The airships vanished into the mist.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Ryn lowered his gaze.

"Right. He arrived as I expected," he said quietly. "That confirms it."

Fritz folded his arms.

"Confirms what?"

"I was wondering the opposite question," Ryn continued. "Why hasn't Bloodmane swept every Outside tribe by now?"

The silence stretched.

No one answered him.

Eventually, both Amelia and Taylor clicked at the same time.

"Justification," they said in unison.

"Exactly," he said. "They've been waiting for permission."

Jay frowned slightly, glancing back toward the mist.

"Hold on, I don't get it," He looked at Ryn.

"Why do they even need it? They've always been stronger."

Ryn didn't answer right away.

He turned fully now, making sure everyone was listening.

"Dheam worships Rokhan," Ryn continued. "The God of War, yes—but also the God of Justice."

Amelia's eyes widened slightly as she followed the logic.

"If Bloodmane wiped out the other tribes outright," Ryn went on, "they wouldn't look like unifiers."

"They'd look like butchers."

Taylor nodded slowly. "Which means the rest of the Rokhan's Churches would turn on them. Mostly those in Raias."

"Exactly," Ryn said.

Fritz scoffed quietly. "That didn't stop them from starving everyone."

"Because starvation is invisible," Ryn replied. "Slow. Ambiguous."

Jay exhaled. "So they dominated the Outside without claiming it—let the tribes keep just enough autonomy to stay under the radar."

"Correct," Ryn said quietly, "Until now."

"The Hero's Path," Amelia murmured.

Ryn nodded.

"Kharvos doesn't need permission from priests," he said. "He is permission."

"With him, conquest becomes 'order.'"

"And resistance becomes heresy."

Silence followed.

Ryn's gaze returned to the mist.

"That's why they waited," he finished. "And that's why we can't guess how close they are."

He looked back at them.

"So," he said, "we break into Central."

Fritz raised an eyebrow. "You say that like it's simple."

"It isn't," Ryn replied. "Which is why sneaking in the usual way won't work."

He glanced around the group, eyes moving from one face to the next.

Ryn sighed. Jay's too loud, Fritz'll question him too much, and the two noble girls are definitely not trained for this.

Fritz crossed his arms. "Then what are you suggesting?"

He didn't answer at first.

His eyes fixed on Mira, on the situation they'd first witnessed.

"If we can't enter as something that doesn't belong," Ryn said quietly. "Then we enter as something Central already expects."

The implication hovered in the cold air, and Mira caught it immediately.

"…Captives," she said.

Everyone looked at her.

"Bloodmane doesn't question captives," Mira continued.

Fritz's expression hardened immediately. "No."

Ryn didn't argue. He waited.

Mira met Fritz's gaze without flinching. "They bring strays in from the Outside all the time. Especially now."

A brief glance toward the mist.

"No one asks where they came from. Only that they're useful."

A brief silence followed.

Then Amelia spoke.

"…I can make that possible."

The tension shifted.

Everyone turned toward her.

She reached into her own Dimensional Ring, expression calm but serious.

"I didn't bring them for this," she said. "But I prepared for contingencies."

She withdrew two small padded cases. Inside rested several artifacts—bands etched with layered sigils that seemed to blur if stared at for too long.

"Disguise bands," Amelia continued. "They allow the wearer to appear as something else."

Fritz stared. "You had those this whole time?"

Amelia nodded. "I hoped I wouldn't need them."

Jay crouched beside her, frowning as he examined one.

"How convincing are we talking?"

"Convincing enough," Amelia said. "As long as no one expects you to be human."

A pause.

"Close inspection would be dangerous."

Ryn nodded.

"These will work," he said.

Then he looked up.

"Right, here's the plan. Since there's only two bands…"

"Fritz and I go to Central," Ryn continued. "We're both swordsmen. We can defend ourselves if things turn bad—and we'll be able to slip away easier."

Fritz stiffened. "That's your reasoning?"

"It's part of it," Ryn replied calmly.

"I'm coming with you."

Mira's voice cut through the moment cleanly.

Everyone turned.

Fritz reacted first. "Absolutely not."

Mira didn't flinch.

"You just escaped," Fritz continued, incredulous. "We pulled you out of a Bloodmane patrol, and now you want to walk straight back in?"

"I escaped because I know how they move," Mira replied calmly. "And because I knew when to run."

"That doesn't make this better," Fritz shot back.

Ryn stayed silent, watching.

Mira met Fritz's gaze directly.

"You don't know Central," she said. "Not really. You know what it looks like from the Outside."

"You're asking to put yourself back in chains," Fritz said, quieter now. "After everything."

Mira didn't deny it.

"Aren't we already in chains? I'd rather risk it all if there's even the slightest hope of getting out."

Silence stretched.

Fritz rounded on him. "Ryn—"

"She's right," Ryn repeated, voice steady. "And you know it."

Fritz clenched his jaw. "Knowing something doesn't mean we let it happen."

Ryn watched Fritz carefully before speaking.

"Leave it, Fritz," Ryn said. "She's made her choice."

"She fully understands the consequences."

Fritz turned away, anger and helplessness warring across his expression.

"…Damn it," he muttered.

No one corrected him.

Because there was nothing left to argue.

"Show me," Ryn said.

Amelia hesitated only a fraction of a second before nodding. She selected one of the bands from the case and handed it to him.

Ryn slipped the band over his wrist.

The effect was immediate.

A sudden pressure crawled into his scalp.

Ryn inhaled sharply as his ears vanished, folding inward as another pair of ears sprung out from the top of his head.

Coarse fur brushed against his fingers as he lifted a hand instinctively, the texture rough and matted, exactly as it should be.

A tug followed at the base of his spine.

Ryn stiffened as a tail formed behind him, its presence undeniable.

"…Don't you look dashing," Mira said, unable to help herself.

Amelia shot her a glare but didn't interrupt the process.

"Remember, it's only an illusion."

Ryn rolled his shoulders once. His fur moved with him, his tail furrowed, and his ears twitched in the cold wind.

From both sight and touch, it was flawless.

"However," Amelia confirmed. "If Essence is channeled through, the illusion will break—whether it be your own or someone else's."

Ryn focused, pushing Essence outward in a thin, controlled pulse.

For an instant, the illusion wavered, fur thinned before snapping back into place the moment he withdrew.

He exhaled slowly.

"This'll have to do."

"While we're gone," he said, "look after the Moonlight Tribe as best you can."

Jay hesitated, then nodded. Taylor gave a small, approving smile. Amelia raised her thumb in silent confirmation.

Reliable.

Ryn let the thought settle.

It was only a temporary solution.

If Dheam was going to survive, the real answer was waiting in Central.

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