The Same Cloth

The visions began coming every night.

At first, Catherine had been able to endure them.

They had always been part of her life since her temporal abilities began to mature. Sometimes they were little more than flashes—an unfamiliar face, a broken sword, a road she had never traveled.

Other times, they were clearer.

But these visions were different.

They were becoming stronger.

Longer.

And increasingly difficult to separate from reality.

Catherine woke screaming.

Leo was beside her instantly.

"Catherine!"

She sat upright, breathing heavily.

Celine woke beside them.

"What happened?"

Catherine pressed both hands against her face.

"I saw it again."

Leo's stomach tightened.

"The beast?"

She nodded.

"Closer."

Celine reached for her sister's hand.

"What did you see?"

Catherine was silent for several seconds.

"The forest."

"Animals running."

"Thousands of them."

"Then the monsters came."

Leo's expression hardened.

"The beast wave?"

Catherine nodded.

"And behind them..."

She swallowed.

"...the catastrophe-class beast."

The room became silent.

"How close?" Leo asked.

Catherine turned toward the window.

"Very."

The next morning, Leo called an emergency meeting.

Marcus arrived first.

Then Tomas.

Seraphine.

Edran.

Ordan.

The senior hunters.

The guards.

The healers.

Representatives from the town.

Nobody needed to ask why they were there.

The northern forest had become increasingly dangerous.

Beasts that normally avoided populated areas were appearing in the outskirts.

Predators were abandoning their territories.

Monsters were crossing roads.

Some had even attacked farms.

The catastrophe-class beast had not yet reached the valley.

But its presence was already being felt.

It was disturbing the entire ecosystem.

Marcus spread a map across the table.

"We've had another attack."

"Where?"

"Three farms north of the town."

Leo frowned.

"Casualties?"

"None."

"Good."

"The livestock wasn't as fortunate."

One of the hunters pointed toward another location.

"There's more."

"Go on."

"Beasts have been moving south."

"How many?"

"We can't estimate."

"Too many."

Another hunter spoke.

"We've seen creatures that normally never leave the mountains."

Tomas studied the map.

"It's pushing everything ahead of it."

Edran nodded.

"A catastrophe-class creature doesn't need to attack a settlement directly to destroy it."

"The ecosystem collapses around it."

"Everything flees."

"Predators."

"Prey."

"Monsters."

"Even magical creatures."

Leo looked at the map.

"And they're all coming here."

Tomas nodded.

"Eventually."

The work became relentless.

Leo barely slept.

Neither did Marcus.

The hunters were constantly moving between patrols.

The elders reinforced barriers.

The guards doubled their shifts.

Farmers moved livestock closer to protected areas.

Children were kept inside the safest parts of the settlement.

The school remained open, but its lessons increasingly included emergency drills.

Everyone was taught where to go if the alarm sounded.

Everyone learned which buildings had reinforced shelters.

Everyone knew the safest routes through the compound.

The Asters had prepared for disasters before.

But this was different.

They weren't preparing for one enemy.

They were preparing for an entire ecosystem fleeing toward them.

Catherine's visions became worse.

One night she saw thousands of creatures pouring through the valley.

Another night she saw the walls collapsing.

Another showed the town abandoned.

Then came the worst vision yet.

She stood in the middle of the Aster compound.

There were bodies everywhere.

The walls were broken.

The sky was black.

And something enormous stood beyond the mountains.

Catherine turned toward it.

The beast looked directly at her.

Then it spoke.

Not with words.

With a feeling.

Run.

Catherine woke gasping.

Edran was already beside her, appearing as thought from thin air.

"Catherine."

She grabbed his arm.

"I saw the future."

Edran's expression was serious.

"What future?"

"The one where we don't leave."

He became very still.

"What happened?"

Catherine shook her head.

"We lost."

Edran looked toward the mountains.

"Then we change it."

Across the valley, the Vale Clan was collapsing.

The beast's path had become obvious.

It was moving directly toward their territory.

The Vale elders gathered.

For once, nobody argued about politics.

Nobody discussed the Asters.

Nobody talked about pride.

They looked at the maps.

Then at the increasingly empty compound.

Then at the northern horizon.

One elder finally spoke.

"We cannot defend this."

Another nodded.

"We can't protect the entire population from a catastrophe-class beast."

"And the wave behind it?"

"We have nowhere near enough warriors."

Silence.

Someone finally said what everyone had been thinking.

"We need to leave."

Lance was nowhere to be found.

His oldest son, Darian, was missing as well.

Nobody knew where either of them had gone.

Some suspected they had fled.

Others believed they were planning something.

But no one had seen them since the previous evening.

Lance's wife, however, remained.

So did his youngest son.

They had no quarrel with Leo.

They had never participated in the schemes against the Asters.

They had watched their clan collapse around them.

Now they faced an impossible choice.

Stay and die.

Or leave.

The elders voted.

The decision was unanimous.

They would evacuate.

Immediately.

The Vale Clan became a frenzy of activity.

Everything important was packed.

Weapons.

Food.

Records.

Heirlooms.

Medical supplies.

Seeds.

Tools.

Valuable materials.

Anything that could be carried was loaded onto wagons.

Anything too large was abandoned.

Families gathered.

Children cried.

Elders struggled to walk.

Farmers abandoned fields they had worked for generations.

The great Vale compound, once a symbol of power, was being emptied.

Nobody knew whether they would ever return.

One of the elders looked toward the northern horizon.

"We leave now."

The caravan began moving.

At the front of the caravan walked Lance's wife.

Beside her was their youngest son.

Neither spoke for several minutes.

Finally, the boy looked at his mother.

"Will Leo let us stay?"

She didn't answer immediately.

"I don't know."

"He hates Father."

"Yes."

"Does he hate us?"

She shook her head.

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've watched him."

She looked toward the distant Aster territory.

"Leo has never treated you as though you were responsible for your father's choices."

The boy looked down.

"Then maybe he'll help us."

His mother nodded.

"I hope so."

The caravan reached the Aster border late in the afternoon.

The guards immediately sounded the alarm.

Marcus arrived with several warriors.

Leo followed.

He stopped when he saw the Vale banners.

His expression became unreadable.

Celine stood beside him.

Catherine stood on his other side.

Leo stared at the caravan.

Hundreds of people.

Families.

Elders.

Children.

Former clan members.

People he knew.

People he didn't.

And at the front stood Lance's wife and youngest son.

The woman stepped forward.

Leo watched her carefully.

"We come seeking shelter."

Leo remained silent.

She lowered her head.

"We know what our clan has done."

"My husband..."

She hesitated.

"Lance made his choices."

"But my son and I did not."

Leo's expression softened slightly.

The boy stood beside her.

Frightened.

Leo looked at him.

Then at Celine.

Then Catherine.

Finally, he looked at Marcus.

Marcus said nothing.

The decision belonged to Leo.

Leo stepped forward.

"You can come inside."

The woman looked stunned.

"You're allowing us to stay?"

"Yes."

She bowed her head.

"Thank you."

Leo looked toward the caravan.

"Everyone."

One of the Vale elders stepped forward.

"You mean all of us?"

Leo nodded.

"All of you."

The elder stared at him.

"After everything?"

Leo's expression became serious.

"This isn't the time for revenge."

He looked toward the mountains.

"There's something coming."

"We need every person we can save."

The elder bowed.

"Thank you."

The gates opened.

The Vale families entered the Aster territory.

Some cried.

Others looked stunned.

Some couldn't believe they had been welcomed.

A few were too ashamed to meet Leo's eyes.

He didn't judge them.

There would be time for questions later.

Right now, there was work.

Marcus immediately began organizing the refugees.

"Put the families in the eastern housing district."

"Move the elderly closer to the healers."

"Get the children inside the school."

"We'll figure out permanent housing later."

The Aster Clan mobilized.

The newcomers were given food.

Water.

Blankets.

Medical attention.

Places to sleep.

Nobody was turned away.

Not even people wearing Vale colors.

Then the preparations intensified.

The walls were reinforced.

New barriers were constructed.

The town joined the effort.

Every able-bodied person was given a task.

Hunters established outer patrols.

Warriors prepared defensive lines.

Farmers moved food stores underground.

Healers prepared medicines.

The school was converted into an emergency shelter.

The library's most valuable records were moved into reinforced chambers.

The blessed well was protected by layers of magical barriers.

The Aster territory became a fortress.

Catherine stood atop one of the watchtowers.

Leo joined her.

"You shouldn't be up here alone."

"I'm not alone."

She smiled.

"You're here."

Leo looked toward the northern forest.

"What do you see?"

Catherine closed her eyes.

Her temporal senses spread outward.

For a moment, she felt nothing.

Then—

Her expression changed.

"Movement."

"How far?"

"Too far to see."

She paused.

"But it's coming."

Leo looked at the mountains.

"How long?"

Catherine opened her eyes.

"I don't know."

Then she smiled faintly.

"But I know one thing."

"What?"

"The future isn't decided."

Leo nodded.

"Good."

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Because we're going to change it."

That night, the Aster Clan was nearly unrecognizable.

The once-peaceful settlement had become a fortress.

Fire burned along the walls.

Guards stood at every gate.

Hunters watched the forests.

The town's people worked beside the Asters.

The Vale refugees slept inside buildings protected by Aster guards.

And above everything, the elders watched the mountains.

Nobody knew exactly when the beast would arrive.

But everyone knew it was coming.

And somewhere beyond the northern forest, thousands of displaced creatures were already running.

Predators.

Monsters.

Beasts.

Things that had never before entered the valley.

They were all fleeing the same terror.

The catastrophe-class beast.

Catherine stood beside Leo on the wall.

Celine stood on his other side, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.

She was no longer training every day.

She didn't need to.

Her spatial power continued growing.

And now, for the first time, Leo wondered whether the child inside her was somehow connected to it.

Marcus approached.

"Everything is ready."

Leo nodded.

"The town?"

"Ready."

"The hunters?"

"Ready."

"The elders?"

"Ready."

Leo looked toward the Vale families.

"And them?"

Marcus followed his gaze.

"They're frightened."

"They've lost everything."

Leo sighed.

"Then we'll give them somewhere to start again."

Celine smiled.

Catherine listened to the distant sounds of the valley.

Then suddenly she stiffened.

Leo noticed.

"Catherine?"

She turned toward the north.

"I can hear it."

Leo's hand went to his weapon.

"What?"

Catherine's face became pale.

"Not with my ears."

She swallowed.

"Through time."

Everyone nearby became silent.

"What do you hear?" Leo asked.

Catherine stared toward the mountains.

"The future."

A low rumble echoed across the valley.

Far away.

Deep within the mountains.

Then another.

And another.

The ground trembled beneath their feet.

Celine instinctively placed both hands over her stomach.

The baby moved.

Strongly.

Almost in response.

Catherine whispered:

"It's here."

The Aster Clan went silent.

Beyond the mountains, the forest began to move.

The beast wave had arrived.

And behind it came the creature that had once taken Leo's parents from him.

This time, however, Leo would not be standing alone.

The entire valley stood behind him.

And the Aster Clan was ready.

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