The attack came at night.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
Precise.
Andres felt it before he saw it—a disturbance in rhythm. A break in pattern. Something his Mind's Eye caught before his senses did.
"…We have company," he said quietly.
Kael was already moving.
"Front or back?"
"…Neither."
A pause.
"…Inside."
That changed everything.
The door hadn't opened.
The windows were untouched.
Yet someone was already within.
A shadow shifted near the storage area.
Silent.
Controlled.
Professional.
"…They're not here to steal," Andres murmured.
"…They're here to test."
The figure moved—
Fast.
A blade flashed in the dim light, aimed not to kill—but to gauge reaction.
Kael intercepted instantly, steel clashing with steel.
The sound rang sharp.
But Andres didn't move toward the fight.
He stepped back.
Closed his eyes.
And activated—
Spatial Domain Storage.
The space around him shifted—not visibly, but structurally.
Controlled.
Defined.
The attacker hesitated.
Just for a second.
That was enough.
Because Andres had already seen the outcome.
"…Left side. Opening in three seconds," he said calmly.
Kael adjusted without question.
Three seconds later—
The attacker stepped exactly where Andres predicted.
And Kael struck.
The blade stopped just short of the figure's throat.
Silence fell.
The shadow exhaled slowly.
"…Impressive."
Andres opened his eyes.
"…You weren't sent to kill us."
The figure tilted their head slightly.
"…No."
A pause.
"…Just to see if you were worth escalating."
Andres didn't respond.
Because the answer—
Had already been decided.