The facility adjusted overnight.
Not visibly.
Not to the untrained eye.
But Kael noticed.
"…More guards."
He walked down the hallway at a steady pace, hands in his pockets, expression calm. But his senses—now sharper than ever—picked up everything.
Footsteps behind reinforced doors.Mana signatures hidden beneath layers of suppression.Eyes watching from places that should've been empty.
"…And stronger ones too."
They weren't trying to hide it anymore.
Good.
Because neither was he.
The moment Kael entered the main corridor—
Everything paused.
Not physically.
But mentally.
Hunters stopped talking.Staff avoided eye contact.Even the air felt… cautious.
"…Word spreads fast."
Of course it did.
An unregistered anomaly.System rejection.Unknown power.
Kael smiled faintly.
"…I'd be curious too."
"Kael."
A voice called out.
He didn't need to turn.
"…You're starting to show up everywhere."
Han Seojun approached from the opposite side.
This time—
He was alone.
"…We need to talk."
Kael glanced at him briefly.
"…You always do."
They walked side by side.
Not as allies.
Not as enemies.
Something in between.
"…You broke the first rule."
Han Seojun said calmly.
Kael didn't react.
"…Did I?"
"…Unauthorized movement. Restricted zone."
A pause.
"…B13."
Kael exhaled softly.
"…Yeah."
Silence.
"…And?"
Han Seojun stopped walking.
Kael took one more step—
Then stopped as well.
"…We're not punishing you."
That was unexpected.
Kael turned slightly.
"…No?"
"…No."
A pause.
"…We're adjusting the rules."
That made Kael smile.
"…Now that sounds interesting."
Han Seojun met his gaze.
"…Second rule."
The air shifted slightly.
"…If something in this facility reacts to you—"
A pause.
"…You report it immediately."
Silence.
Kael stared at him.
"…You already know."
"…We need confirmation."
Kael chuckled.
"…You don't trust your own sensors?"
"…Not with you involved."
Fair.
Kael leaned slightly against the wall.
"…There's something down there."
No point hiding it now.
"…It talks."
Han Seojun's expression didn't change.
But his eyes—
Sharpened.
"…What did it say?"
Kael paused.
Just for a moment.
"…It wants to be free."
Silence.
"…Of course it does."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"…You don't seem surprised."
"…Anything sealed that deep…"
A pause.
"…Shouldn't exist in the first place."
Kael smiled faintly.
"…Funny."
"…What?"
"…It said the same thing about me."
That—
Hit differently.
Han Seojun didn't respond immediately.
Because that comparison—
Wasn't comfortable.
"…Did it try to influence you?"
Kael thought about it.
The voice.The tone.The pressure.
"…No."
A pause.
"…It tested me."
"…Tested?"
"…Told me to let it out."
Silence.
"…And?"
Kael looked at him.
"…I said no."
A breath escaped from somewhere behind them.
Unnoticed until now.
Because that answer—
Meant everything.
Han Seojun nodded once.
"…Good."
Kael smirked slightly.
"…You sound relieved."
"…I am."
Honest again.
"…Because if you had said yes—"
Kael cut him off.
"…You wouldn't be able to stop me."
Silence.
Neither of them denied it.
Later—
Kael stood alone in a training chamber.
Large.
Reinforced.
Empty.
"…So this is where they want to test me."
The door sealed behind him.
Heavy locks engaging instantly.
Across the room—
A mechanical voice echoed.
"Begin evaluation."
Kael rolled his shoulders slightly.
"…Finally."
The ground shifted.
Panels opened.
Weapons emerged.
Turrets.
Energy cannons.
Automated constructs.
"…Testing my limits?"
Kael smiled.
"…Go ahead."
The first attack came instantly.
A beam of condensed mana—
Fired directly at him.
Kael didn't move.
The beam struck—
And vanished.
Not blocked.
Not deflected.
Erased.
"…Too weak."
The system reacted.
More weapons activated.
Faster.
Stronger.
Dozens of attacks filled the room.
Kael stepped forward.
And the shadows moved.
Not wildly.
Not violently.
Precisely.
They consumed everything.
Every beam.Every projectile.Every trace of energy—
Gone.
The system began to glitch.
"Error—output ineffective—recalculating—"
Kael raised his hand slightly.
"…My turn."
The shadows gathered.
Condensed.
For the first time—
He didn't hold back.
Not fully.
But enough.
The air collapsed inward.
A single point—
Of absolute darkness.
Then—
Release.
BOOM.
The entire chamber shook.
Systems failed.
Lights shattered.
Walls cracked.
Outside—
Alarms blared.
Inside—
Silence.
The smoke cleared slowly.
Kael stood at the center.
Unharmed.
Everything else—
Was gone.
Completely.
The system voice returned.
Broken.
Distorted.
"Evaluation… inconclusive…"
Kael exhaled softly.
"…Thought so."
In the observation room—
No one spoke.
Because what they had just witnessed—
Wasn't power.
It was something else.
Something they couldn't measure.
Couldn't define.
Couldn't stop.
Yoo Sera stared at the screen.
Eyes steady.
Mind racing.
"…He's not evolving."
A pause.
"…He's remembering."
Silence.
Because if that was true—
Then Kael wasn't getting stronger.
He was returning—
To something he had always been.
And that—
Was far more terrifying.