The host's voice turned cautious. "An uncontrolled beast?"
"Yes" the Ruler said. "It reached the lower bridges. It began burning through the supports. If it had reached the inner city, it would have turned Ukai into splinters and bodies."
Raizen's chest tightened as his mind assembled an image - a beast tearing through living wood, panic spreading along bridges, people trapped between height and death.
The Ruler's voice stayed steady.
"And Alan was the one who took it down."
The host's breath came out in a harsh exhale. "That was never reported."
"No" the Ruler said. "Because we couldn't afford panic. Because we couldn't afford to advertise weakness. Because we couldn't afford to tell the world that Ukai's beasts can slip their leashes."
Raizen frowned.
So that was what the burn meant. Not an accident. A hidden battle.
"After he killed it" the Ruler continued, "he didn't leave."
The host's voice tightened. "He stayed."
