Night fell slowly over the Ridge of Solace. The ruins didn't offer much shelter, but they offered silence, and for now, that was enough. The seven rested around a circle of broken stone near the heart of the ruins, beneath the shadow of the dead tree that still stood upright, its bark silvered with age and scars. They lit no fire. There was enough light in the veins of the ground beneath them, glowing faintly like an old heartbeat still pulsing through the earth.
Frank sat against the wall of a shattered house, eyes half-closed, his sword leaning beside him. Kitty leaned on a piece of stone nearby, arms around her knees, her golden eyes flickering in the dark like a distant candle. Peter and Jack sat back-to-back, one watching the ruins, the other pretending not to be afraid. Lucy stayed closest to the tree. Her eyes hadn't moved from the symbol she had seen etched into its bark.
It was a triangle — incomplete — wrapped in what looked like wings. At first, it seemed like just a strange shape, but something about it dug into her thoughts. She traced it over and over again in her mind, unsure why it felt like she'd seen it long ago.
Susan scanned the area in shifts, her glyph lens still active and twitching now and then. Every few minutes, she paused and looked toward the tree, but didn't say anything. She knew Lucy was thinking, and when Lucy thought this hard, it was better not to interrupt.
Tom stood at the edge of the ridge, watching the forest below. The wind was cold here, sharper than before, and it carried something strange. Not scent. Not noise. A weight. Something that pressed gently on the air, like a voice holding back a scream.
Then, softly, Lucy spoke.
"It's not a symbol."
Everyone turned to her.
"It's a glyph," she said. "But not one of ours."
Susan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Lucy stood slowly, stepping closer to the tree. "It's not demon. Not light. Not Palecto. Not even Monster Trio."
Frank moved to her side. "Then whose?"
Lucy looked at him. "I don't know. But I think it came before all of them."
Tom turned. "Before the demons?"
"Yes."
Jack stood too. "You're saying this tree is older than the Demon Cities?"
Lucy didn't answer immediately. Her fingers touched the bark.
And then it spoke.
Not aloud. Not in voice.
But in her head.
A whisper, soft and slow. A word that didn't sound like language, but memory.
She flinched.
Frank grabbed her shoulder. "What is it?"
She looked up, face pale. "It said a name."
Peter stood, hand on his blade. "Whose?"
Lucy swallowed. "Velmorith."
The air dropped ten degrees instantly.
Tom moved to her other side. "The Monster Trio."
Kitty's voice trembled. "That's the corrupted glyph master. The one who bends reality."
Susan looked down at the glowing dirt. "Then this isn't just an old ridge. This is a warning site."
Jack whispered, "Why did it say his name now?"
Lucy stepped back. "Because he's watching."
Frank tensed. "Here?"
"No," she said. "Not physically. But somewhere close enough. The glyph remembers him."
They all looked around.
The ruins were still.
Susan spoke again, slower this time. "If this place echoes memory, then the name was spoken here. A long time ago. Before the war began."
Tom's voice was low. "And it was carved by someone who wanted it remembered."
Peter looked to Lucy. "What else did it say?"
Lucy shook her head. "Nothing. Just that name. But the way it said it… like a warning. Or a regret."
They didn't sleep that night.
Each of them stayed in their own corners, watching, thinking. The Ridge of Solace was supposed to be a place of rest. But now, it felt like a grave.
Just before dawn, Kitty sat beside Lucy.
"You okay?"
Lucy nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just thinking."
"About the glyph?"
Lucy looked down. "About everything. This story… it's not just about us. I think we're walking through something that already started long ago. We're just... catching up."
Kitty smiled gently. "Or finishing what others couldn't."
The first light broke over the ridge.
Frank stood first. "We move east."
Tom checked his sword. "To the Edge of Origin?"
"No," Frank said. "To the Abyss Walk."
Peter looked up. "That path's forbidden."
Frank nodded. "Which means they won't expect us to take it."
Susan frowned. "You really think we're being followed now?"
Frank turned toward the fading tree. "After what it said? I'd bet everything we are."
They left the Ridge in silence. The glyph on the tree faded behind them, leaving no trace.
But hours later, long after they'd vanished into the mist—
—someone else stood beneath it.
He had no shadow.
No eyes.
Only whispers.
And the tree bent gently in his presence.