Morning came without rest or relief.Kael sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the faint crack running down his apartment wall. The pendant lay hidden beneath his shirt, cool against his skin. For the first time since everything began, the city was quiet. Too quiet unusual no whispers no pressure.No threads tugging at his awareness.That alone unsettled him more than whispers ever could.This was my world, Kael thought.
Yesterday.
A sharp knock echoed through the apartment. Kael froze.
Not the door this time.
The wall.
Three quick knocks—deliberate, impatient. He turned slowly.
"Kael," a familiar voice called. "You in there?"
Relief hit him instantly.
"Marcus?" Kael rushed forward, unlocking the door.
Marcus stood in the hallway, hands in his jacket pockets, brows furrowed. He was older by a few years, dark circles under his eyes, the kind of guy who noticed things but didn't ask too many questions.
"You didn't show up last night," Marcus said. "And your phone's been dead."Kael forced a smile. "Yeah. Rough night."
Marcus stepped inside—and stiffened.
Kael felt it the moment it happened.
The threads shifted.
Not violently.
Not aggressively.
But wrong.
Marcus rubbed the back of his neck. "Why does it feel like the air's heavier in here?"
Kael's heart sank.
No. No, no—
"Marcus," he said quickly, "maybe you should—"
Too late.
A sharp pulse rippled through the apartment.
The pendant reacted.
Marcus staggered, gripping the wall. "What the hell—"
Kael moved instantly, clamping his hand over the pendant beneath his shirt, forcing his focus inward.
Control.
Contain.The pressure receded—but not before damage was done.
Marcus slid down the wall, breathing hard, eyes unfocused.
Kael dropped beside him. "Hey—hey, look at me. You okay?"
Marcus blinked slowly. "I just… felt dizzy. Like I stepped somewhere I shouldn't have."
Fear crawled up Kael's spine.
Selene's words echoed in his mind.
Being noticed attracts attention. Attention spreads.
Marcus looked at him, confused. "Kael… what did you get yourself into?"
Kael didn't answer.
He couldn't.
A knock came from the hallway.
Not Marcus's knock.
This one was slow. Heavy.
Kael felt it through the threads.
Someone was standing outside his apartment.
Someone aware.
Kael's breath hitched. He gently guided the threads around Marcus, dulling his perception, pushing him toward unconsciousness. Marcus slumped fully this time, breathing evenly.
"I'm sorry," Kael whispered.
The knock came again.
"Kael," a voice called calmly from the other side of the door. "You're causing disturbances."
Not Selene.
Male. Cold. Precise.
Kael stood, every instinct screaming at him to run—but where?
"You have one minute," the voice continued. "After that, I document this location as compromised."
Document.
That word chilled him.
Kael moved fast. He grabbed a jacket, slipped the pendant deeper beneath his clothes, and opened the window. The fire escape rattled softly as he climbed out, heart pounding.
As his feet hit the metal stairs, he heard the apartment door unlock.
Not forced.
Unlocked.
The man stepped inside as if he belonged there.
Kael didn't look back.
He descended into the city, blending into the crowd just as sirens wailed somewhere far behind him.
From the doorway of the apartment, a man in a black coat surveyed the space calmly. He glanced at Marcus, then at the faint residual threads clinging to the walls.
"Civilian exposure," he murmured.
He tapped a device at his wrist.
"Subject Kael. Status updated. Artifact confirmed dangerous."
Outside, Kael pushed through the streets, chest burning.
His apartment was gone.
His safety was gone.
His normal life—
Gone.
The city had bitten back at him like it said it would.
And this time, it drew blood.