The four of them huddled in the rear of the caravan. Rome sat on the floor, legs crossed, his back slightly hunched. Jade leaned against Zay again, but this time her eyes were wide open, her fingers faintly twitching with unease. Rin's gaze scanned the sealed interior, sharp and restless.
Oddly, despite the closed hatch and doors, they could see more clearly now than before. The fog no longer pushed in—it held itself just beyond the wood, swirling like it was watching.
Rome shifted. "Should I get a lantern? Bit more light might help us feel like we're not about to get gutted."
They all nodded. Even Rin, silent but firm.
Rome stood and moved quietly, his boots making no sound on the planks. He weaved through the barrels, his hand brushing over their surfaces until he reached the far corner. He crouched low, reached beneath a slightly elevated board, and pulled out a small iron lantern.
With a soft flick of flint, the wick caught flame. A low amber glow bloomed inside the caravan, pushing the shadows to the corners.
Rome placed it on the ground and sat beside it again. The warm flicker danced across his face, the light catching the subtle tension behind his otherwise calm expression.
The scraping sound stopped.
And the silence that followed somehow felt worse.
Without warning, the horses jolted forward.
The caravan rocked slightly, wheels crunching over wet gravel. But just as suddenly as the movement began, it stopped.
Then came the sound.
A wet, heavy slash—like steel sinking into flesh.
One of the horses screamed.
A shrill, agonized wail that pierced the fog and stabbed into their bones. It thrashed violently, the sound of reins snapping, followed by a loud thud as something collapsed outside.
Another horse shrieked, this one breaking into a wild, erratic gallop, the rattle of wheels and strain of leather echoing around them—before that, too, went silent.
Jade gasped and instinctively tightened her grip around Zay's arm, her body stiff against his side. Zay looked down at her face. For a moment, her face turned warm—just a trace of blush coloring her pale cheeks—but she quickly looked away and released his arm.
A soft hiss of cold followed.
Thin sheets of frost began creeping up the wooden planks beneath her fingerstips. Ice curled along her arm and coiled faintly into the air around her.
But just as quickly as it appeared—it vanished. Her expression went cold, focused. Like nothing had ever been there at all.
Zay raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He looked back toward the hatch, toward the direction of the horses. "They're killing them off…"
Rome stood slowly, jaw tight. "No way to outrun 'em now. That was deliberate. They wanted to trap us."
Rin shifted, sliding slightly closer to the lantern's edge. His hand hovered near his waist, where a folded weapon was tucked beneath his tunic. His voice was low. "They're intelligent, whoever—or whatever—they are."
Jade exhaled softly. "Do we fight?"
The ice from earlier crept back to her fingertips, subtle but waiting.
Rome's fingers brushed his dagger's hilt. "Only if we have to."
Zay's amethyst eyes narrowed. "So... we just wait, right? That's simple enough."
Rome clicked his tongue in frustration and placed a steady hand against the wooden wall of the caravan. A faint shimmer of light flickered beneath his palm as the wood shifted, creaking softly. A small peephole formed—just wide enough for one eye.
He leaned in and squinted through the opening.
Fog. Endless, writhing fog. Even with the lantern's soft glow behind him, it barely pierced a foot ahead. He pulled back, letting the wood seal itself again with a quiet thunk.
"There's too damn much fog to fight," he muttered, tone low and tense. "We're going to have to wait until it clears up a bit before we can do anything at all..."
Rome's voice dropped even lower, barely a breath.
"Whoever or whatever they are out there, they definitely have us trapped in here. Just…" He tapped the side of his head with two fingers. "Open your ears. Listen for anything."
They listened.
Not even a minute passed.
THUNK!
A massive axe crashed through the side of the caravan, splintering the wooden wall with a sickening crack. The force shook the entire vehicle, a sharp gust of mist pushing through the jagged opening like fingers reaching in.
"Shit!" Rome snapped, immediately scrambling to the breach.
Jade's hand shot out, ice forming instinctively at her fingertips.
Rin stood halfway, hand already at the hilt of his dagger, eyes glowing faintly with violet hue. "Where the hell did that come from?"
Zay didn't flinch. His gaze was locked on the split wood, watching the fog curl in like smoke. "They're close."
Rome slammed his palm against the breach.
The wood groaned and twisted, knitting itself together rapidly until the crack vanished completely—only faint scorch-like lines remained from where the axe had hit.
Everyone exhaled.
Rome backed away from the wall, sweat on his brow. "That wasn't a warning. That was a test."
"To see how fast we respond," Zay muttered, standing now, back to the others. "To measure the space between action and panic."
And beyond the sealed wood, something dragged itself slowly across the outside of the caravan—long, deliberate, and metal scraping against wood once more.
Suddenly, laughter echoed from all around them—low, guttural, and unnatural, like a chorus of twisted voices scraping against the air. It seemed to come from every direction, reverberating through the thick fog, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.
THUNK!
Another massive axe tore through the side of the caravan, this time striking the wood with such force that it splintered and cracked in a violent cascade. The ground shook beneath them as the axe lodged itself deep into the wall, its haft vibrating as if alive with malice.
"Damn it!" Rome cursed, his hand already pressing against the wood again. His aura flared to life once more, but this time the repair was slower, and he was unsure as to why.
Jade's eyes flashed icy blue, her body tense as her hands subtly began to glow with energy. Her breath was sharp, and the scent of frost filled the air around her. "We can't just sit here."
Zay turned his head slowly, his gaze calculating and devoid of hesitation. His voice was calm, yet carried a subtle edge that cut through the tension. "And do what?"
"Fight and kill them, if needed," Jade replied, her fists clenched as if daring him to disagree.
Zay's lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smirk. "Fight? We're on their playing field, Jade. This fog is their weapon. They know it, and if we move now, we'll be playing into their hands. Every step we take out there just brings us closer to death. And frankly, I'm not interested in meeting that end today."
Jade stared at him for a long, piercing moment, her breath catching in the cold air. The weight of his words settled in, the burning desire to act and retaliate stifled under the cold logic he presented. The frost around her hands dissipated, her aura fading back into the quiet, as her shoulders sagged slightly in frustration. "So, what the hell can we do?"
Zay's eyes flickered with a brief, sharp gleam of ruthless understanding. His mind was already working, assessing every possibility, every angle, every calculation. Patience. It wasn't about recklessness—it was about outlasting them, outthinking them. The situation had shifted into a war of attrition. Whoever broke first would lose.
'Am I right about this? If I am… then even if this fog is their weapon, it's also a limitation for them as well. I knew someone who used a fog-based Seal before. He was also at level 15. But even he couldn't see within the fog if he had made a veil... If that's the same case here, all we need to do is wait for them to make the first actual move, and we take that as our advantage. If they think they're winning, they're more likely to make an error, a mistake. That's when we strike.'
"Right now, we do nothing," he said, voice low but resolute. "We wait. Wait for them to reveal themselves. They think they've trapped us, but they've underestimated one thing: the longer they play this game, the more I learn."
His fingers tapped against the wooden wall, as if tracing an invisible map in his mind. "This fog? It's a veil, yes. But it's also a limitation. They can't see beyond it either. And that is where our advantage lies."
Zay's gaze met each of theirs with calculated precision. "This is a waiting game. We make no move until they make theirs. And when they do? That's when we strike."
A slight smirk tugged at his lips as he leaned back, allowing the moment to settle. "Until then... we let them think they have control. Let them think they're winning. Let them make the first mistake."