The Cradle didn’t sleep. Not anymore.


    Even after the fog had vanished, shadows clung to the corners of thought. The camp stirred at odd hours now—wary eyes scanning treelines, twitching at the sound of snapping branches, firewood cracking too loudly. Grief had no room to settle; the urgency of survival pressed too hard.


    Camila’s boot struck mud as she climbed the ridge north of the camp, a woven sack slung over her shoulder. Alex followed, winded but determined, clutching a length of rope and a half-used torch. Yusuf brought up the rear, his eyes scanning the underbrush with careful precision. Ren glimmered faintly around his form—tight, refined, maintained with a discipline he hadn’t possessed two weeks ago.


    “Hear that?” Camila whispered, crouching.


    “Water,” Alex muttered. “That stream you found earlier?”


    “Not unless it started growling.”


    Yusuf narrowed his eyes. “Stay low.”


    The trio moved along a small incline, edging toward the noise. The brush ahead thinned slightly—just enough for them to spot it.


    A bear.


    Larger than the one they’d killed before, its coat patchy, its ribs marked with jagged scars. More worrying: its eyes were fogged pale, not blind—<i>tainted</i>.


    It was sniffing near a cluster of rocks, drool dripping onto the moss.


    “Think it’s like the beasts?” Alex asked.


    “Let’s not find out up close,” Camila said. “Pull back. We can mark the area, report to Miriam.”


    “Or kill it for points,” Yusuf offered.


    Camila looked at him. “You in a hurry to fight <i>another</i>


    mini-boss?”


    Alex chuckled nervously. “Let’s survive the week first.”


    They turned—silent and slow—and melted back into the trees.


    <hr>


    Back at camp, Miriam hovered over Jared’s shoulder in the med tent, applying a precise touch of chakra to the stitches along his ribs. The Wound Closure Technique had already begun to prove its worth. Jared’s fever had broken. Two other wounded had been stabilized without losing limbs.


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    “You should’ve gotten this sooner,” Jared groaned through clenched teeth. “Could’ve saved us a lot of bandages.”


    Miriam didn’t smile. “Then buy it yourself. Obelisk’s still standing.”


    He grunted in response, too weak to argue further.


    Outside, the training ring rang with clashing steel. Grace and Raj sparred with sabers, both now wearing newly acquired Tactical Marine Coats. Their movements were tighter, more confident—but still raw. Roger observed from the sidelines.


    “Keep your elbow high, Grace,” he called. “You''re dropping the guard on your left.”


    “Yeah? Tell that to my cramping arm,” she shot back.


    Meanwhile, Wren and Dev practiced control drills at the edge of the clearing—Dev’s Reiatsu now able to flare outward briefly without destabilizing him. Jason stood beside them, offering suggestions without interrupting the process.


    “I don’t care who gets Shikai first,” Wren said between breaths. “But I <i>am</i> betting Dev pukes from overtraining first.”


    “Already did,” Dev muttered, not breaking stance. “Twice.”


    “Respect,” Wren said.


    <hr>


    By mid-afternoon, a meeting was called near the firepit.


    Jake stood beside the Obelisk with a fresh map. It was scrawled with new markings—circles, lines, shaded areas. Next to him stood Ellie, Hana, and Li, each of them holding copies of the Cradle Bestiary.


    “We’ve started logging active hunting zones,” Jake announced. “Places we know have goblins, animals, and potential hazards. There’s also a new addition.”


    He tapped the top of the map.


    “A bear. Camila found it this morning—Huge, we need to keep it monitored, make sure it doesn’t start making its way here. And if it does, we prepare.”


    A screech was heard, above, high in the cloudless sky a beast bigger than anything they’d seen flew over.


    “Is that a Griffin,” someone said


    “It’s huge” added another.


    “Everyone! Stay still”


    The beast circled once and moved on.


    “You get that Jake” Alex asked.


    “Yep, ill add it to the book”


    The novelty of seeing such a majestic creature of family had worn off for most now, there only thoughts was please don’t come back.


    Camila stepped forward. “Disregarding the Griffin for the moment. We’re forming an exploratory party tomorrow. Controlled approach. I want Alex, Yusuf, Ellie, and Grace with me. Maybe one more. We’ll scout it, if we feel we can kill the bear, we’ll do so.”


    Callum’s voice cut through from the back. “Convenient how the same people get picked for every important mission.”


    Jake’s pencil snapped.


    David stood. “You want in?”


    “I want it to be fair,” Callum said. “That’s all.”


    “Then join us” Camila replied flatly.


    “Well, maybe not this one. I’m just saying you can’t go making decisions without the rest of us”


    Miriam stepped in “They’re going to risk their lives to neutralise a threat to all of us, I’d ask that you take such things into consideration before opening your mouth.”


    There were a few stifled laughs. Callum said nothing more.


    <hr>


    That night, the stew was thin—just root vegetables and a few scraps of dried squirrel. Spirits were low, but not broken.


    Camila leaned beside the fire with Alex, her wind magic curling a breeze through the flames.


    “You scared?” she asked.


    Alex nodded. “Terrified.”


    “High risk, high reward.”


    “I pray that we return to more than rabbit scraps”


    Jake updated the logs by lamplight as always.


    <b>Confirmed Survivors:</b> 72


    <b>Cradle Status:</b> Holding


    <b>Next Objective:</b> Neutralise huge bear