Night settled quietly across the mountains surrounding the restored Expanse.
The group had stopped near the edge of a long valley where the fractured land finally gave way to ordinary forests and rivers again. A small fire burned softly at the center of their camp while the cold evening wind moved gently through the trees around them.
For the first time in weeks—
everything felt normal.
No distorted skies.
No collapsing reality.
No endless fighting.
Just silence.
Peaceful silence.
Riven had fallen asleep first for once, stretched near the fire while still holding half-eaten food in one hand. Selene quietly covered him with a blanket afterward while pretending not to care. Darin noticed immediately but wisely chose not to comment.
Kael and Aira sat nearby talking softly while Liora rested against one of the larger stones surrounding the campfire.
And slightly farther away from everyone else—
Arin sat alone beneath the night sky with Vijaya resting beside him.
The completed bow glowed faintly beneath the moonlight now, its divine energy calmer than before yet still impossibly powerful. Every so often ancient symbols across its surface flickered softly before fading again.
Arin quietly stared toward it for a long time.
Then slowly—
his eyes closed.
The vision came instantly.
No transition.
No warning.
One moment he sat beside the fire.
The next—
he stood inside a battlefield drowned in blood.
The sky burned crimson overhead while endless corpses covered shattered earth beneath his feet. Mountains collapsed in the distance. Rivers burned black.
And standing across the battlefield—
the Entity's army waited.
Not hundreds this time.
Thousands.
No.
Far more than that.
Endless figures stretching beyond the horizon itself while dark fractures spread through the skies above them.
At the center of the army stood something enormous hidden beneath darkness.
Watching him.
Then suddenly—
the vision shifted again.
His hometown appeared before him.
The forest.
The villages.
The people living peacefully without knowing what was coming.
And then—
everything burned.
Dark creatures flooded through broken space while homes collapsed beneath black flames. Screams echoed endlessly through the streets while the forest itself split apart from corrupted fractures spreading across reality.
Arin's eyes widened instantly.
Then another vision followed.
An enormous open field beyond the forest connecting both towns together.
The battlefield.
The place where the war would happen.
And standing alone at the center of it—
himself.
Vijaya drawn.
Golden flames burning around him.
Facing an army large enough to swallow kingdoms whole.
Then finally—
a voice echoed through the vision.
"The cycle resists extinction."
The world shattered violently afterward.
Arin's eyes snapped open instantly.
His breathing remained controlled externally.
But internally—
everything tightened.
Liora noticed immediately from across the fire.
"…Arin?"
The others slowly looked toward him afterward too.
Because something about his expression changed completely.
The peaceful calm from earlier had vanished.
Arin slowly stood afterward while gripping Vijaya tightly.
The fire crackled softly between them as silence settled across the camp.
Then quietly—
"We need to return home."
Everyone immediately became serious.
Darin frowned slightly.
"What happened?"
Arin remained silent briefly before answering.
"There's a war coming."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Even the wind around the camp seemed colder now somehow.
Kael slowly stood afterward.
"…what kind of war?"
Arin looked toward the distant horizon quietly.
"The Entity is moving."
Fragments of the vision continued replaying inside his mind.
Burning towns.
Broken skies.
Endless armies.
Then finally—
"The next battle won't stay hidden inside ruins or forgotten places anymore."
Liora stepped closer afterward while studying him carefully.
"…where?"
Arin slowly looked toward her.
"The opening beyond the forest."
Everyone understood immediately.
The massive open land connecting both towns together.
A place rarely used because traveling through the forest was much faster. Most people avoided the longer outer route entirely unless transporting goods between settlements.
But strategically—
it connected everything.
And if the Entity's army reached it—
both towns would become exposed.
Silence followed briefly afterward.
Then Riven stood immediately.
"Then we fight there."
The others nodded almost instantly too.
But before anyone could continue—
"No."
Arin's voice cut through the camp sharply.
Everyone looked toward him again.
This time his expression didn't soften.
"You guys aren't fighting this war."
Immediate protests erupted.
"What?"
"Absolutely not."
"You cannot be serious."
Liora stepped directly toward him afterward.
"Arin—"
But he continued before anyone could argue further.
"You all need to protect our hometowns."
Silence returned instantly.
Arin's gaze moved across every one of them afterward.
"The war is going to happen in the opening connecting both sides."
The memory of the vision burned clearly inside him still.
And worst of all—
he understood something terrifying now.
This wasn't another battle against underlings.
This was the beginning of the Entity's real invasion.
The beginning of the true war.
Arin slowly tightened his grip around Vijaya afterward.
"I'm the only one strong enough to fight what's coming."
Nobody answered immediately.
Because deep down—
they knew he wasn't wrong.
The things waiting inside the vision weren't enemies ordinary people could survive against. Even after everything they had experienced together, the difference in power had become undeniable now that Vijaya was complete and Arin's memories fully restored.
But that didn't make accepting it easier.
Liora looked furious now.
"So what? We just stay behind while you fight alone again?"
Arin met her gaze calmly.
"This isn't me trying to leave you behind."
The words came quieter now.
"It's me trusting you with something only you can protect."
That stopped her briefly.
Arin continued afterward while looking toward everyone else too.
"If the Entity reaches the towns…"
Nobody needed him to finish that sentence.
The image alone was enough.
Children.
Families.
Ordinary people with no idea what was coming toward them.
Kael slowly exhaled afterward.
"…you want us to protect the evacuation routes."
Arin nodded once.
"And stop anything that gets past me."
Riven rubbed the back of his head quietly afterward while staring into the fire.
"…still feels wrong."
"It is wrong," Selene answered softly.
"But he's right."
Silence followed again afterward.
Eventually Darin stepped forward slightly.
"When do we leave?"
Arin answered immediately.
"Now."
The journey began again before sunrise.
The group moved through the mountain paths beneath fading moonlight while cold winds followed them down toward the lower forests connecting both regions together.
Nobody talked much during the first few hours.
The weight of what was coming hung heavily over everyone now.
Because for the first time—
they weren't searching for fragments anymore.
They were preparing for war.
And somewhere far away beyond the distant horizon—
the Entity was already moving.