The silence did not feel safe.
Elyon sat on the cold floor, back against the wall, listening to his own breathing. Each breath felt louder than it should be. The air in the hidden room was thick and still, like it had not been used in a long time.
The wrist band pulsed once.
Slow. Calm.
Elyon hated that calm.
He opened his eyes and looked at his hands. They were shaking again. Not from fear alone—but from something deeper. Something inside him wanted to move, to act, to adjust the world around him.
He clenched his fists.
"No," he whispered. "I don't want this."
Kael stood near the sealed door, checking a small device on his wrist. Its screen showed lines, numbers, and warning signs Elyon didn't understand.
"They'll try again," Kael said.
"When?" Elyon asked.
Kael didn't look up. "Soon. Or later. It depends on you."
Elyon laughed quietly. "Everything depends on me now, doesn't it?"
Kael finally turned to face him. "Yes."
That answer landed heavy.
Elyon pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt weak, but he forced them to hold. "You said they hunt the one who answers," he said. "What does that mean?"
Kael hesitated.
Elyon noticed.
"That's not a good sign," Elyon said.
Kael exhaled slowly. "It means the system doesn't wake up on its own. It waits."
"Waits for what?"
"For someone desperate enough to listen."
Elyon's jaw tightened. "I didn't listen. I was attacked."
Kael nodded. "And in that moment, you chose survival."
The word echoed in Elyon's head.
Chose.
He looked away. "So if I hadn't picked up the coin…?"
"Someone else would have," Kael said. "Eventually."
That didn't make Elyon feel better.
The room lights flickered briefly. Not a power failure—something else. Elyon felt it immediately, a small pull in his chest.
—ENVIRONMENTAL SHIFT: MINOR—
"Stop watching me," Elyon said through clenched teeth.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "It's getting closer, isn't it?"
Elyon nodded. "Clearer. Louder."
Kael walked toward him. "Then we don't have much time."
"For what?"
"To teach you one thing," Kael said. "How not to react."
Elyon frowned. "That doesn't make sense."
"It does," Kael replied. "Every time you panic, the system responds. Every time you act without thinking, it records it."
Elyon swallowed. "Records it for who?"
Kael didn't answer.
Instead, he picked up a small metal object from a table and tossed it toward Elyon.
Elyon flinched.
The object stopped mid-air.
Frozen.
Elyon stared at it, horror spreading across his face.
"I didn't—" he started.
Kael raised his hand. "Breathe."
Elyon's chest felt tight. The object trembled, still suspended.
"Focus on letting it fall," Kael said. "Not pushing it. Not holding it. Just… let go."
"I don't know how!"
"Yes, you do," Kael said firmly. "You let go every day. Of food. Of safety. Of hope."
The words cut deep.
Elyon closed his eyes.
He thought of the alley. The hunger. The fear. How tired he was of fighting the world.
I don't care, he thought.
Just fall.
The object dropped and hit the floor with a soft clang.
Elyon's knees almost gave out.
He opened his eyes slowly. "I did that."
Kael nodded. "You chose restraint."
Elyon let out a shaky breath. "That felt worse than using it."
Kael's voice was quiet. "It always does."
Before Elyon could respond, pain shot through his wrist. He cried out and grabbed his arm as the band glowed brighter than ever.
—EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE—
—CHOICE PRESSURE: CRITICAL—
The walls vibrated.
Distant metal groaned.
Kael swore under his breath. "They forced a deeper scan."
Elyon's vision blurred. He saw shapes overlap—two versions of the room slightly out of place, like reality couldn't decide where to sit.
"What do I do?" Elyon shouted.
Kael grabbed his shoulders. "Listen carefully. Whatever happens next—"
The floor cracked.
A line split across the concrete, glowing faintly red.
"—you must decide fast," Kael finished.
The crack widened.
Something on the other side pushed back.
Elyon felt the pull again. Stronger. Demanding.
Not asking.
—OVERRIDE OPPORTUNITY DETECTED—
Elyon screamed, not in pain, but in fear.
Kael stepped back, weapon raised. "If you choose power now," Kael said, voice tight, "you won't get it back."
The crack burst open.
Light flooded the room.
Elyon stood at the center of it, shaking, trapped between instinct and control.
Between survival and consequence.
And for the first time since the alley,
the choice was not forced.
It was his.
The world waited.