The docks of Glora were quiet for a city that never slept. Mist rolled off the water in low curls, curling around crates, pillars, and the occasional flickering lamp. Shadows stretched long and sharp across the wooden planks, hiding shapes that moved just beyond the edge of sight.
Waza's boots made no sound as he stepped lightly, every sense alert. His pulse synced with the Vein, the faint hum beneath his skin guiding him, whispering warnings, predictions. He had learned to trust it, though it unsettled him the more it pulsed, the more he realized he didn't fully understand it.
Selene walked beside him, confident and composed, yet her hand brushed his arm every so often a reminder that, despite his isolation, someone watched his back. "Quiet tonight," she murmured, eyes scanning. "Too quiet. That's never good."
Waza didn't reply. He was counting, noting gestures, listening to the subtle clicks and movements that others would miss. Every shadow had a rhythm. Every figure had intention.
From the far edge of the docks, a group of figures emerged from the mist. Masks, black clothing, subtle glints of metal. Weapons were drawn, but their stance was measured, controlled. Not street gang recklessness. Calculated. Experienced. Dangerous.
Waza's fingers twitched. Observation first. Understanding second. Action later.
A faint laugh broke the stillness, soft and deliberate, echoing across the water. One of the masked figures tilted its head, searching. Waza's stomach tightened. That laugh was a marker a signature. Someone was testing them.
Selene's eyes narrowed. "They've got a leader… someone familiar with the Vein. You feel that?"
The hum in Waza's veins surged. He did feel it. The stranger's presence wasn't random. This wasn't a gang trying to scare them. This was a probe a deliberate measurement of his reaction, his instincts, his skill.
The group parted. From the mist stepped a single figure, unmasked, tall, with eyes that glinted in the moonlight like shards of glass. Every movement was deliberate, measured. Recognition flickered across Waza's mind he didn't know them yet, but somehow, they knew him.
"You're the one the city whispers about," the stranger said, voice low, smooth, almost hypnotic. "The silent observer."
Waza stayed perfectly still. The Vein thrummed beneath his skin, flaring subtly in response to the stranger. The docks, the water, the mist all seemed to pulse with tension.
Selene's hand tightened on his arm. "He's not just anyone," she said. "Not yet."
The stranger's smile widened faintly, almost amused. "And yet, you don't run. Curious."
Waza's eyes flicked across the shadows. The group behind the stranger didn't move, waiting for his response. He spoke, calm, steady, measured: "I watch first. I understand second. You…?"
The stranger tilted their head, as if considering the answer. "I am the one who makes the rules here… at least tonight."
A ripple of wind blew across the docks. The Vein pulsed faster. Waza realized the stranger's presence was more than just physical it resonated, a dangerous energy that hinted at mastery over the same power he was only beginning to understand.
Selene leaned closer, her voice barely a whisper: "Ready to see how deep Glora really goes?"
Waza swallowed, heart steady but nerves alert. "Always."
The stranger's grin widened, and then, without warning, they lunged forward not with a weapon, but with raw, focused energy. The air seemed to vibrate as Waza instinctively stepped back, Vein guiding his movements. Shadows shifted around him, the mist twisting like living smoke.
He felt a strange pull not fear, but recognition. A connection, subtle and unnerving. The stranger stopped a few feet away, studying him as Waza mirrored every motion, silent, calculating, waiting.
"You're stronger than I expected," the stranger said, voice low. "But this is just the beginning. You've been hiding in the shadows for too long, Waza."
The name felt heavy on his ears. Waza his old identity. Not Azen, not anyone else. "I observe," he said quietly. "I learn. That's all."
The stranger's eyes glimmered. "Observation is safe. Learning… is dangerous. You're about to find out how dangerous."
A subtle shift in the Vein surged through Waza, warning him testing him. He understood now: this encounter was not just a challenge. It was an awakening.
Selene stepped forward, stance defensive. "We do this together," she said, voice firm.
Waza nodded, breath steady. Observation had brought him here. Survival would take more. And for the first time, he realized the Vein wasn't just a tool it was a part of him, and tonight, it demanded he respond.
The stranger's grin widened once more. "Let's see how far the silent observer can go… when the city itself is watching."
The docks held their breath. The mist swirled. The Vein pulsed. And Waza, the quiet, careful observer, took his first step into the storm that would define Glora for years to come.