The morning did not come.
The darkness of the Descent always smothered the coming day—only at times, a slight thinning of blackness was felt.
I sensed the presence of BLACK LOTUS even before the first words were uttered. Things moved differently. The way of walking turned to one with a goal. The atmosphere became as it is before a fight—silent, attentive, ready.
Akino was in a position where he was the center of attention.
He did not summon us. We came together by the fact that to be in another place was uncomfortable.
From the broken rail above us, a Watcher slowly came down, metal grinding against stone. No one gave an answer. No one was in panic. No one was shouting.
Akino moved in the direction of the Watcher.
He did it in one motion.
Before the Watcher could even utter its sound, it was already severed into parts.
No victory celebration took place thereafter.
That was the moment I recognized what his position was.
Next, the Dragon moved not to the front but to the side. He was looking at Akino when he spoke.
"It is not strength that keeps us alive," he said. "It is our ability to hold ourselves together."
While he was talking, his eyes kept shifting—heights of angles were being counted, distances were being measured, and our formation was already being adjusted without it being spoken. When someone changed position wrongly, he did not reprimand.
He just went to the place where they were supposed to be.
They went with him.
That was the power he had.
Taro did not delay till he was told what to do. He was stepping automatically into the place between the rest of us and the open path before us, shoulders leveled, wide-stanced.
A barricade.
Sasha was around him like a knife ready for use. Her fingers were moving and there was a flicker of fire on her knuckles whenever something moved too quickly.
She was not protecting.
She was anticipating.
Chiemi was a little behind them, her hands relaxed, her breathing regular. When Sasha's fire shot up too much, Chiemi's hand was on her wrist—softly, reassuringly.
The fire calmed down.
To rely on another was not being weak.
It was having power over the situation.
The Dragon's eyes connected with Rei and me.
"You are the ones to move first," he stated. Not a request.
Rei looked at me. I nodded.
We moved ahead quietly and quickly. My shadow was stretching along with me and touching the walls, corners, ceilings—learning it. Making maps.
The group behind us was perfectly spaced.
The leader was in the center.
The captain was observing.
The frontline was guarding.
The support was protected.
Like a machine.
Rei said in a whisper, "They are ... very good."
"They need to be," I said in response. "This place devours errors."
A noise was heard from the left—a skittering creature, quick and low.
Taro moved instantly and intercepted the sound, keeping his eyes front. Sasha jumped over him at the same time, directing the fire down like a judge.
It was too much.
Chiemi came there right away and held Sasha steady before the recoil completely drained her.
There were no words spoken.
The roles did not require the help of language.
We went back to Akino.
Then the system rang—softly and contentedly.
[GROUP STRUCTURE CONFIRMED]
Nobody laughed.
They were not required to.
This was exactly what the Descent wanted.
Discipline.
Efficiency.
Reliability.
Rei took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "It's like a prison."
I could see Akino's image very slightly in my shadow.
"All structures are," I answered.
She gave me a look of uncertainty. "Then why are you not disturbed?"
Because cages are double-edged.
Because the leaders are the ones who can see.
And because from the bottom—
from the silent paths, the hidden angles, the areas no one pays attention to—
You get to see how everything is interlinked.
And how it can easily fall apart.
BLACK LOTUS was convinced that it had discovered its form.
I was already picturing the fissures.