Chapter 59: Forest of Living Offerings (1)

No one said a word on the way back. We were caked in mud, some of us lightly injured, and all of us utterly exhausted. I kept Radiand Light active at the front of the group, while Sonia maintained Candleflame at the rear, providing light and covering our flanks. The cold, steady glow of aether and the flickering warmth of fire intertwined, casting our path—and the surrounding forest—in a shifting halo of white and gold. By that light, I glanced back toward the area where we’d just fought…