The camp woke before sunrise.
Not because anyone had slept well, but because nobody could afford to waste time.
Rain stepped out of his tent and immediately saw movement everywhere. Soldiers carried supplies between wagons, scouts checked equipment, and officers moved from group to group making final preparations. The camp still looked damaged from the attack, but the shock that had settled over everyone the day before had been replaced by something else.
Nobody needed to be reminded what was waiting in the ridge. The Greater Demon was still out there, and every hour they spent sitting in camp was another hour it had to finish whatever it was preparing.
Rain adjusted the bandage around his ribs and immediately regretted it. The medic had been right. It still hurt.
Across the camp, Kai was checking the edges of his blades while Elara tested her wrist for what was probably the hundredth time since yesterday. Nearby, Stephen was helping secure supplies onto a wagon, though judging by the way he kept favoring one side, his shoulder was still bothering him.
Mordred noticed immediately. "You look terrible."
Stephen didn't even glance at him. "I got stitched together yesterday."
"You looked terrible before that too."
Stephen finally looked up. "I've changed my mind."
"About what?"
"I hope the next demon eats you first."
Mordred grinned.
The command tent filled quickly.
This time nobody questioned why the trainees were present. After everything that had happened in the ridge, nobody seemed interested in pretending they were children who needed to be kept away from important decisions.
Kael stood at the center of the table while several officers gathered around him. Theron arrived a few moments later, and the conversation immediately shifted toward the map spread across the center.
The two routes remained marked, one leading west and the other north, both disappearing deeper into the ridge.
"We spent most of the night reviewing everything we have," Kael said. "Patrol reports. Prisoner accounts. Scout observations. None of it gives us a definitive answer."
One officer rubbed a hand across his face. "So we're still guessing."
"We're making the best decision we can with incomplete information."
The officer didn't look reassured, and neither did anyone else. Rain understood why. Picking the wrong route didn't mean wasting a few hours—it meant giving an evolving Greater Demon even more time.
One of the scouts stepped forward. "We found tracks."
That immediately got everyone's attention.
The scout pointed toward the map. "We found signs of demons using both routes. Enough of them that we can't dismiss either path."
Stephen sighed. "Of course."
The scout ignored him. "The northern route shows more recent activity."
Another scout shook his head.
"The western route leads deeper into the ridge. If I were hiding something important, that's where I'd put it."
Within seconds the officers were arguing—not loudly or emotionally, but with enough conviction to make it clear that everyone had a different opinion. Rain listened for several minutes before realizing something. Neither Kael nor Theron had spoken. They simply listened, weighing each argument and waiting for the discussion to run its course.
Finally, Kael raised a hand, and the room immediately quieted. "We split."
Nobody looked surprised. Rain had been expecting it, but hearing the words out loud still made the situation feel real.
Kael pointed toward the western route. "I'll take one group." Then toward the northern route. "Theron takes the other."
Several officers exchanged looks.
One of them frowned. "We'll have fewer people."
"We'll cover more ground, and we'll have a better chance of finding the Greater Demon before it has time to finish whatever it's planning."
"If we guess wrong—"
"If we don't split," Kael interrupted, "we risk searching the wrong path while the Greater Demon finishes evolving somewhere else."
Nobody had a good counterargument.
Assignments began immediately. Names were called across the tent as units shifted and soldiers moved between groups, the space growing increasingly crowded while officers reorganized the operation. Rain watched the process for several minutes, following the constant movement and exchanges, before finally hearing a familiar name.
"Captain Theron."
His group appeared first, taking shape name by name as the assignments were read aloud. Several veteran soldiers were placed under his command, along with a handful of scouts and support personnel.
Then more names followed.
"Rain."
"Elara."
"Kai."
The three exchanged glances as their names were called one after another.
"Stephen."
"Mordred."
"Zedric."
Mordred immediately grinned.
"Nice."
Stephen looked considerably less enthusiastic.
On the opposite side of the room, Kael's force slowly took shape, consisting of more veterans, several officers, additional scouts, and a larger overall group. Rain noticed Doctor Hale among them, which surprised him. Apparently it surprised Hale too. She looked directly at Kael.
"You want a medic near a possible evolution site."
Kael nodded. "Exactly."
She didn't argue.
Eventually the final assignments were finished, and the room gradually grew quieter—not because anyone was comfortable, but because the reality of the situation had finally settled in. This wasn't another patrol or a rescue mission. They were actively hunting something that had already proven capable of devastating an entire operation camp. Rain looked around the tent and found that nobody seemed eager, not even Mordred.
A short time later, the two forces gathered near the edge of camp beneath the pale morning sun. Kael stood beside his group while Theron stood beside his, both framed by a camp that was still rebuilding behind them. Along the perimeter, the wounded who couldn't travel watched the departure in silence, and Rain spotted Mira and Lin among them.
She crossed her arms.
"You better come back."
Rain smiled.
"That's the plan."
Lin shrugged from beside her.
"Yeah, whatever. Just don't die. It'd be annoying having to hear about it afterward."
Kai laughed.
Even Elara looked slightly amused.
The moment didn't last long.
For a few seconds, nobody moved. The camp behind them remained quiet, filled with wounded soldiers, exhausted survivors, and people who understood exactly how dangerous the mission ahead would be. Some offered nods of encouragement. Others simply watched in silence.
Rain took a slow breath and adjusted the strap of his pack. This was it. No more planning. No more debates over maps and possible routes. The hunt was finally beginning.
Theron stepped forward. "Move out."
Both groups began marching.
Together at first.
The path carried them through the outer ridge and toward the location marked on the map. For several hours neither force separated. Scouts moved ahead. Soldiers remained alert. Conversations stayed minimal.
The deeper they traveled, the quieter the world became until they finally reached the fork the prisoner had described.
Two paths stretched before them. One curved west into the deeper reaches of the ridge, while the other disappeared north through a narrow passage between jagged stone formations. Both looked equally unpleasant, both looked capable of hiding a nightmare.
Kael studied them for several seconds before looking toward Theron. Neither man spoke. They didn't need to. The decision had already been made.
Kael turned toward the western path while Theron faced north, and the two forces began separating. Rain glanced back one final time and saw Kael's group disappearing between the trees before they were gone.
Ahead of him, the northern trail stretched deeper into the ridge.
Somewhere beyond it, hidden behind demons and distance, the Greater Demon was waiting.
And none of them knew whether they had chosen the right path.