Liliana's voice echoed faintly before the empty air swallowed it. "Kale!" she called, barely masking the hint of fear. When no reply came, she shared a quick glance with Sadek, who stood silently beside her.

"Kale!" Sadek's voice was steady, authoritative, a call that usually commanded attention. But here, his voice sounded foreign, stretched thin, distorted as it ricocheted off unseen walls before fading into the quiet. They waited, motionless, as if listening hard enough might conjure an answer from the shadows. But there was only the stillness pressing down on them as the seconds dragged on.

Liliana shivered, feeling the eerie silence around them. She was no stranger to dark places or the unknown, but this place felt different. Runom's Departure had a way of invading the mind, erasing certainty with every step. She turned back to Sadek, finding him already watching her, his expression wary.

"We can't just stand here," he said.

Liliana nodded. "Let's go."

They began moving, slowly at first, each footstep muted as if even sound feared to linger here too long. The path beneath them stretched forward, guiding them deeper into the unknown.

As they ventured further, the landscape began to shift. At first, it was subtle, small distortions along the path, flickers of movement caught in the corners of their vision. Dark pools dotted the ground, still and reflective like glass, and as they passed, Liliana glimpsed a pale face staring back at her, eyes hollow and unfamiliar. She stopped, heart pounding, until she realized the face was her own. A twisted, distorted reflection that melted back into the pool as quickly as it had appeared.

Sadek noticed her hesitation, his eyes flicking to the pool, catching the last glimpse of her reflection before it faded. "This place… it toys with us," he said. He kept his voice low, as if speaking too loudly might awaken something in the shadows.

They pressed on, each step revealing more of the strange, warped landscape. Shapes moved at the edge of their vision—distant figures, hunched and ghostly, their features blurred and indistinct. Whenever Liliana or Sadek turned to face them, the figures vanished, leaving only lingering wisps of darkness behind. Once, Liliana thought she saw a tall figure watching her from across a jagged expanse, its face obscured, but when she blinked, it was gone.

Sadek glanced around, his eyes narrowing as he scanned their surroundings. "It's like this place is testing us."

"Or testing our minds," Liliana replied. "Runom's Departure isn't just a place. It feels like it's alive."

Just then, a flicker of movement caught their eyes overhead. Both Liliana and Sadek looked up, catching sight of a vast, dark creature soaring through the misty sky. Its silhouette was enormous, wings stretched wide, casting a fleeting shadow across the ground. It glided with an unnatural grace, its form flickering as though caught between worlds. For a moment, its massive shape filled the horizon, silent and foreboding, before it shimmered and vanished, leaving only the faint impression of wings imprinted on their vision.

Liliana exhaled slowly. "Did you see that?"

Sadek nodded. "Whatever it was, it's not alone here. And neither are we." He didn't look at her as he continued walking.

They moved in silence after that, each lost in their own thoughts, grappling with the unease that lingered. For Liliana, every step pressed a fresh bruise on her heart, a mounting surge of guilt that tightened around her chest, refusing to let go. She hadn't been able to stop Rika from being taken, helpless as her friend was carried away before her eyes. And now, Kale, he had vanished so suddenly, so completely, that she hadn't even seen it happen.

A wave of helplessness swept over her, bitter and unrelenting. How many times had she sworn to protect them, to keep them safe? But every vow felt more like an empty promise with each failure. She could barely bring herself to look at Sadek, fearing he might see the truth in her eyes, that she was falling short, that her strength wasn't enough to keep them together.

Each unanswered call to Kale was an accusation that echoed back at her, reminding her of how little control she truly had. The silence thickened, coiling tighter around her, until it felt like a judgment, a grim tally of every mistake she had made. What might be happening to him now, because of her carelessness?

Liliana swallowed hard, forcing her eyes forward, yet every step only brought another reminder, another shadow of doubt.

Sadek seemed to sense her unease, though he said nothing, his silence as steady as his stride. He was practical, focused, his movements calculated. Yet Liliana could see the tension in his shoulders, the flicker of something more beneath the surface. He hid it well, but she knew Sadek felt the same worry she did, though he would never admit it aloud.

They continued, the path winding through strange formations, rocky spires twisting like gnarled fingers. Occasionally, one of them would pause, casting a wary glance over their shoulder, as if expecting to find the strange creature circling again. But each time, there was only the lingering silence and the shadows that seemed to stretch and shift as they moved.

After what felt like hours, they came to a halt at the edge of a wide chasm, the ground dropping away into a dark void that stretched beyond their sight. Liliana peered into the depths, her heart pounding as the emptiness seemed to beckon her, pulling her deeper into the darkness.

Sadek's hand on her shoulder brought her back, grounding her. "We don't know what lies down there," he said. "And we have no way of knowing if Kale…" He trailed off, the words hanging unfinished in the air, a possibility neither of them wanted to face.

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Liliana straightened, forcing herself to look away from the chasm. "We have to keep going. If he's out here… he's counting on us to find him."

Sadek nodded. "Then let's move."

They turned, making their way along the edge of the chasm, keeping close to the path as the distorted reflections continued to follow them. More pools appeared, and with each step, the faces staring back seemed to grow more familiar. Shadows of themselves, twisted and hollow, watching with empty eyes.

Liliana refused to look at the reflections. She knew what they represented: her own fears, her own doubts, and the nagging sense that she had failed Kale when he needed her most. The guilt weighed on her, mingling with the uncertainty of what they might find ahead.

"We'll find him, Liliana." Sadek said.

She glanced at him, surprised by the conviction in his voice. Sadek had turned out to be a warrior of few words, his actions speaking louder than any promise. But here, in the depths of this strange realm, his words felt like an anchor.

They moved onward, their steps growing steadier as they pushed forward. The shadows shifted around them, the dark landscape seeming to pulse with a life of its own, but they ignored it. Each step was a promise, a silent vow that they would not leave without Kale.

After a time, they came upon a peculiar sight: a sprawling archway carved into the side of a looming rock formation, its surface inscribed with symbols she didn't recognize. Shadows flickered around it, darting in and out of the arch's dark interior, but they seemed to pause at the threshold, as though bound to the arch.

Sadek slowed, inspecting the symbols. "This feels like a doorway."

Liliana nodded, her fingers brushing the edge of the stone. She felt a faint pulse beneath her hand, the magic swirling around within the stone. "But a doorway to what?"

"Runom's Departure isn't just a realm of the dead or the living," Sadek said. "It's… a bridge. Between what we see and what we can't."

Liliana realized that he was far more familiar with this place than she'd thought. "You've been here before," she said. There was something in his demeanor, a certainty, that hinted he understood Runom's Departure on a level that went beyond mere survival.

Sadek hesitated. "Once. A long time ago." He didn't elaborate, and she sensed it was a memory he rarely spoke of, even to himself. "We don't belong here."

Liliana watched him, his figure cast in shadow by the arch's edge. She wanted to ask more, to understand why he'd come here before, what he'd seen, but something in his expression stopped her. There were secrets behind his eyes, secrets he wasn't ready to share.

Instead, she turned her attention back to the archway, feeling a strange compulsion to step through. The pulse beneath her fingertips grew stronger, more insistent, and she wondered if this was the realm's way of beckoning them deeper. "Do you think Kale went this way?" she asked, though she already sensed the answer.

"If he did, we'll find him. But be careful." He took a step forward, his hand brushing the air in front of the arch as if testing for something unseen.

Liliana followed, steeling herself as she stepped through the threshold.

Inside, strange shapes filled the walls, carvings of figures twisted in agony. She shuddered, feeling as though the eyes of the carvings followed her as they moved deeper inside.

Sadek was silent, but she could see his eyes darting from each carving to the next, his mouth a tight line as though suppressing old memories. She wondered what he saw here, what memories this place had stirred up from his past.

"Sadek…" she began, but her voice trailed off as something shimmered into view before them. At first, it was only a faint glow, like a flickering flame, but then the shape grew, solidifying into the outline of a person.

Liliana stopped as the figure came into focus. It was a woman, draped in a flowing cloak, her eyes alight with a strange, otherworldly glow. Her face was familiar, achingly so, as if Liliana had seen her once in a dream or a long-forgotten memory. The woman studied them in silence, her gaze steady, sharp, and knowing—like someone peeling back skin and soul alike, searching for truth.

Sadek stiffened, his posture guarded. "We're not here for you," he said, but the figure's eyes didn't leave them.

The woman's lips parted, and when she spoke, her voice was like the whisper of wind through a hollow tunnel, faint but clear. "All who enter Runom's Departure seek something. But not all who seek… find."

Liliana felt a chill run through her as the woman turned to her. "We're looking for someone," she said. "He came here… a young man, a bladeweaver."

The woman tilted her head, a strange smile appeared on her face. "The one who carries what was lost, yes. His path is his burden, and yours diverges from his."

Sadek frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means that not all paths converge. Some must diverge… if they are to lead to truth." She turned back to Liliana. "You carry a heavy burden. It can be the end of you… or the beginning of what you're meant to be. Which will you choose?"

Liliana wanted to protest, to insist that she wasn't weak, that she wouldn't break—but the truth was harder to deny here, in this place that seemed to echo with every doubt and failure she carried. Her failures felt laid bare, exposed to this stranger who saw through her defenses with unrelenting clarity.

"I… I won't fail again," she whispered, though the words felt hollow even to her own ears.

The woman's smile was faint, almost pitying. "We shall see," she said as her form began to fade, slipping back into the shadows like a wisp of smoke. "Your paths await. Choose wisely… for nothing is given without something taken."

As the woman vanished, the silence returned. Liliana stood frozen, the woman's words echoing in her mind.

"Let's keep going," Sadek said.

They moved in tense silence, Liliana's mind racing. She could still hear the woman's warning: Choose wisely… for nothing is given without something taken. They reached a cavernous opening in the stone. Inside, a dim, pulsing light illuminated the room, and she froze.

Kale hung against the far wall, his arms shackled high above his head, blood dripping from his wounds. His head slumped forward, hair matted with blood. And standing before him was a figure, taller than a human, draped in tattered robes. The creature's skeletal frame seemed stretched too thin, its fingers claw-like, holding a slender knife glistening with what must have been Kale's blood. Where eyes should have been, there were only voids, staring back at her with cold, mocking emptiness.

"Let him go," Sadek demanded.

The creature tilted its head, as though amused. "He belongs to us now," it rasped, the words scratching out like shards of glass. "To take him back… one of you must take his place."

Liliana's heart lurched. "There must be another way. Name your price."

The creature chuckled, a hollow, rattling sound. "There is only one price." It turned toward her, empty gaze piercing. "A life for a life," it said simply. "He may walk free, but one of you… must take his place."

Liliana looked from Kale's bruised, bloodied form to the shadowed figure holding him captive. Her chest tightened as she understood the full meaning of the creature's words. Beside her, Sadek's hand flexed around his spear, but the creature's knife glinted in warning.

"We can't leave him here, but you cannot demand such a price," Sadek said.

"One must stay," it said, extending the knife toward them, a twisted invitation. "Decide."

Liliana looked between Kale, the creature, and Sadek, her mind racing. She wanted to scream, to fight, to tear down this entire realm if it meant freeing Kale. But the woman's words echoed in her mind: Choose wisely… for nothing is given without something taken.

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