Nova closed his eyes briefly, focusing on his breathing. Every inhale drew in faint traces of the Auri's glow, and he could feel it soothing the residual corrosion inside him. Even the whispering echoes of the Hellscript Daggers in his mind seemed quieter, like they, too, were resting.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "You shouldn't be out here alone. The GrimeFlayers' territory extends further than I thought."

The Auri looked at him, its expression soft but determined. It made a series of quick hand gestures, primitive but expressive. Nova could only interpret fragments: wanderer, seeker, guardian.

"You protect something," he said, piecing the meaning together.

The Auri nodded once, then pointed to his chest, to where his heart was, and then to the cave entrance. A faint vibration filled the air as it hummed again, and the motes around it pulsed with light, forming fleeting images in the air: silhouettes of beasts, trees, and faintly glowing streams. It was showing him something.

"The forest," Nova whispered. "You guard it?"

The Auri nodded again.

Nova fell silent, respect crossing his features. In a world consumed by brutality and decay, the Auri still chose to protect. That thought struck something deep in him, a reminder that not every force in Beastaria was born from chaos.

He looked to Lunaris, who now slept soundly beside them, then back to the Auri. "Thank you," he said quietly. "For saving me."

The creature only inclined its head. Then, slowly, its light began to dim. It stood, gathering the empty stems of the herbs and tucking them away.

Before leaving, it reached out once more, brushing its small hand against Nova's forehead. The warmth that spread from that touch felt like a blessing.

As the Auri stepped toward the cave mouth, its glow faded into the mist until only faint motes remained.

Nova exhaled, letting the silence return. The faint scent of herbs lingered. His pain had dulled, but his thoughts swirled. He knew this peace wouldn't last; Beastaria never allowed it. Still, for this brief moment, it was enough.

He looked out into the dim light filtering through the cave and whispered, "Draco… wherever you are, I'll find you. You sick son of a bitch."

Then he lay back, eyes heavy, as Lunaris shifted closer, and the faint remnants of the Auri's light faded into dreams.

---

When Nova awoke, the cavern was bathed in a muted, amber glow, the kind that signaled dusk outside. The air had grown cooler, carrying the distant scent of petrichor and moss.

He sat up slowly, feeling the stiffness in his muscles give way to a dull, steady ache. For the first time in what felt like ages, he wasn't in agony. His thoughts were sharp again, no longer fragmented by pain and corrosion.

Lunaris stretched beside him, the Harlequin Cat arching his back before hopping lightly onto Nova's shoulder. A small, approving chirp escaped him.

Nova smirked faintly. "Yeah, I know. I actually slept," he murmured. "Don't get used to it."

He rose to his feet and adjusted his tattered cloak, scanning the edges of the cave. The faint motes of light that had lingered after the Auri's departure were gone, but the memory of its presence remained, a soft pulse in the air, as though the world itself had momentarily remembered kindness.

Nova's gaze turned toward the mouth of the cave. Beyond it stretched the Expanse Layer of Beastaria, a realm of wild geometry and living terrain, where gravity often bent with mood and landscapes shifted underfoot.

It was the borderland between nature and nightmare, where few dared to tread unless they sought power or death. He tightened the straps on his boots and checked his weapons.

The Entropy Fang Daggers had reformed in their sheathed, dormant state, their runes now faint and calm, as though content for the moment. Their hunger had quieted, but Nova knew it wouldn't last. Nothing ever did here.

"Come on," he said to Lunaris, stepping into the dim light. "We've lost enough time."

The cat leaped from his shoulder, padding ahead with silent grace. Together, they emerged into the vast openness of the Expanse.

The world before them was a paradox of beauty and ruin. Towering pillars of stone rose like the ribs of ancient gods, each draped in vines that glowed faintly from within.

The sky above shifted in slow gradients, from burnt orange to bruised violet, streaked with slow-moving rivers of light that pulsed like veins. In the distance, shadows of colossal beasts moved among the fractured horizon, their silhouettes half-real, half-memory.

Nova took a deep breath. "Beastaria," he said. "You never get less impossible."

They began their descent along a narrow ridge that wound between jagged cliffs. Every few paces, the ground trembled faintly, as though something massive stirred beneath the surface.

Lunaris's ears flicked, catching sounds beyond human hearing, but he didn't growl, no threat yet, just movement. As they advanced, Nova felt it, a faint, familiar warmth trailing behind him.

He didn't turn immediately. The sensation was soft, almost reverent, like sunlight pressing against his back. When he finally glanced over his shoulder, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The Auri was there.

It hovered just beyond the cave's threshold, its glow subdued to a gentle pulse. It hesitated, half-hidden by mist, as though unsure if it was welcome. Nova didn't speak, didn't beckon. He simply turned and continued walking. And the Auri followed.

Hours passed. The terrain shifted subtly beneath their steps, transforming from stone to blackened soil and back again. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became, filled with the faint hum of latent energy. Yet, through it all, the Auri remained a few paces behind, its light never wavering.

Lunaris was the first to notice something odd. He turned sharply, ears twitching toward the Auri, and made a low, curious sound. The small creature stopped, its glow flaring briefly in response. It tilted its head, almost startled, and then lifted a trembling hand toward Nova.

Nova slowed his stride. "What is it?" he asked quietly, though he doubted the Auri would answer in words.

The creature moved closer, its luminescence flickering faster now. It pressed a hand to the ground, and for a moment, the soil beneath it shimmered, revealing faint sigils carved into the earth, pulsing red like a heartbeat. The pattern stretched outward, winding through the terrain like veins of molten stone.

A ward. A massive one.

Nova crouched, touching the edge of one glowing line. It was still warm. "These weren't made by the GrimeFlayers," he said. "They're too structured."

The Auri made another sound, a mournful, harmonic tone. It gestured again toward the horizon, where the landscape began to twist unnaturally, as if reality itself were folding inward.

Realization dawned on Nova's face. "You're not just guarding the forest," he said slowly. "You're containing something. So, what are you containing?"

The Auri's glow dimmed, then steadied, as if confirming it. Lunaris hissed softly, tail flicking. Nova rose, his expression hardening. Whatever lay beyond this ward wasn't sleeping anymore.

He glanced at the Auri, whose trembling light seemed to waver between courage and fear. "Then we'd better move," Nova said grimly. "If it's breaking through, we're not safe on this side either."

And with that, the three of them pressed deeper into the Expanse Layer, the ground pulsing beneath them like the heartbeat of something vast and waking.

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