They walked in silence.
Even Jack didn't speak.
The road had faded again — just like it came. They were back in the real forest, or what remained of it. But something had changed. The light was colder. The trees were less... alive. Like the forest had aged fifty years in just a few minutes.
Tom watched Frank carefully.
Frank had said he remembered everything. But he hadn't spoken since the blank pillar disappeared. There was something in his eyes now—something heavy, distant, and aware.
Lucy kept her eyes down.
No one said what they were thinking.
That strange, faceless version of Frank—the soul that had once sealed Renex—had said something none of them could forget.
"And you — you will betray them."
Lucy's name wasn't spoken aloud. But it had been aimed straight at her.
And even now, her hand tingled where the whisper had slithered in…
"Even Infinity has shadows…"
Kitty stayed close to Lucy. She hadn't let go of her since the pillar faded. Not because she suspected anything—but because she knew something was wrong, and she refused to let Lucy face it alone.
They found an abandoned ruin by nightfall.
It wasn't much. Just three stone walls, half-covered in moss and cracked with age. But it was shelter. And that was enough for now.
Susan set a perimeter of glyphs while Peter gathered what dry branches he could. Frank stood near the corner, staring up at the sky that looked too still, too perfect. Aestra Voxis hadn't shown herself in days. And that, somehow, was worse.
They lit a small fire.
And for a moment… they just sat.
Jack finally broke the silence.
"Alright, who wants to go first in the 'I'm not okay but I'll pretend to be' circle?"
No one laughed.
He held up both hands. "Worth a shot."
Tom leaned back against the wall. "We should talk. Before something worse happens."
Susan nodded. "Agreed. We're all thinking about what it said. The pillar."
Lucy's head lowered slightly.
"I don't believe it," Kitty said suddenly. "About Lucy."
No one responded.
"I mean it," Kitty continued, stronger now. "We've been through too much together. That thing... it was trying to get in our heads. That's all."
Tom looked at Lucy. "Do you believe it?"
Lucy looked up. Her face was calm, but her eyes were glassy.
"I don't want to," she said softly. "But I don't know what's inside me anymore."
Frank finally turned around. "None of us do."
The fire popped quietly. Outside, the glyph perimeter shimmered faintly. There were no sounds of animals. No wind. Just the low breath of unease that lived in the back of all their minds now.
Peter rubbed his hands together. "We've seen what Velmorith can do. And we've seen what Renex did long ago. But we still don't understand what Alexa is. Or even if she's real."
"She's real," Frank said flatly.
Everyone looked at him.
Tom narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"
Frank didn't blink.
"Because when I sealed Renex… I felt her watching."
The fire dimmed. The world felt colder.
"She wasn't a goddess," Frank added. "She wasn't even a demon. She was something else. Something that didn't belong in time."
Susan whispered, "Like a virus?"
Frank nodded slowly. "Like a shadow that doesn't need light."
Lucy's stomach twisted.
Kitty reached over and gently took her hand again. Lucy didn't resist.
"I think we're being prepared," Peter said quietly.
Tom looked at him. "Prepared for what?"
"To lose something."
Nobody moved.
Frank finally spoke again. "We already have."
He looked up at the stars. "We lost Marcus. We lost our peace. We lost our childhood. And one by one, we'll lose more."
"That's enough," Kitty said sharply.
Frank didn't apologize.
Jack stood and paced away from the fire. "Look, we're all losing it, okay? But we've made it this far. And we still have each other."
Lucy looked at him. "Do we?"
He blinked. "What?"
She stood slowly. "Do we still have each other? Or are we already breaking?"
Kitty stood too. "Lucy—"
"No, it's okay," Lucy said. Her voice was calm, but shaking. "I just need to know... if I become something else. Something I can't stop. Will you all still trust me?"
Silence.
Then Frank answered.
"No."
Everyone turned to him.
"No," he repeated. "If you change. If you become the thing that threatens them—I will stop you."
Lucy didn't flinch. She nodded once. "Then promise me you'll do it."
Frank's voice softened. "Only if you promise to try not to make me."
Lucy looked at Kitty. Then Tom. Then Susan. Then Jack. Then Peter.
"I promise," she said.
No one slept that night.
The fire burned low. The glyphs pulsed weakly. And in the stillness of those late hours, Lucy closed her eyes—
—and saw a door.
Dark wood. Golden handle.
It stood in the middle of a field of stars.
And from the other side… came the softest voice.
"Almost ready, aren't you?"