Intelligence reports surfaced quietly.
The Cult had secured a fragment.
Not of the Hunger.
But of residual distortion energy trapped during the division event.
They believed they could stimulate controlled expansion without catastrophic growth.
Kaito felt the fragment activate before any sensor confirmed it.
A faint echo.
Distant.
Hungry.
Silver Eyes stiffened.
"It remembers."
Kaito turned toward the signal source.
Deep desert.
Underground.
Hidden.
And dangerously close to a natural tectonic convergence line.