Black smoke curled from the remains of a shattered marketplace. Fires danced on the edge of broken stalls. Devourers slithered from the ground like shadows cast in reverse, their tendrils curling toward anything warm, anything human.
Kael stepped into the chaos without hesitation.
His movements were fast. Clean. Calculated.
A tendril lashed out toward a child frozen in place—Kael caught it mid-strike and yanked hard, snapping the limb backward into the Devourer's core. Another swiped at a cornered couple; he drove forward, markings glowing faintly, and split it in half with a burst of spirit energy from his palm.
He didn't blink.
Didn't flinch.
He just…acted.
---
A moment of stillness followed. The dust settled. The Devourers pulled back.
The people he had saved—at least a dozen—stared at him from across the cracked pavement.
Kael straightened, hands still glowing faintly. He expected nothing. But even that fell short.
A man grabbed his daughter and took a step back.
A woman covered her mouth in horror.
Whispers.
"He's one of them."
"No—he saved us, didn't he?"
"You saw what came off his hand…"
"That's not normal. That's not human."
Kael looked at them.
They looked back like he was the next monster.
Then, like a wave, they scattered—running in different directions. No thank you. No glance back. Just fear.
He stood there in silence, surrounded by the remains of enemies he had defeated, alone again.
He turned his head slightly, processing the pattern.
Threat neutralized. Civilians rejected proximity. Probability of future interactions: low.
He kept walking.
---
Elsewhere – Aria vs. The Agents
Back at the agent vehicle, things were… less graceful.
"I said I'm not going anywhere until I know where Kael is!" Aria snapped, arms locked in defiance.
"You're endangering the mission," one agent groaned.
Another muttered, "This is getting ridiculous."
The argument had devolved into chaos. One agent tried to grab her wrist—she twisted, elbowed him lightly in the ribs, then ducked behind him to steal his comm.
"What is she doing?!"
Another tried to open the vehicle door to assist—Aria slammed it shut with her foot and locked it.
One agent tripped over the first.
Another hit his head on the doorframe trying to duck.
Somehow, with absolutely no plan and while outnumbered, Aria managed to put them on the defensive.
"Next one who touches me is getting thrown into the trunk," she warned, holding a can of pepper spray she'd fished from her bag.
They hesitated.
---
Then the comms crackled.
> > "—This is Command. Update on Kael: New directive. All agents are to stand down immediately."
The agents froze.
> > "Repeat: Do not engage Kael. Do not detain. He is to be protected and observed. Do not lose sight of him."
A pause.
> > "If he disappears again… it's on you."
A few of the agents exchanged pale looks.
"…He's gone, isn't he," one whispered.
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"Oops."