Amon's ear twitched.

The faintest sound in the distance tugged him awake. His purple eyes snapped open, scanning the clearing. The fire had dwindled to embers, faintly glowing against the dark stretch of trees. The forest whispered with insects and wind.

Akane was curled against a log, her tail wrapped tightly around herself. Her chest rose and fell in the steady rhythm of deep sleep.

Syl sat nearby with her back straight. Her wrists were still bound behind her back, rope pressed against her green skin, but her presence was alert.

Amon rose to his feet in silence. His shadow loomed over Syl as he stretched.

"You're awake," Syl muttered, her tone calm.

"I am," Amon replied, rolling his shoulders. He glanced at Akane's slumbering form. "Glad to see you worked things out. She trusted you enough to fall asleep beside you, and to leave the watch to you."

Syl let out the faintest scoff. "Something like that."

Amon bent his arms back, stretching them till his shoulders popped. "Good. Then I don't have to worry while I'm gone."

Syl's eyes flickered sharply toward him. "Gone?"

"Yeah," Amon said casually. "I'll be leaving for a bit."

Syl's brow furrowed. "And if something happens?"

"Wake her," Amon said without hesitation. His chin tilted toward Akane, whose ear twitched faintly in her sleep. "She can handle anything the night throws your way."

Syl blinked, her lips parting as if to protest, but nothing came.

Amon stepped past her, heading toward the treeline. "I'm going to pay a visit to your friends."

Syl stiffened. "I see."

He turned his head just enough for his sharp grin to show. "It's better this way, right? I'll have a little talk with them, and you'd rather Akane not be there when that happens, right ?"

The rope around her wrists momentarily felt heavier.

"I thought about putting some lies in earlier. I still don't get where you come from, so the thought did cross my mind."

"To see if I'd catch you in a lie, huh?"

"Exactly." Syl nodded. "If you caught me in a lie, that would prove you know more than you let on."

"Then?"

"I ended up deciding that honesty was the best policy for now." She glanced at the sleeping Akane. "I do not know who is right, but I can tell you that nothing I said was a lie, even if it turns out that my information is wrong. If the others say differently than I did, it would be because of ignorance, not deceit."

Amon stared at her for a moment, before nodding.

"Stay put," He said and disappeared into the shadows between the trees.

Syl was left in silence, the sound of her own breathing suddenly too loud. She glanced at Akane. The Fox girl's lashes fluttered slightly, but she remained asleep.

"He'll be fine." Syl muttered to herself. "Let's just hope they don't get me in trouble." She sighed, tilting her head back to stare at the stars above.

Her lips pressed tight. Still, she couldn't deny the truth in his words. She would rather Akane not see it. It was likely that Amon was going to ask about whether or not bringing the Werebeasts into it was indeed Syl's idea. That was something Akane did not need to know. For now.

***

The forest stretched dark and endless. Branches clawed against the sky, and the air was heavy with the stench of sweat and hunger.

The Hobgoblins trudged through the underbrush, their voices low and laced with frustration.

"Worthless Goblins," one spat, shoving the smaller creature ahead of him. "Can't track, can't hunt, can't even bring us food."

The Goblin stumbled, falling into the dirt. Another kick sent him rolling forward. He whimpered but scrambled back to his feet.

Another Hobgoblin sneered. "Maybe we shouldn't have captured Syl so quickly…"

"That's right, we wouldn't be starving if Syl were here. She's the only one who knows how to track people and things…"

"She's probably dead already," another grumbled, rubbing his empty stomach. "The traitorous bitch."

"How come you can't find food, huh, you useless fucks?"

The Goblins avoided their gaze, bodies trembling with each insult hurled their way. They had learned not to talk back.

The group moved forward, slower with each passing hour. The weight of exhaustion pressed against them. Hunger clawed at their stomachs until some began snapping at each other like starving wolves.

"Shut up," one growled when another complained about food. "Complain one more time and we'll eat you instead."

The laughter that followed was half-serious, half-delirious.

Then,

Crack.

The sound echoed through the night. Branches snapping, leaves shivering, the thud of something moving.

The Hobgoblins froze. They exchanged wary looks.

"You hear that?" one whispered.

"It's her," the leader snarled, eyes lit. "It has to be Syl. She's been running. And now she's finally slipped up."

Hope burned in their eyes. The chance to bring her back, to drag her broken body before the Chief as proof of loyalty, to finally have their own necks spared.

Weapons were gripped tighter. Their chests rose and fell in eager anticipation.

The noise grew louder. A slow, deliberate drag through the forest. Whips cracking against the trunks, peeling bark into splinters.

Their excitement quickly twisted into unease.

"Wait…" one muttered. "That doesn't sound like-"

The trees split apart, and it emerged.

A hulking mass of shifting flesh and hardened stone. Its body towered twice as tall as any Hobgoblin, its chest glowed with a faint purple light that pulsed like a heart.

Its arms were grotesque whips, long and thorned, snapping against the ground with ear-splitting cracks.

The Hobgoblins' eyes widened.

"What the… What the Fuck is that?" .

The leader snarled, though sweat trickled down his temple. "Doesn't matter! Kill it! We'll eat its meat after!"

The Golem's head jerked, eye sockets glowing faintly. It raised one whip-arm, and the ground trembled as it lashed out. A tree was shattered like a brittle twig.

A Goblin screamed as thorns ripped through his arm. The next second, it was flung into the air like a rag doll.

The Hobgoblins roared, charging forward with their weapons raised high.

The High Priestess' lips curled upwards.

"I've found the Hobgoblins. With the presence of Goblins, they're certainly the ones that were sent to the Goblin Village." Her smile quickly faded. "It is a curious sight. Why would they bring Goblins with them, and why are they heading in the opposite direction they should be?"

There was only one way to understand the situation better, and that was to glimpse into what the other Golems had found.

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