The tension in the guild did not fade after the device cracked.
If anything, it settled into something quieter and more focused, like a shift that people noticed but chose not to acknowledge directly. Conversations resumed, but they carried a different weight, and more than a few eyes continued to drift back toward Kael.
He leaned slightly against the counter, exhaling under his breath. "I feel like I did something wrong."
"You did something unexpected," Lyra replied.
"That doesn't sound better."
"It isn't."
Kael glanced across the room, following the direction of several lingering stares. That was when he noticed them.
They stood apart from the rest, not because they demanded space, but because space naturally formed around them. No one crowded their area, and no one interrupted them. Even the movement of the room seemed to shift slightly to accommodate their presence.
"…Those are the ones you meant earlier, aren't they?" Kael asked quietly.
"Yes."
"Top rank?"
"Yes."
Kael studied them more carefully now.
There was nothing outwardly dramatic about them. No exaggerated armor or visible display of power. If anything, they looked calm—almost unremarkable at first glance.
But the longer he looked, the more obvious the difference became.
They weren't reacting to the environment.
The environment reacted to them.
One of them stepped forward.
The movement was subtle, but it carried enough weight to draw attention without effort.
He approached without hesitation, his expression calm and unreadable.
"…You're the anomaly," he said.
Kael blinked, caught off guard by the directness. "That's one way to start a conversation."
The man didn't react to the comment.
"What's your name?" Kael asked.
"Darius."
"Kael."
Darius nodded once, as though confirming something.
"You're unstable."
Kael exhaled slowly. "I feel like people could phrase that better."
"You forced output beyond your classification."
"I didn't plan that."
"That's the problem."
Silence settled briefly between them.
Kael held his gaze, not out of confidence, but because looking away felt worse.
"…Yeah," he said quietly. "I figured that part out."
Darius stepped slightly closer, his presence calm but undeniable.
"Uncontrolled power gets people killed," he said.
Kael didn't respond immediately.
He didn't need to.
He already understood.
Behind Darius, his contracted human shifted slightly.
Kael noticed that movement more than anything else.
The control was different.
It wasn't forced.
It wasn't tense.
It was natural.
Darius turned away as easily as he had approached.
"We'll see how long you last," he said.
Then he walked off without waiting for a response.
Kael watched him go, his expression tightening slightly.
"…I think I preferred the other guy," he muttered.
Lyra didn't respond right away.
Then she said, "He was not wrong."
Kael let out a quiet breath.
"I know."
That was what made it worse.