Elyon did not run.
The tunnel yawned open in front of him—dark, deep, unknown. Everything in his body screamed to move, to disappear into it and never look back.
But he looked at the stranger instead.
The tired eyes.
The shaking hand.
The way they stood slightly in front of him without thinking.
Someone who had already paid a price.
"I'm not leaving you," Elyon said.
The stranger stared at him. "That's a mistake."
"Probably," Elyon replied. "But I'm done making easy ones."
The band burned.
—CHOICE LOGGED: PROXIMITY—
The footsteps grew louder. Heavy. Measured. Not rushed.
Hunters.
The stranger swore under their breath. "Idiot," they muttered. Then, louder: "Fine. If you're staying, listen carefully."
They pulled Elyon to the side, behind a thick support pillar. "They track reactions," the stranger whispered. "Fear. Power use. Sudden movement."
Elyon nodded. "So what do we do?"
"We do nothing," the stranger said. "As much as possible."
The footsteps stopped.
Silence pressed in, thick and sharp.
Elyon held his breath.
A shape appeared at the far end of the tunnel. Tall. Thin. Wrapped in dark armor that didn't reflect light properly. Its head turned slowly, like it was tasting the air.
Elyon felt it then.
Not eyes.
Attention.
His knees shook.
Don't react, he told himself. Don't choose fast.
The stranger's mechanical hand clicked softly. They winced and stilled it with their other hand.
Too late.
The hunter's head snapped toward them.
"Contact," it said in a flat voice. Not loud. Not angry. Just certain.
Elyon's chest tightened.
The hunter raised one arm.
The air pulled inward.
Elyon stepped forward.
"Stop," he said.
The word wasn't loud.
But the pull hesitated.
The hunter turned fully toward him. "You are the anomaly."
"I'm a person," Elyon replied. His voice shook, but he kept going. "You don't get to decide what I am."
The band pulsed wildly.
—CONFLICT STATE: ACTIVE—
The pressure increased. Elyon felt the world bend again, the edge of something breaking.
He remembered Kael's words.
You win by lasting.
He didn't push.
He didn't fight.
He stood.
The pressure slid around him, like water around stone.
The hunter paused.
"Response pattern… unexpected," it said.
Behind Elyon, the stranger stared in shock.
Elyon took another step forward. Pain lanced through his head, but he stayed upright.
"I'm not running," he said. "And I'm not giving you what you want."
The hunter's arm lowered slightly.
"Curious," it said.
That single word terrified Elyon more than any threat.
Another shape moved in the darkness behind the hunter.
Then another.
More were coming.
The stranger grabbed Elyon's arm. "This is where we die," they whispered.
"No," Elyon said quietly. "This is where we delay."
He looked at the hunter. "You want data? Watch this."
He closed his eyes.
And did nothing.
No force.
No adjustment.
No reaction.
The band screamed.
—SYSTEM STRAIN: CRITICAL—
The lights flickered violently. The low hum of the place deepened, angry now, unstable.
The hunter stepped back.
"Environment destabilizing," it said.
The floor cracked between them.
A deep sound rolled through the tunnels—old, massive, awake.
The stranger gasped. "What did you do?"
Elyon opened his eyes, sweat pouring down his face. "I stopped helping it."
The tunnel shook harder. Dust rained from above. The hunters retreated, movements sharp and precise.
"Fallback," one said. "Zone compromised."
They vanished into the dark.
Silence returned—shaking, broken, but real.
Elyon collapsed to his knees.
The band dimmed suddenly.
—CHOICE LOGGED: REFUSAL—
The stranger helped him up, staring at him like they were seeing a ghost.
"You didn't fight," they said. "You didn't run."
Elyon breathed slowly. "I stayed."
The stranger nodded once. "No one ever does."
Far above them, the search grid shifted.
Targets recalculated.
Tolerance narrowed again.
Elyon leaned against the wall, exhausted.
"What's your name?" he asked.
The stranger hesitated.
"Rin," they said finally.
Elyon nodded. "I'm Elyon."
Rin looked at his wrist, then at his eyes. "You know they'll come back."
Elyon looked into the dark tunnel where the hunters had been.
"I know," he said.
The band pulsed once more.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Thinking.
And somewhere deep below the city, something old adjusted its expectations.
Because Elyon had done something rare.
He had stayed.
And that made him dangerous in a way the system did not fully understand.