Chapter 691 Waiting

Liam and Irina exchanged glances.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

The blue cloak remained inside the open wooden box between them, its strange coldness continuing to spread through the surrounding air. Even wrapped in cloth, it felt as though the garment carried a presence of its own, something that made the atmosphere inside the cave noticeably colder than it had been moments ago.

Liam stared at it thoughtfully while Irina’s eyes moved from the cloak to the entrance of the cave.

Whoever had this must surely come back to wear it at night.

The thought was almost impossible to ignore.

They had spent days chasing something they could barely see. They had watched strange entities appear and disappear, felt unnatural changes in temperature, witnessed attacks that seemed impossible to explain, and followed clues that repeatedly led them nowhere. Yet now they had discovered a hidden cave inside the mountain, and inside that cave was a complete body cloak capable of concealing its wearer entirely.

There was no way the discovery was a coincidence.

Irina finally broke the silence.

"What should we do? Take it with us?"

She had asked two questions at once, her eyes still fixed on the strange garment.

Liam shook his head.

"No."

Irina looked at him.

"We’re getting closer to it. Taking this away will alert whoever is responsible."

His voice was quiet, but there was certainty behind it. Liam had no desire to rush this. If they removed the cloak, the person who owned it would immediately know that someone had discovered the hiding place. Worse, they might abandon the cave entirely or change their methods before Liam could uncover what was actually happening in Elaris.

They had finally found something tangible.

He wasn’t going to throw that advantage away.

Irina crossed her arms.

"So what do you suppose we do?"

Liam glanced toward the cave entrance.

Then he looked back at the cloak.

"We wait."

He picked up the cloth and carefully wrapped it around the blue garment again. He made sure every fold was placed exactly where it had been before, carefully reproducing the way he had found it. He tucked the edges beneath the cloak, adjusted the fabric, and even brushed away the faint traces of frost that had appeared around the box.

Irina watched him silently.

When Liam finished, the cloak looked untouched.

He lowered it back into the wooden box.

Then he closed the lid.

The box made a soft wooden sound as it settled into place.

Liam stood.

"Let’s take a step back. We’ll hide outside until night and wait until whoever is responsible comes to take it."

Irina nodded slowly.

"Hmm."

A small smile appeared on her face.

"That’s a nice plan."

She turned toward the entrance.

"I saw a big tree with thick branches earlier. We can stay there and wait."

Liam nodded.

"Sounds good."

They walked toward the hidden entrance together.

The strange white light appeared again as they crossed the illusion, briefly surrounding their bodies before disappearing behind them. A moment later, they were standing outside the mountain once more, beneath the open sky.

The forest was peaceful.

Almost too peaceful.

The breeze moved gently through the trees, causing leaves to rustle softly above them. Nothing immediately appeared threatening, but Liam knew better than to trust appearances anymore.

He looked down.

They were standing high above the ground.

The hidden entrance was positioned much higher than the ordinary mountain surface suggested, meaning anyone approaching from below would never notice where they had entered.

Irina looked down as well.

"That’s quite a height."

Liam smiled.

"We’ve jumped from worse."

Before she could respond, both of them stepped off.

They dropped through the air.

Neither panicked.

Irina’s hair whipped behind her as the ground rushed upward, while Liam remained completely calm. Just before they reached the ground, he adjusted his body and prepared for the impact.

They landed with a soft thud.

The earth beneath their feet compressed slightly.

Liam immediately crouched.

Irina watched him curiously.

He reached down and began ruffling the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Cleaning."

Irina stared at him.

Liam continued working.

The marks left by their landing were obvious enough that someone familiar with tracking could potentially notice them. Liam carefully disturbed the soil around the area, spreading the displaced dirt and leaves naturally instead of simply wiping away the marks. He made sure the ground looked as though nothing unusual had happened there.

Once satisfied, he stood.

Then he stretched his hand toward Irina.

She stared at it.

"What?"

"Come here."

She looked at his hand, then at him.

"I’m standing right here."

"I know."

"Then why are you holding your hand out?"

Liam didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached forward and grabbed her hand himself.

Irina barely had time to react before Liam leapt.

He deliberately kept the jump low.

Instead of launching himself high into the air, he used controlled movements that barely disturbed the ground beneath them. He pulled Irina with him, ensuring that their movement left as little evidence as possible.

Irina finally understood.

"You’re trying not to leave tracks."

"Exactly."

They moved carefully through the area before Liam’s wings suddenly emerged from his back.

A powerful but controlled flap lifted them into the air.

This time, Liam flew toward the enormous tree Irina had mentioned earlier.

As they approached it, Irina’s description suddenly made perfect sense.

The tree was enormous.

It towered above the surrounding forest like a living pillar, its trunk so wide that several people would have needed to join hands to encircle it. Its branches stretched outward in every direction, thick enough to resemble enormous wooden platforms rather than ordinary tree limbs.

Liam looked at one particular branch.

It was ridiculously large.

"You weren’t exaggerating."

Irina smiled.

"I told you."

The branch was so wide that a person could lie down on it comfortably. There was enough space to sleep without worrying about falling, and someone could probably roll around several times before reaching the edge.

Compared to the trees Liam remembered from Earth, these were absurdly massive.

Everything about this world seemed to follow the same rule.

Bigger.

Stranger.

More dangerous.

Liam carefully guided them toward the branch.

Their feet touched the bark.

Softly.

No loud impact.

His wings folded behind him and disappeared back into his body.

Liam immediately sat down, resting his back against the enormous trunk.

The bark was rough against his clothing, but the position was surprisingly comfortable.

Irina, however, did not sit.

She remained standing.

Her eyes moved across the forest.

Left.

Right.

Above.

Below.

Every sound caught her attention.

Every movement between the trees was examined.

Her instincts remained sharp, especially after everything they had experienced in Elaris. She was not going to allow something to sneak up on them while they waited.

Liam watched her for a moment.

Then he leaned his head back against the tree.

They had their hiding place.

Now all they had to do was wait for night.