Morning came.
Adrian noticed it only because the light changed.
The sky outside shifted from black to gray, then slowly to a dull, washed-out blue. The city woke up like nothing had happened—cars moving, people talking, life continuing.
Like the night hadn't almost broken reality.
"…That's unsettling," Adrian said.
The third woman, still leaning against the desk, glanced at him. "What is?"
He gestured toward the window. "That everything's normal."
"It always is," she said.
"That doesn't make it better."
"No," she agreed. "It doesn't."
Adrian exhaled slowly and stretched his arm. The soreness was almost gone now. Whatever the bond was doing, it was speeding things up more than he expected.
"…I feel fine," he muttered.
"You're not," the shadowed woman said from the corner.
Adrian glanced at her. "I meant physically."
"That's not the part you should be worried about."
"…Yeah, I figured."
The man had moved closer to the window at some point, scanning the streets below with a focused expression.
"It's spreading," he said.
Adrian frowned. "What is?"
"The disturbance."
Adrian stepped closer. "I don't see anything."
"You're not looking the right way."
"…Then show me."
The man didn't respond directly.
Instead, he stepped aside slightly.
"Focus," he said.
Adrian sighed. "That's becoming a theme."
But he closed his eyes anyway.
He didn't reach outward this time.
Didn't push.
He followed what he had learned.
Control what's yours first.
The bond responded immediately.
Steady.
Clear.
And then—
He extended it.
Not forcefully.
Just enough.
Like opening a door instead of breaking it.
The world shifted.
When Adrian opened his eyes again—
It wasn't the same.
The city looked… layered.
Not visually distorted.
But there was something beneath it.
Subtle.
Faint lines in the air.
Movement that didn't match the physical world.
He blinked. "…Okay. That's new."
The third woman smiled faintly. "You see it now."
"…Yeah," Adrian said quietly.
Down on the street, people moved like normal.
But between them—
There were traces.
Thin distortions.
Like heatwaves in the air.
Small.
Barely noticeable.
But there.
"…That's the leak," he said.
"Yes," the red-eyed woman replied.
Adrian watched as one of the distortions brushed past a passerby.
The man paused slightly.
Looked around.
Then kept walking.
"…They can't see it," Adrian said.
"No," she said.
"But it's affecting them."
"Yes."
Adrian frowned. "That's going to get worse, isn't it?"
No one answered.
He didn't need them to.
"…Yeah," he muttered.
The man stepped closer again. "You need to try something."
Adrian glanced at him. "That sounds like a bad idea."
"It's necessary."
"That doesn't make it better."
The man ignored that. "If you can disrupt the larger distortion, you should be able to affect the smaller ones."
Adrian frowned slightly. "…You want me to fix it?"
"Contain it," he corrected.
Adrian looked back out at the street.
"…From up here?"
"No," the man said.
Adrian turned slowly. "…You're serious."
"Yes."
Adrian let out a short breath. "Right. Of course you are."
The third woman straightened slightly. "It's a good test."
The shadowed woman added, "And low risk compared to last night."
Adrian stared at her. "…That's your definition of low risk?"
"Yes."
"…I need new standards."
The red-eyed woman stepped closer.
"You don't have to eliminate it," she said. "Just interfere with it."
Adrian looked at her. "Like I did with the breach."
"Yes."
"But smaller."
"Yes."
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"…Alright."
He turned toward the door.
"Where are you going?" the third woman asked.
Adrian glanced back. "If I'm doing this, I'm not doing it from a distance."
The man nodded once. "Good."
The shadowed woman didn't move. "Be precise."
"No pressure," Adrian muttered.
The red-eyed woman spoke last.
"Stay in control."
Adrian paused at the doorway.
"…That's the second rule, right?"
"Yes."
He nodded once.
"Got it."
Then he left.
—
The street felt different.
Adrian noticed it the moment he stepped outside.
Not visually.
Not immediately.
But the air felt heavier.
Subtly wrong.
Like something was slightly out of place.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "I can feel it now."
People passed by him without a second glance.
Normal.
Unaware.
But the distortions—
They were clearer now.
Closer.
One drifted near a streetlight.
Another near a parked car.
Small.
Weak.
But real.
Adrian stepped toward the nearest one.
"…Alright," he said quietly.
No one to guide him now.
No one to correct him.
Just him.
And the bond.
He closed his eyes briefly.
Focused.
Didn't force it.
Didn't rush.
The second heartbeat echoed steadily.
Then—
He reached out.
Not physically.
Internally.
Toward the distortion.
He felt it.
Faint.
Unstable.
Different from the breach.
But connected.
"…I see you," he said under his breath.
The distortion flickered slightly.
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"…Now what?"
He remembered what he felt before.
That mismatch.
That point where it didn't belong.
He focused.
Searched.
There—
A slight misalignment.
A gap.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"…Alright."
He reached again.
More precise this time.
And pushed.
Not hard.
Just enough.
The distortion flickered—
Then collapsed.
Gone.
Adrian blinked.
"…That worked."
He looked around.
No one reacted.
No one noticed.
But the space where it had been—
Felt clearer.
Lighter.
"…Okay," he said quietly.
A small smile formed.
"Now that—"
Something moved.
Fast.
Not like the distortions.
Not like the echoes.
Something real.
Adrian's head snapped up.
Across the street—
Someone was watching him.
Not casually.
Not curiously.
Directly.
Adrian's expression tightened slightly.
"…Yeah," he muttered.
"That didn't take long."
The figure didn't move.
Didn't hide.
Just stood there.
Watching.
And Adrian realized something immediately.
This wasn't like before.
This wasn't something broken.
This was someone who could see him back.