They turned the kitchen wall into a command center.
Corkboard scavenged from a dumpster, a spool of string, and index cards covered in Adrian's handwriting.
"DODC shift change on 9th at six and two," Sophia said, tacking a red card to the board. "A diner regular is dating a Guardsman. The guy can't keep his mouth shut, which is great for us, terrible for national security."
"Noted." Adrian pinned a blue card two inches away. "Spirit activity expanded two blocks north. How's the manhole cover?"
"Dormant," she said. "And repeating that word four times hasn't made me feel better."
Ten days since the invasion. Ten days since memories of another life crashed into his brain. He wasn't just surviving anymore—he had a map, patrol routes, and structure.
That evening, Adrian stepped out without his blindfold for the first time in a week. His Six Eyes had finally adjusted. The overwhelming flood of sensory raw data had smoothed into razor-sharp clarity.
Guided by Sophia's intel, he patrolled the perimeter. He avoided DODC routes, steered clear of the dormant entity's zone, and hunted low-tier spirits.
Three stragglers crossed his path. Three clean, clinical purges.
[ +9 EXP ]
[ +11 EXP ]
[ +14 EXP ]
[ CURRENT PROGRESS TO LEVEL 4: 38% ]
Slow and steady.
Three blocks from home, a abandoned newsstand caught his eye. Beneath the main headline sat a smaller sub-header:
"UNUSUAL INCIDENTS" CONTINUE NEAR HAZARD ZONE; FEDERAL SOURCES CONFIRM INVESTIGATION INTO "BLUE-EYED VIGILANTE."
Adrian stared at the print. Well. So much for staying under the radar. He folded the paper and slipped it under his arm.
When he walked into the apartment, he handed the paper to Sophia.
She read it, her face tightening. "'Blue-Eyed Vigilante'? Really? Adrian, this isn't just a rumor anymore. Feds, reporters, civilians with cameras—everyone is going to start looking for you."
"I don't have a plan for the press yet."
"Then we build one," Sophia said, her voice firming up. "Together. Because the last time you planned solo, you almost got hauled off in a black van."
"That happened once."
"Once was enough, Hayes."
Far above the city, in Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One observed her astral charts. A foreign thread of energy flickered against the tapestry of reality—growing slowly, deliberately.
"An anomaly learning patience," she murmured. "That is either very good, or very concerning."
Deep beneath the city streets, the dormant entity stirred in its furnace-hot sleep, waiting for the right moment to wake.
The Awakening was over.
The Blue-Eyed Vigilante had only just begun.