Toviro stood quietly in the room while the morning light filtered through the open window behind Mayo. The gentle wind moved the curtains and carried a calmness that did not match the heavy silence between them.
For several moments neither of them spoke.
Toviro finally stepped forward, his expression serious yet calm as he looked at Mayo.
"I'm here to help. That's my mission, and I truly want to do that," he said slowly. "And right now I'm fairly sure you need help."
Mayo remained where he was, standing near the window with his back partly turned. His voice came out calm and steady.
"No. I don't."
The answer settled heavily in the room.
Toviro watched him carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he were studying someone he no longer completely understood.
He had run his diagnostics. He had checked the readings more times than he could count. None of the numbers explained what he was seeing with his own eyes.
After a moment he spoke again.
"Something happened to you," he said. "Something changed you, and it's obvious."
He took another step closer, lowering his voice.
"This isn't how you used to be. You were never this distant before."
Mayo said nothing.
Toviro let out a slow breath before continuing, his tone carrying a quiet, genuine concern.
"I'm your friend, so tell me what happened. I know this isn't because of shock or trauma. Something else is going on, and pretending otherwise isn't going to help either of us."
The room remained silent except for the wind brushing against the curtains.
Toviro looked directly into Mayo's red eyes. Something about them still unsettled him deeply, though he could not fully explain why. They were calm, clear, and completely unreadable.
For a moment they simply stared at each other.
Then Mayo stood up.
Without a word, he walked toward the door as though the conversation had already ended.
"Mayo, please stop," Toviro said quickly.
"Mayo."
There was no response.
Mayo opened the door and stepped into the hallway. His footsteps were unhurried as he descended the staircase, each step steady and deliberate, as if nothing in the world could rush him.
Toviro followed a few steps behind, watching him from the top of the stairs.
By the time he reached the middle of the staircase, Mayo had already reached the first floor.
Mina was standing near the living room when she noticed him.
"Mayo?" she asked with mild surprise. "Where are you going?"
Mayo didn't answer.
He walked past her without slowing, reached the front door, and opened it without hesitation. A moment later he stepped outside and closed it behind him.
The quiet sound echoed softly through the house.
Toviro stopped halfway down the stairs while Mina turned toward him, her expression heavy with worry.
"Where did he go?"
Toviro shook his head slightly. "I don't know."
Mina folded her arms and stared at the closed door for a long moment, as if she were waiting for it to open again.
"I hope he's going to be alright," she said quietly.
Toviro didn't reply. There were no words that felt right, so he offered none.
He walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa while the television flickered silently in front of him.
The sound had been muted, but the screen continued to display scenes of devastation from around the world.
Entire coastal cities were now submerged beneath rising waters. Helicopters moved above flooded streets while rescue teams struggled to evacuate survivors from rooftops.
Giant waves crashed against damaged shorelines, leaving destruction wherever they passed.
Toviro barely paid attention to the broadcast.
His gaze drifted toward the window.
Far above the horizon, behind the bright circle of the sun, a massive shadow stretched across the sky. It had been visible before, though distant and faint. Now it looked much larger.
The blue sky around it appeared darker than usual, as if something enormous were slowly pulling the light inward.
Toviro stared at it quietly, unable to shake the unease forming in his chest.
Then movement near the yard wall caught his attention.
A hand suddenly appeared over the top of the wall, gripping the edge tightly. Someone outside was pulling themselves up.
Toviro stood and walked toward the window, watching carefully.
A moment later, strands of blond hair appeared above the wall, followed by the familiar top of a head.
Ozair.
He struggled for a second before lifting himself high enough to peer over the edge. The moment he spotted Toviro, he began waving his hand urgently.
"Toviro!"
Hearing his name, Toviro stepped out into the yard, his gaze lifting toward the wall. The height blocked most of his view, leaving only Ozair's hand visible for a moment before it disappeared again.
Without pausing, he turned and headed out through the front, stepping onto the street.
Out on the street, the full scene came into view. Aryan stood calmly, arms folded, watching Ozair with mild disinterest as his friend finished climbing over.
Ozair landed with a small thud, straightened up, and grinned as if he had accomplished something impressive.
"There you are."
Toviro smiled faintly. "Oh, hello. It's nice to see you both again."
Ozair brushed the dust from his clothes. "Yeah, I missed you so much."
Aryan glanced at him. "There's a gate right there."
Ozair looked at the gate, then back at Aryan. "I know."
Aryan stared at him for a moment, then turned toward Toviro without another word.
"We need to talk about something," he said, his expression already shifting into something more serious.
The three of them walked toward a nearby empty lot where Aryan, Ozair, Mayo, and Elina had once spent many afternoons together. The place was quiet now, tall grass bending slowly under the wind, the sounds of the street distant and muffled.
Aryan stopped walking and faced Toviro.
"Yesterday, do you remember Mayo going outside?"
Toviro nodded. "Yes. He left in the morning and came back later in the afternoon. Honestly, we were surprised at how quickly he seemed to recover."
Aryan briefly exchanged a glance with Ozair before returning his attention to Toviro.
"Did you notice anything strange about him after that?"
Toviro hesitated slightly. "Well… yes," he admitted. "Something definitely feels off. When I look at his eyes, it feels like I'm looking at someone different. Someone I don't fully recognize."
Ozair stepped forward then, his usual easy attitude replaced with something heavier.
"Then you should hear what we saw yesterday."
Toviro frowned slightly and waited.
Ozair and Aryan began explaining what had happened. They described how they had followed Mayo through the streets, how he had walked without hesitation into an abandoned building, and how they had discovered the same robbers who had beaten him days earlier hiding inside.
They described the moment the confrontation began. How the men had recognized Mayo and moved toward him without concern, certain of the outcome. How that certainty had lasted only seconds.
What followed had not looked like a fight.
Mayo had moved with a speed that didn't seem natural, his body responding faster than their eyes could follow.
Each attacker had gone down before they could properly react, and there had been no struggle in it, no effort. He had moved through them calmly, almost quietly, as if none of it required any real thought at all.
To Ozair and Aryan, who were standing hidden just outside the room, it had felt less like watching a person fight and more like watching something else entirely.
When they finished, silence settled across the empty lot.
Toviro stood still, clearly shaken by what he had just heard. His gaze dropped toward the ground as he turned the information over carefully in his mind.
"If what you saw is accurate," he said quietly, "then that level of physical ability shouldn't be possible. Not for a normal person. Not even with years of serious training."
Ozair shook his head. "Bro, it was like watching an action animation. I was standing right there and I still couldn't track his movements properly."
"It wasn't just the speed," Aryan added quietly. "It was how he looked while he was doing it. There was nothing on his face. No anger, no fear. He looked completely empty."
The words landed heavily.
Toviro raised his head slowly.
He thought about the red eyes. The flat voice. The way Mayo had walked past his own mother without even glancing at her. The way he had left the room without a single word, as if the people around him had simply stopped mattering.
Something was happening to Mayo.
Something that none of his diagnostics could measure or explain.
Aryan's voice broke through the quiet.
"Toviro."
Toviro looked up.
Aryan's expression was steady and direct. "Where is he now?"
Toviro answered honestly. "He left earlier this morning. I don't know where he went."
Aryan nodded once, his jaw tightening slightly.
"Then we need to find him."
The wind moved across the empty lot as the three of them stood there, each carrying the same unspoken thought.
Whatever was happening to Mayo, it was getting worse.
And they were running out of time to reach him.