They didn't leave right away.
Something about the area still felt wrong.
Not active. Not dangerous.
Just… watched.
Jovian walked slowly across the cracked ground, scanning for anything left behind. Vital Mirage stayed close, its presence quieter now but still alert.
"There should be something," Lucien said.
"There always is," Iggy added.
Alaric knelt near the center, examining the spot where the figure had formed. "…There is."
Jovian stepped closer.
At first, it didn't look like anything. Just a faint mark, barely visible against the damaged surface.
Then it shifted.
Not physically. Just enough to be noticed.
"…That's not a fragment," Jovian said.
"No," Lucien replied. "It's a signal."
Iggy frowned. "A signal to who?"
No one answered immediately.
They all knew.
Jovian straightened slowly.
"…He's tracking us."
Alaric stood. "Then we destroy it."
"Wait," Jovian said.
Vital Mirage stepped forward slightly, its glow sharpening as he focused.
"This isn't just tracking," he continued. "It's connecting."
Lucien's expression darkened. "…To something bigger."
Jovian nodded.
"If we break it wrong, we might trigger something else."
Iggy let out a quiet breath. "So what, we just leave it?"
"No," Jovian said.
He stepped closer.
"We end it properly."
Vital Mirage raised its arm slowly, energy gathering—not explosively, but with precision. Controlled. Focused.
Then it struck.
The mark didn't shatter.
It disappeared.
Clean.
Like it had been erased.
Jovian stepped back, watching carefully.
Nothing happened.
No reaction. No backlash.
Lucien nodded slightly. "…That worked."
"For now," Alaric added.
Jovian didn't take his eyes off the ground.
"…Yeah."
Because deep down—
He knew that wasn't the end of it.