For a moment, no one spoke. The ruined street lay quiet around them, dust settling where their steps had stopped. Elyra was the first to break the silence.
She turned slightly, eyes shifting toward Noir, her tone calm but curious. "Noir," she asked, "what exactly did you sense?"
Noir didn't answer out loud.
Her voice slipped into their minds instead, steady and focused.
'There is a smell,' she said. 'Strong. Unnatural. It doesn't belong to any monster we've faced so far.'
Elena frowned faintly, hugging her arms a little closer to her body as she listened.
'It lingers,' Noir continued. 'Like something that has been here for a long time. It doesn't feel hostile by itself… but it feels important. Like a trail left on purpose, or carelessly.'
Noel nodded slowly, even though she couldn't see him.
"That matches what I was thinking," he said. "If there's even a chance it's connected to what's happening here, I don't want to ignore it."
