Elyon couldn't breathe.
The shadow stood in front of him, not fully real, not fully gone. The air around it bent inward, like the world was afraid to touch it.
His wrist burned.
Not pain—warning.
"You're not real," Elyon said, forcing the words out.
The shadow did not move, but its presence grew heavier.
"Reality is flexible," it replied calmly. "You proved that."
Elyon pushed himself backward until his shoulders hit the cold wall of the shelter. His heart beat so hard he thought it might tear free.
"What do you want from me?" he asked.
"To observe," the voice said. "To measure. To decide."
"Decide what?"
"Whether you are a failure."
The words landed quietly—but they crushed him.
"I didn't break anything on purpose," Elyon said. "I tried to stop it."
"That is why you are interesting," the shadow replied. "Most subjects do not resist."
Subjects.
Elyon clenched his teeth. "I'm not your test."
The shadow shifted slightly, like a shape struggling to stay in place.
"You already are."
The band flared bright blue.
—OBSERVER LINK: ACTIVE—
—DATA STREAM OPEN—
Elyon screamed and grabbed his wrist. His vision split into layers. He saw the shelter, the street above, the moving traffic—and something else beneath it all. Lines. Paths. Weak points.
Too much.
"Get out of my head!" he shouted.
The shadow stepped closer. The temperature dropped.
"You are not ready," it said. "But you will be."
A loud crack echoed nearby.
Then another.
Gunfire.
The shadow froze.
Elyon felt the pressure ease slightly.
The shadow pulled back. "This interaction is paused."
"Wait—" Elyon said.
The shadow faded, dissolving into the air like smoke pulled apart by wind.
The band dimmed.
Silence rushed in.
Elyon collapsed forward, hands on the ground, gasping.
"Elyon!"
Kael's voice.
Strong. Real.
Elyon looked up as Kael slid into the shelter, weapon raised. He scanned the area quickly.
"Are you hurt?" Kael asked.
Elyon shook his head. "Not… physically."
Kael noticed the burn marks on the wall. His jaw tightened. "They made contact."
"Yes," Elyon said quietly. "It talked."
Kael cursed under his breath. "That's bad."
"You think?" Elyon snapped.
Kael crouched in front of him. "What did it say?"
"That I'm a mistake," Elyon replied. "And they decide whether I'm a failure."
Kael didn't argue.
That scared Elyon more than anything else.
"We need to move," Kael said. "Now. The observers don't act alone."
As if to prove his point, drones hummed in the distance. Louder than before. More of them.
Elyon stood up, legs weak. "They're not just watching anymore."
"No," Kael agreed. "They're closing the net."
They moved fast through back streets and broken walkways. Kael led. Elyon followed, trying not to think about the way the world felt clearer now—too clear.
He could sense patrol paths. Drone blind spots. Weak walls.
It scared him how easy it felt.
"Don't lean into it," Kael warned, noticing Elyon slow down. "Every time you use it, they learn."
"I'm not using it," Elyon said.
Kael looked back. "Your body doesn't know the difference yet."
They crossed into an older part of the city, where buildings leaned and lights barely worked. A place no one cared about anymore.
Kael stopped near a sealed elevator shaft.
"This is as far as I can take you," he said.
Elyon stared at him. "What?"
"I can't follow you where this goes," Kael said. "They already know me."
Elyon's chest tightened. "You're leaving me?"
"I'm buying you space," Kael replied. "That's all I've ever done."
He pressed a small device into Elyon's hand. "If things go wrong—really wrong—break this."
"What happens then?"
Kael hesitated. "Something loud."
Elyon didn't like that answer.
Before he could say more, the band pulsed sharply.
—PROXIMITY ALERT—
Kael stepped back. "They're here."
Elyon looked at the dark shaft. "And if I go down there?"
Kael met his eyes. "You'll be choosing to disappear."
Elyon laughed softly. "Seems like that's my thing now."
He turned toward the shaft.
"Elyon," Kael said.
Elyon paused.
"You don't win by being stronger," Kael said. "You win by lasting."
Elyon nodded.
Then he jumped into the darkness.
The elevator shaft swallowed him whole.
Cold air rushed past as he fell, heart racing. He reached out—
And the world shifted.
Not violently.
Carefully.
He landed softly, like the ground had moved to meet him.
Elyon lay there, staring up into the dark.
"I didn't ask for that," he whispered.
The band pulsed once.
Gentle.
—CHOICE LOGGED: EVASION—
Far above, drones filled the sky.
But they did not follow him down.
Not yet.
Deep below the city, where old systems slept and forgotten structures waited, Elyon stood up and took his first step into a place no one was supposed to reach anymore.
And for the first time since the alley—
He was alone.
But he was not unseen.