Claire remained crouched beside one of the marks while the other scouts spread out through the surrounding area. Lilith approached carefully and examined the deep depression running across the ground. It did not look like a normal footprint. It was several meters wide and had crushed roots, stones, and soil until they formed an almost flat surface.
Farther ahead was another similar mark, followed by a third partially hidden beneath a fallen tree. Whatever had passed through there was large and heavy enough to move through the forest without bothering to go around obstacles.
"Any ideas?" Lilith asked.
"Several, and I don't like any of them." Claire stood up and brushed the dirt from her gloves. "It could be a large monster, but I don't know any that leave marks like these. There’s no blood, fur, or claw marks either."
Lilith looked again at the path of crushed trees. After waking up on a city that walked using gigantic legs, her definition of impossible had become considerably more flexible. Her first thought had been that another enormous machine had passed through there, although she decided not to say it.
She was still learning what things were considered normal in this world, and she preferred to avoid another conversation where she ended up asking something any five-year-old should know.
One of the scouts returned after inspecting the terrain. The trail continued east, roughly in the same direction they were supposed to investigate, so they did not need to change their route very much.
Claire ordered them to continue, although this time the group advanced with their weapons ready. Lilith remained close to her as they crossed the damaged area. Every now and then, she found new marks on the ground, all separated by surprisingly regular distances. It looked less and less like the work of an animal.
However, after almost half an hour, the trail disappeared into a rocky area and the expedition continued with its original mission. Lilith took advantage of the calm to pay more attention to the forest. There were trees with violet leaves growing among the normal ones, flowers that closed whenever someone approached, and small six-legged animals jumping between the branches.
At one point, she saw a round creature completely covered in blue fur watching her from a rock. When she tried to approach it, the animal let out a squeal and disappeared into a hole.
Claire glanced at her. "Were you going to chase it?"
"I just wanted to see it up close."
"It's a puffler."
Lilith nodded with complete seriousness, as if that information explained everything.
Claire waited a few seconds. "You don't know what a puffler is, do you?"
"Of course I do."
"Then what does it eat?"
Lilith looked toward the hole where the creature had disappeared. "Small things."
Claire burst out laughing. "You definitely don't know what it is."
Lilith decided to ignore her and kept walking, although she had to suppress a smile. It was strange how quickly she was beginning to enjoy all of this. She had only been living as Lilith for a few days and still knew almost nothing about the world, but that was exactly what made every new discovery interesting.
Ethan had spent a large part of his old life following schedules he could predict weeks in advance. Now he did not even know what kind of animal might appear behind the next tree.
The peaceful moment ended shortly afterward.
A growl came from both sides of the path. This time, Lilith immediately recognized the sound. Three creatures similar to the wolf she had defeated earlier emerged from the bushes, although they were slightly smaller. A fourth remained behind them, baring its fangs while searching for an opportunity to attack.
Claire drew her sword. "Two for me."
"How generous."
"You can take three if you want."
"Two is fine."
The first creature attacked before they finished speaking. Lilith stepped aside and once again felt the surprising ease with which her body responded. She did not need to think about where to place her feet or how to hold the sword.
The movements came naturally. She blocked a claw, spun around, and cut into the monster's side. This time, it did not die immediately. The creature stumbled backward with a growl and lunged at her again.
Lilith raised her free hand purely on instinct.
Something warm traveled through her arm.
A small amount of blood emerged from a superficial wound on her finger and floated in front of her palm. For a second, it took the shape of a thin crimson needle before shooting forward. It pierced the monster's eye and sent it crashing to the ground.
Lilith stared at it.
"That's new."
She had no time to analyze it. The second animal came at her from the left, forcing her to use her sword again. A few meters away, Claire moved in a completely different way. She did not possess Lilith's speed, but every movement seemed calculated.
She redirected attacks instead of avoiding them completely and used the creatures' own strength to leave them exposed. By the time Lilith finished off her second opponent, Claire had already brought down hers and was driving her sword into the neck of the last one.
Silence returned to the forest.
Claire wiped her blade on the fur of one of the creatures. "Not bad."
Lilith looked at the small wound on her finger. It was already closing.
"I could say the same."
That had made something clear to her. Being a royal-blooded vampire gave her a considerable advantage, but Claire had something she still did not fully possess: conscious experience. Lilith's body remembered how to fight, while Ethan was still learning how to understand those movements. It was a small difference, but an important one.
They continued for another hour until one of the scouts raised a hand to stop them.
This time, there was no attack.
Something was lying among the trees.
It took Lilith several seconds to realize she was looking at a corpse. The creature was enormous, probably three times larger than the previous wolves. It had six legs covered in dark scales and an elongated head with two large fangs. Even dead, it looked intimidating.
Claire approached slowly and examined the body.
"Do you know what it is?" Lilith asked.
"Yes. And we should be glad it's dead."
That was not exactly reassuring.
Lilith walked around the corpse. There were no signs of a long fight. The nearby trees were intact, and there was barely any blood on the ground. Then she found the wound.
A single cut ran across the creature's chest.
It was clean.
Too clean.
Claire saw it too, and her expression changed.
"Another monster didn't kill this."
"Then someone was here."
Lilith crouched beside the corpse. Her senses caught a faint metallic scent that did not belong to the creature's blood. She moved aside some leaves and found a small object half-buried in the dirt.
It was a fragment of black metal.
She picked it up.
On one side was an engraved symbol consisting of a circle crossed by three lines.
The moment her fingers touched the symbol, a sudden pain shot through her head.
For an instant, she saw a red sky.
An enormous shadow moving through the mist.
Black towers.
Then nothing.
Lilith slowly exhaled as she tightened her fingers around the fragment.
"Lilith?"
She looked up at Claire.
"What is it?"
Lilith looked at the symbol again.
She could not remember what it meant.
Nor where the old Lilith had seen it.
But there was one thing she could feel with absolute certainty.
The original owner of this body had known that symbol.
And she had been afraid of it.