It arrived without warning.
No explosion.
No confrontation.
No threat delivered face to face.
Just a small, black box placed neatly on the desk in Palm's office.
No one saw who brought it.
No cameras recorded a single frame of its arrival.
It was simply *there*.
Palm stared at the box for a long moment before touching it.
It was unmarked.
That alone made it dangerous.
He motioned for Kaelis to stand closer. Katsuko leaned against the wall, arms crossed, cigarette unlit. Kouya hovered near the door with Ermina perched uneasily on his shoulder. Viola stood behind Palm, eyes narrowed.
Makoto and Akio had not been summoned.
Palm opened the box.
Inside lay a folder, pristine and thin. Beneath it, a flash drive. And under that-
A photograph.
Palm's fingers paused.
It showed a hospital room.
White walls. Soft lighting. Medical equipment in the background.
A young woman lay unconscious in the bed, red hair fanned across the pillow. Tubes ran from her arms. A heart monitor glowed faintly beside her.
Yuuma Yakedo.
Viola inhaled sharply.
Katsuko felt her stomach drop.
Kouya's grip tightened around Ermina.
Palm lifted the folder.
Inside were documents. Medical records, transfer forms, visitation logs.
Dates.
Times.
Locations.
Every page stamped with quiet authority.
"She's alive," Viola said softly, reading ahead. "Barely."
Palm said nothing.
Kaelis studied the photograph, jaw tight. "This was taken recently."
"Yes," Katsuko replied flatly. "Which means he knows where she is."
Palm picked up the flash drive and inserted it into his computer.
The screen flickered once before opening a single video file.
Wolfgang Nebelwald appeared on screen, seated comfortably at a small table. He wore a dark suit, gloves immaculate, expression pleasant.
Behind him, a window revealed a city skyline at dusk.
"Good evening, Palm," Wolfgang said, voice calm and warm. "I hope you'll forgive the intrusion."
Palm did not respond.
Wolfgang smiled slightly.
"I thought it would be best to communicate clearly. After all, misunderstandings lead to inefficiency, and inefficiency leads to tragedy."
He gestured gently.
"Consider this a courtesy."
The image shifted.
Security footage.
The same hospital room as shown earlier. Makoto's sister, unconscious, monitored by machines.
"I have no intention of harming her," Wolfgang continued. "On the contrary. I've ensured she receives exceptional care."
Wolfgang returned to frame.
"She is... important to one of your members," he said mildly. "Which makes her relevant to this conversation."
Katsuko's nails dug into her palm.
Wolfgang folded his hands.
"Now, to be clear: this is not a threat. I do not *need* to threaten you."
The smile softened.
"I simply wish to demonstrate how fragile things already are."
The screen went black.
The video ended.
Silence swallowed the room.
Kouya swore under his breath, Ermina chirping anxiously.
Palm leaned back slowly in his chair.
"He didn't ask for anything," Kouya said, voice shaky. "Not directly."
"No," Katsuko replied. "He doesn't have to."
Kaelis exhaled. "He's not pressuring us with force. He's proving access."
Palm stared at the screen long after it had gone dark.
"Get Makoto," he said finally. "And Akio."
As Makoto finally arrived, he reacted exactly how Palm expected.
He didn't shout.
He didn't panic.
He went very, very still.
Akio stood beside him, confusion turning to dread as the photograph slid across the desk.
"That's...," Makoto began, then stopped.
His ability screamed.
Every document.
Every timestamp.
Every detail.
True.
His hands trembled.
"She's alive," Viola said quickly. "For now."
Akio felt something cold settle in his chest.
This wasn't about him anymore.
And yet it absolutely was.
Palm folded his hands.
"Wolfgang Nebelwald has shown us what he can reach," he said calmly. "This is not a demand. It is an implication."
Makoto laughed softly.
It wasn't humor.
"So this is how he does it," he murmured. "No blood. No threats. Just... leverage."
Akio looked between them. "He did this because of me, didn't he?"
Silence answered him.
Makoto's jaw clenched.
"You don't get to say that," he said sharply.
Akio swallowed. "It's true."
"No," Makoto snapped, turning toward him. "He did this because he *can*. Because he wants to show us he can take things apart without touching them."
Akio looked away.
Palm watched them carefully.
"Wolfgang wants you," Palm said. "But not immediately."
Makoto looked up. "Then what does he want now?"
Palm's eyes hardened.
"He wants us to fracture ourselves deciding."
That night, the facility felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too careful.
Akio noticed the changes immediately.
Two guards stationed outside room 000.
Conversations stopping when he entered a room.
Not hostility.
Worse.
Caution.
Makoto didn't speak much.
He sat on his bed, staring at nothing, hands clasped so tightly his knuckles were white.
Akio sat on his own bed, heart heavy.
"This is my fault," he whispered.
Makoto didn't answer.
"I could fix this," Akio continued. "If I went with him-"
Makoto stood so abruptly the bedframe creaked.
"No."
Akio flinched.
"You don't get to volunteer for everything bad that happens," Makoto said, voice shaking. "You don't get to turn yourself into a solution just because you hate existing."
Akio stared at him.
Makoto laughed bitterly.
"Do you know what happens if you go?", he demanded. "He doesn't stop. He *learns*. He learns that all he has to do is wait until you feel guilty enough."
Akio's throat tightened.
"And then he'll do it again," Makoto continued. "To someone else. Someone closer. Someone you can't ignore."
Silence fell.
Akio looked down.
"I don't want her to die," he said softly.
Makoto's voice cracked.
"Neither do I."
They stood there, neither knowing what to say.
Outside the room, unseen, Ermina hissed quietly at the hallway mirror.
Across the city, Wolfgang Nebelwald set his teacup down gently.
Irena stood nearby, arms crossed.
"They haven't responded yet," she said.
Wolfgang smiled faintly.
"They will."
"You're certain?" she asked.
He nodded.
"People always believe silence buys them time," he said. "It doesn't."
He rose, adjusting his gloves.
"Akio Takahashi will come to me," Wolfgang continued. "Not because I force him to."
He paused.
"But because everyone around him will start to *hope* he does."
Irena frowned. "And if he doesn't?"
Wolfgang's smile sharpened just a fraction.
"Then the system reveals itself."
He looked out over the city once more.
"Either way," he murmured, "I win."