Summary

In Chapter 24, Ven struggles through the forest. He sometimes hears dogs and drones, but he is not sure they are real. He eventually falls, too cold and hurt to continue moving at all. He sees the approaching dawn and hears a large creature approach. When he opens his eyes, the kakuy of the winter wood is going about its business without caring that Ven is there. The creature is huge, with four paws, each bigger than Ven's back. There are seven claws on each paw. The kakuy drinks from the stream. When the kakuy looks directly at Ven, it is only with the curiosity of a predator seeing a tiny creature barely worth notice. When the kakuy is gone, Ven realizes it walked up a narrow path beginning with a lantern. He manages to pull himself up to the Temple where he finds...