The man broke.
Not under force.
Under certainty.
---
"He watches before he moves," he said.
---
Damian didn't interrupt.
---
"He doesn't react to threats. He reacts to outcomes."
---
A pause.
---
"And if the outcome is already decided—"
---
"He removes everything else."
---
Silence.
---
Damian's voice came low.
---
"Why tell me this?"
---
The man looked at him.
---
"Because you're not part of it."
---
A beat.
---
"You're the delay."
---
The words landed hard.
---
Damian went still.
---
"Explain."
---
The man smiled faintly.
---
"You weren't supposed to matter."
---
The same sentence.
Different voice.
Same truth.
---
Silence filled the room.
---
Then—
Damian understood.
---
Not everything.
---
But enough.
---
He wasn't just late.
---
He had always been—
Irrelevant to the design.
---
And that—
Was worse than failure.