The plains were calm.
Too calm.
The human gathering had settled.
Not permanently.
But enough to form a pattern.
They stayed longer.
Moved less.
Watched more.
Hus sat near the center.
Eyes closed.
Breathing steady.
The energy inside him moved slowly.
Not leaking.
Not scattering.
Alicia observed.
"…Stable."
That was good.
But her attention didn't stay there.
It shifted.
Back to the forest.
Something felt different.
The Deep Forest had always been active.
Movement.
Conflict.
Pressure.
But now—
there was a pause.
Not silence.
But hesitation.
Alicia narrowed her awareness.
"…Why did you stop?"
Beasts near one of the resource zones had pulled back.
Not far.
Just enough.
They weren't fighting.
They weren't leaving.
They were waiting.
That wasn't normal.
Alicia focused deeper.
Past the trees.
Past the roots.
Into the ground.
There—
it was stronger now.
The pulse.
Not faint anymore.
Not hidden.
Present.
"…So you're finally moving."
The ground didn't shake.
No visible change.
But the energy flow shifted.
Slightly.
Life Energy near that area became unstable.
Not disappearing.
But disturbed.
Alicia watched closely.
Then—
a crack.
Not on the surface.
Below.
Something pushed upward.
Slowly.
Alicia didn't move.
Didn't interfere.
"…Show me."
The pressure built.
Not explosive.
But constant.
Above, the beasts reacted.
They moved back.
Further this time.
Instinct.
They didn't understand it.
But they felt it.
Alicia focused even deeper.
The pulse… changed.
Before, it felt like something sleeping.
Now—
it felt like something waking up.
"…You're not just energy."
For a moment—
the pulse responded.
Not in words.
Not in sound.
But in presence.
Alicia paused.
"…Alive?"
No answer.
But the movement didn't stop.
The ground held.
For now.
But not forever.
Alicia pulled her awareness back slightly.
The forest was no longer just a place of growth.
Now—
it had something beneath it.
Something that didn't belong to the current system.
Something that had been there longer.
"…So this is the next problem."
She didn't rush.
Didn't act.
Just watched.
Because whatever it was—
it wasn't finished yet.