A scream echoed.
But it ended too fast.
Merlin didn't wait. His boots were already moving, stone ringing underfoot as he crossed the narrow garden path. Elara followed a step behind. Her hand had gone to her belt, not her blade yet, but close.
They rounded the hedge line, feet skimming over the uneven brick. The air felt thicker here. Not hot. Just slow. Like breath took longer to move through it.
Then he saw the vines.
Twisted across the gravel. Slick with moisture that hadn't come from rain. They coiled along the ground and up the stone like they had been waiting for something. No origin point. No seedbed. Just… there.
Elara halted beside him. "Those aren't ornamental."
"No."
"Are they magical?"
Merlin didn't answer right away.
'They're not supposed to be here. This isn't the right terrain. These things look like they grew through the cracks in minutes, not months.'
A faint pulse stirred in his head.
[SYSTEM CORE: 41%]
[STABILIZATION PROCESS ONGOING]
