughtfully. "And I don't mean that arrogantly. Just… realistically. We might actually be the strongest group of Sleepers to exist so far. If we can't do it, then I'm not sure anyone can."
Gemma snorted. "The First Bright Lord thought the exact same thing. And now we're planning an expedition to go collect what's left of him."
"Geez, Gemma, why are you always such a downer?" Athena complained, tapping her foot against the stone. "You of all people should be confident. You can regenerate from basically anything that isn't decapitation."
Gemma went quiet.
For a moment, it looked like he might argue—but instead he just sighed, shoulders sagging slightly. Whatever fear sat in his chest, he clearly had no intention of naming it.
"Whatever," he said at last. "Anything else before I go? Gunlaug wants me back out there recruiting fresh meat for the Hunters. Can't disappear for too long."
Kai scratched the side of his nose with his thumb. "Nothing major. Though… the Coral Labyrinth's changed again."
Gemma paused mid-step. "Changed how?"
"The Statue of the Slayer isn't the same," Kai replied. "New monsters have moved in. Different ones. That usually means something happened to whatever was anchoring the area."
Athena's brow rose. "The Shard Monster?"
"That's our guess," Kai said. "Which leads to one conclusion."
Gemma frowned. "Adam."
"Adam," Kai agreed.
The Hunter shrugged after a moment. "Doesn't affect us directly. If he's meddling, he probably knows what he's doing. I'm heading out."
"Send my regards to Seishan and Adam," Athena called after him, lifting a hand in a lazy wave.
Gemma didn't look back.
When his footsteps faded, Athena turned toward Kai, her grin returning in full. "What's crawled up his ass, huh?"
Kai coughed, barely hiding a chuckle. "Stress, most likely. Living under Gunlaug will do that to anyone."
He glanced toward the cathedral entrance, where sunlight was beginning to soften as it dipped lower in the sky. "What about you? Any plans for the rest of the day?"
Athena stretched, joints cracking audibly. "Sleep. Digest some of this food." She smirked. "After that… who knows. Maybe a hunt. Maybe nothing."
Kai smiled faintly.
The two lingered there, trading idle conversation and quiet jokes, the weight of plans and dangers momentarily set aside. Outside, the sun continued its slow descent, shadows stretching long across the ruined city.
Another day on the Forgotten Shore came to an end.