For a moment the woman kept watching him.
Those sharp, impossible eyes measuring him.
Then something changed.
The tension drained from her body.
Her gaze flickered once… twice…
And the light behind it vanished.
Her head rolled slightly to the side and her body went limp in the wet leaves.
Ludwig reacted instantly, catching her before her shoulder hit the ground.
"Hey."
No response.
He checked her pulse again.
Still there.
Weak, but steady.
Whatever had just been looking at him… it was gone.
For now.
Ludwig exhaled slowly and reached for the small radio clipped to his vest.
He pressed the button.
A brief burst of static crackled through the quiet forest.
"Gate."
A calm voice answered almost immediately.
Neutral.
Too smooth to belong to a human.
"Go ahead, Ludwig."
He glanced down at the unconscious woman in his arms.
"You're going to want to log something unusual."
A pause.
"Define unusual."
Ludwig almost smiled.
"Found a trespasser deep in the north woods. Female. Mid-twenties. Exhausted. Looks like she's been running for days."
Another pause.
"Medical risk?"
"Probably."
"And the unusual part?"
Ludwig looked once more at her face.
At those eyes he had seen for just a few seconds.
"Let's just say… she didn't look lost."
Silence hummed through the radio for a moment.
Then the voice replied,
"Understood. Bringing her in?"
"Yeah."
"Path clearance confirmed. Medical wing notified."
Ludwig released the button and slid the radio back into place.
For a second he just stood there, the forest breathing quietly around him.
Then he bent down and lifted her.
She weighed almost nothing.
Too light.
Too fragile for someone who had apparently crossed half a continent.
Ludwig adjusted her carefully over his shoulder and turned toward the narrow trail leading deeper into the woods.
Far beyond the trees, hidden in the hills, the lights of the Sanctuary waited.
"Alright," he muttered quietly.
"Let's see what you are."
And he started walking.