For a brief moment, Cain simply stood there, watching her.
The noise around them had not completely faded. Demi-humans were still being restrained, soldiers were still shouting orders, and the air still carried the lingering heat of confusion and anger. Yet everything felt different now that she had stepped into the scene. It was as if the chaos had been forced to take a step back, as if even disorder knew where its limits were.
"…Pam…"
The name echoed faintly in his mind.
But something about it felt off.
Not wrong.
Just… incomplete.
His eyes stayed on her.
Her posture.
Her expression.
The way she carried herself.
"…No."
A thought settled.
"…Not quite."
Then—
He moved.
Without warning.
Without signal.
His body blurred forward, not toward her directly, but toward the nearest group of soldiers who were still trying to restrain the demi-humans he had provoked.
His fist came out first.
Fast.
Controlled.
It struck a soldier square in the chest.
