We reached the village when the sun was setting.

  It was completely consumed by corruption.

  The structures that remained barely resembled buildings anymore. Wooden walls had been overtaken by that same pulsating purple biomass we'd seen in the forest, transforming homes into something that looked more like organs than architecture. The corruption had grown through windows and doorframes, creating twisted archways that seemed to breathe with slow, deliberate rhythm.

  What had once been a village square was now a network of crystallized corruption, purple formations jutting from the ground like teeth. They caught the dying sunlight and refracted it in sickly colors that hurt to look at. Some buildings had collapsed entirely, consumed so thoroughly that only vague suggestions of their original shapes remained, like shadows burned into the ground.

  The worst part was how organized it all looked. The corruption hadn't just destroyed randomly. It had reshaped everything with deliberate intent, creating pathways that curved in unnatural ways, forming patterns that almost looked purposeful. Like the village had been redesigned by something that didn't understand human architecture but was trying to build something of its own.

  Anya steered away from us when we entered, exploring with Serin floating close by her side. Nico simply vanished, presumably doing the same.

  We waited near what used to be the village entrance for a while, tension mounting with each passing minute. When they finally returned, I could see the unease even on Anya's normally stoic face.

  "There are no creatures," she reported. "The corruption seems to have abandoned this place. It's offering it to us."

  The way she said "offering" made my skin crawl.

  "There was nothing of note besides the inn, which is relatively intact," Nico added quietly. "Big enough for all of us."

  "We'll stay at the inn then," Aurora said, gesturing toward the large building at the far end of the corrupted square. "Stay close."

  We followed her through the village, trying not to look too closely at what had been done to the homes around us. I caught glimpses through corrupted windows. Furniture fused with walls. Personal belongings half-dissolved into purple mass. Evidence of lives interrupted and consumed.

  Inside the inn wasn't much better.

  The main room was large, clearly meant to accommodate travelers and locals alike. But the corruption had made it alien. Purple tendrils crept along the ceiling beams like veins, pulsing faintly with inner light. The floor was partially covered in that crystalline growth, forcing us to walk carefully around jutting formations. Tables and chairs had been absorbed into the walls at odd angles, creating an unsettling gallery of everyday objects frozen mid-consumption.

  What had probably been a welcoming hearth was now a hollow in the wall that occasionally exhaled cold purple mist. The bar where drinks had once been served was overtaken by biomass that formed shelf-like structures, as if the corruption was trying to mimic the inn's original function without understanding what it was for.

  The air inside smelled wrong. Not rotting, exactly, but sweet in a way that made my stomach turn. Like overripe fruit mixed with something chemical.

  After Nico scouted the upper floors and declared them structurally sound enough, Aurora gave us permission to settle wherever we wanted. I ended up in a corner near what had been the bar, finding a relatively clear patch of floor.

  I sat down, putting my bag beside me and pulling out the notebook to check the magically written notes. The enchanted quill had done its job perfectly, filling pages with detailed observations in handwriting that looked convincingly like my own rushed scrawl.

  "Listen up," Aurora called out, drawing everyone's attention. I closed the notebook and left it resting on top of my bag.

  "We'll do two-hour watches through the night. We depart at sunrise and continue following the corruption's trail." She paused, her expression serious. "Whatever it is, it's leading us directly to something. Stay alert. Stay together. No one goes anywhere alone."

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  Her orders left no room for questions or debate. People nodded and began settling in for the night.

  Lina came over to where I was sitting, dropping down beside me with a tired sigh.

  "How are you holding up?" she asked.

  "Tired. You?"

  "Same." She looked around at the corrupted inn, her expression troubled. "This village... it was just a normal village a few weeks ago. I read about it in the expedition briefing. They had farms, families. Now look at it."

  "Yeah, it's scary how fast it's spreading," I said. "But I'm hopeful we'll find a way to stop it."

  "I hope so..." She didn't sound confident. Her hands fidgeted with her bag. "We still haven't found any runes or enchantments that lasted in the corruption. I'm starting to think it might just make mana decay faster, but we'll need to get to a place with more concentrated magic for me to be sure."

  She pulled out her notebook and showed it to me. The pages were disappointingly empty, just a few scattered observations.

  "What about your notes?" she asked.

  "Oh." I froze for just a second, suddenly remembering the perfect notes sitting on my bag. "Yeah, not much either. Just trying to keep up with Emberheart's dictation."

  "I can help you organize them if you want," she said, reaching for my notebook before I could stop her. "Not like I'm busy doing anything else right now."

  I didn't have time to think of an excuse. Grabbing it back would be too obvious, too suspicious.

  So I just braced myself.

  She opened the notebook, and I watched her expression change. At first she looked impressed, carefully reading through the detailed observations. Then confused, as she turned another page. Then suspicious.

  By the third page, she was certain.

  "Kai..." She looked up at me, her hazel eyes sharp. "You didn't write these notes, did you?"

  "No," I admitted. At this point, lying would just make it worse.

  "So it was you." Her voice was quiet, but there was something hurt underneath it. "I should have known. My notebook, back at the academy. The one that always had perfect notes even when I wasn't paying attention."

  She closed my notebook carefully and placed it back on my bag.

  "This isn't enchanting. There isn't even any mana residue on it." She was piecing it together, all the strange things about me finally forming a clear picture. "What are you, Kai?"

  "It's complicated," I said, which was possibly the worst thing I could have said.

  She was quiet for a long moment. Then she got to her feet.

  "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

  And just like that, she walked away.

  I was left alone in my corner, just me and my secrets.

  I started second-guessing everything. What could I have done differently? Should I have told her from the start? But how could she trust me now, after weeks of lies by omission? Would she even believe the truth if I tried to explain?

  The thoughts circled in my head like vultures.

  I was still sitting there, staring at nothing, when I noticed Aurora approaching.

  "You have the first watch with me," she said simply.

  I'd assumed my watch would be with Lina, but maybe she'd asked to change shifts. Or maybe Aurora had seen what happened and made the decision herself.

  "Be ready," Aurora continued when I didn't respond immediately. "I'll come get you when it's time."

  She left before I could say anything.

  Nightwatch with Aurora. The thought made me anxious, but also curious. This would be the first real chance I'd had to talk to her one-on-one, to understand the person behind the composed leader facade.

  I didn't have much to organize, so I just checked my bag again, making sure everything was secure. The notebook went back inside, hidden away with all my other secrets.

  Time passed slowly. Around me, people settled in for sleep. Mira found a spot near the corrupted fireplace, somehow managing to look comfortable despite everything. The Prince and Mary took positions near the entrance, their shift would be later. Emberheart was reviewing his own notes near a relatively clean section of wall.

  I didn't see where Lina ended up. She was avoiding me now.

  Finally, as full darkness fell outside, Aurora appeared beside me.

  "Come on," she said quietly. "Our turn."

  We made our way to the front of the inn, where a small porch jutted out from the building. The corruption had mostly spared this area, leaving the wooden boards intact, though purple tendrils crept up the support posts like ivy.

  From here, we could see the entire corrupted village square spread out before us, bathed in the eerie purple glow that the corruption seemed to emit at night.

  Aurora leaned against the railing, her silver-white hair catching the strange light.

  I stood a few feet away, uncertain what to say or do.

  The silence between us stretched out, filled only by the distant sounds of the corrupted forest and the occasional creak of the inn behind us.

  Two people with secrets, standing guard over a village that no longer existed, waiting for whatever the corruption had planned for us next.