The man's name was Rowan, and he had spent more than thirty years traveling through that region as a hunter. Mara ordered them to speak inside one of the main buildings, away from the inhabitants who were beginning to gather around the corpses.
Lilith entered with Claire and Evelyn, although this time no one questioned her presence. A wooden table occupied the center of the room, and on top of it lay a hand-drawn map showing a section of the forest in far greater detail than any document aboard the Eternal Bastion. Rivers, mountains, roads, ruins, and small symbols covered almost the entire surface.
Lilith immediately moved closer. To the rest of the world, the Demon Continent was filled with empty spaces on maps. To the people who lived there, those spaces had names.
Rowan placed both hands on the table. "It was nine years ago." Evelyn went still. Apparently, she did not know the full story either. The hunter pointed toward an area several days to the north.
"There was a settlement here. Smaller than ours. Around one hundred and fifty people." Claire examined the map. "Humans?" Rowan shook his head. "Humans, elves, and some beastfolk. Here, that matters less than outsiders think." Lilith remembered the stories she had heard about the continent and once again understood how different reality was. "What happened?" Rowan slowly slid one finger south.
"First, animals started appearing."
Evelyn immediately looked at Lilith.
"Running away?"
"Yes."
The room fell silent.
Rowan continued. "At the time, no one understood what it meant. The continent changes constantly. Creatures migrate, magical territories shift, and some areas become uninhabitable for months before returning to normal. We thought it was just another change." He pointed toward several locations around the old settlement.
"Then they started finding injured animals. Black burns. Cuts no hunter recognized. Some were dead. Others kept running even with wounds that should have brought them down."
Lilith felt a chill.
It was exactly what they had just seen.
"Did they investigate the north?" Claire asked.
Rowan nodded. "They sent six hunters."
"Did they come back?"
"Two."
The answer made Evelyn tighten her hands.
Rowan slowly straightened. "They never clearly explained what they found. One died a few days later from his injuries. The other left the region." Lilith frowned. "What did he say?" The hunter remained silent for several seconds.
"That they saw lights between the trees. That they found entire sections of the forest burned black. And that they heard something moving underground." Claire exchanged a glance with Lilith. None of those descriptions truly explained what had happened.
"And the settlement?" Evelyn asked.
Rowan lowered his gaze toward the map.
"It disappeared."
Evelyn frowned. "Was it destroyed?"
"No."
That answer was worse.
Rowan explained that several hunters traveled there after losing contact with the inhabitants. The walls were still intact. The houses were still standing. There was stored food, tools, clothing, and even weapons. They found no signs of a major battle. There were also not enough bodies to explain what had happened.
There simply wasn't anyone there.
Lilith felt that description was far too familiar.
"The city of ruins," she murmured.
Claire immediately looked at her.
Evelyn understood as well.
The ancient city where they had found her had exactly the same characteristic. Buildings, objects, and streets remained, but there were no bodies. It looked as though its inhabitants had simply left.
Rowan heard the comment. "What city?"
Evelyn briefly explained the ruins and the chamber beneath the tower, avoiding unnecessary details. When she mentioned the mechanism and the signal that had received a response from the north, the hunter's expression hardened.
"We need to leave this place."
Evelyn immediately shook her head. "We can't move four hundred people based on a story from nine years ago."
"It happened once already."
"And we don't know if this is the same thing."
Lilith raised a hand before the argument could escalate. "Evelyn is right."
Rowan looked at her in obvious surprise.
"But so are you," Lilith continued. "We don't know if it's the same thing. That also means we can't assume it isn't."
Claire leaned against the table. "We need information."
Lilith studied the map.
The north kept appearing again and again. The migrations came from there. The injured creatures came from there. The signal from the ruins had received a response from there. And nine years ago, another settlement had disappeared after witnessing exactly the same signs.
But there was one detail Lilith did not want to ignore.
"When did the current migrations begin?" she asked.
Evelyn answered. "About three weeks before I went to the ruins."
Lilith pointed toward the location of the abandoned city.
"Then the mechanism didn't start this."
Claire slowly nodded.
"It only sent a signal."
"And something answered," Evelyn added.
Lilith looked toward the northern section of the map.
"We have to go back."
Evelyn looked at her. "To the ruins?"
"Yes."
Rowan lightly struck the table. "If something answered that signal, going back there would be stupid."
Lilith could not say she completely disagreed.
"Probably."
Claire smiled slightly. "Now she sounds like herself."
Lilith ignored the comment. "But that mechanism is the only thing we have directly connected to what's happening. If we want to know what answered, we need to figure out what Evelyn actually activated."
Evelyn remained staring at the map for several seconds.
"There's more beneath the tower."
Lilith turned toward her.
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn pointed toward the city.
"The room where I found the mechanism wasn't the end. There was a door behind it, but I couldn't open it."
Claire stepped away from the table.
"That would've been useful to mention earlier."
"I was busy bleeding to death when you found me."
Claire considered the explanation.
"Fair."
Lilith looked back at the map.
A locked door beneath an abandoned city. An ancient mechanism capable of communicating with something to the north. A network that might not have functioned properly for centuries.
And for some reason, the memories of the real Lilith Bloodrose reacted to those ruins.
The decision was practically made.
That afternoon, they went outside again. The settlement was repairing its defenses and preparing supplies in case another wave arrived. Mara had agreed that they would remain for one more night before deciding their next steps.
Lilith leaned against the wall while watching the forest. Claire appeared beside her shortly afterward, and Evelyn joined them.
For a while, none of them spoke.
Finally, Evelyn broke the silence.
"Thank you."
Lilith turned her head.
"For what?"
"For coming."
Lilith smiled slightly. "I thought you still didn't completely trust me."
Evelyn leaned against the wood.
"Don't ruin the moment."
Claire let out a small laugh.
Lilith looked back toward the horizon.
Something was happening in the north. Maybe it had been happening for years. Maybe it had begun long before Ethan Carter awakened inside the body of a vampire princess.
She still did not know what connection it had to the ruins.
She also did not know what had made that settlement disappear nine years ago.
But for the first time, they had somewhere to search for answers.
Beneath the tower of the dead city.