They were at the third floor landing when Nathan stopped outside the apartnt door and dug for the keys.
rlin glanced down the hallway, eyes brushing over the chipped paint, the faint sll of fried oil from soone cooking, the muffled argunt coming from two doors over.
Nathan finally unlocked the door, pushing it open with his shoulder.
"Don't track dirt in," Elara's voice called from sowhere inside.
Nathan grunted. "Yeah, yeah."
rlin stepped in behind him, scanning the room automatically. The balcony door was closed, curtains drawn, but the faint ripple of fabric told him they'd moved recently.
Nathan threw his bag down. "I'm hitting the shower before Elara tries to interrogate about training."
rlin didn't respond. He crossed the living room and slid the balcony door open. The air outside was warm, a slow breeze drifting past. The street three floors below was alive with footsteps and chatter, and sowhere a cartwheel squeaked.
The white-haired man was gone.
'Figures.'
rlin stepped out, resting his hands on the railing. No trace of him. Not even that faint, heavy presence he always carried. It was like he'd never been here at all.
"rlin?" Elara's voice was closer now. "You didn't say you were back."
He turned, and she was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "Got caught up in sothing."
Her eyes narrowed. "Like what?"
"I don't rember," rlin said easily.
She stared at him a few seconds longer, then sighed. "Whatever. Dinner's in an hour. Don't vanish again before then."
When she left, he turned back toward the street.
[System Notice: Gate Reopening – South District: 2 Days]
[Warning: Boss-Class Entity – Containnt Failure Likely]
'Two days. Perfect.'
—
The next morning ca without anything unusual, unless you counted Nathan's breakfast cooking, which was borderline dangerous. They left early, heading south.
They were halfway to the south gate when Nathan finally slowed his stride. "You're doing that thing again," he said.
rlin didn't look at him. "What thing?"
"Eyes everywhere. Like you're expecting sothing to jump out of the shadows."
'That's because I am.'
"Habit," rlin said.
Nathan gave him a sidelong glance but didn't push. His pace quickened again, and the conversation died there.
By the ti they reached the main street, the crowd had thickened. rchants shouting over each other, kids weaving between stalls, the sll of fresh bread mixing with the sour tang of spilled ale.
Nathan kept pace, still grumbling under his breath about their last sparring match.
"You really didn't break a sweat," he said.
rlin smirked. "I told you—leagues ahead."
Nathan groaned. "I hate you."
rlin didn't answer, but the faint ping of his system was louder now, pushing at the edges of his thoughts.
[Status Update: Energy Differential – 743% Advantage Over Target]
[Projected Outco in Direct Engagent: Target Defeat in ≤ 15 sec]
'Fifteen seconds is generous.'
They cut through the market square, took the side street ho, and the familiar shape of the apartnt block ca into view. Nathan went ahead, muttering about a bath and a nap. rlin's eyes drifted upward.
There, on the balcony, he saw him.
Not Nathan. Not Elara. Himself.
Standing still. Watching.
For a heartbeat, it didn't make sense, until the sunlight shifted and he realized it wasn't a reflection in glass. It was him.
No… it was just him there, like he'd been the whole ti, waiting for them to arrive.
Nathan didn't notice. Didn't even look up.
'Guess I'm not the only one keeping watch.'
rlin didn't call out. He just climbed the stairs behind Nathan, already wondering what the white-haired man was doing here again. And why he'd chosen to make himself visible this ti.
—
Nathan kicked off his boots the second they were inside. Elara was still out, which suited rlin fine. He closed the balcony door and leaned on it, scanning the street below for any lingering trace of the man. Nothing.
He didn't see him again for the rest of the day.
The system pinged late that night.
[Status Alert: South District Gate – Instability Rate Increasing]
[Ti to Critical Breach: 47:13:06]
rlin's eyes narrowed at the clock.
'So much for two days.'
—
Morning ca with overcast skies and an unsteady wind. rlin was already awake when Nathan stumbled out of his room.
"You're dressed already? What, we training again?" Nathan asked.
"Later," rlin said. "We're checking the south gate."
Nathan groaned but didn't argue.
By the ti they reached the southern quarter, the city guard had already cordoned off the plaza around the gate. The massive structure lood ahead, thick stone archway, faint shimring barrier stretched across its opening. That shimr was the problem. It pulsed unevenly, rippling like fabric in a storm.
A guard captain spotted them. "You two here for inspection?"
rlin nodded once. "Just passing through."
They walked the periter. Nathan muttered about how it didn't look that bad.
rlin didn't bother correcting him. He could feel it, pressure leaking through the barrier in waves.
'This thing's going to blow wide open.'
And then he felt sothing else.
Not the gate. Not the boss monster.
The faint trace of that sa presence from the balcony.
rlin turned, scanning the rooftops.
Empty.
'So you're watching too.'
—
The day passed in uneasy quiet. By evening, reports were coming in of monster sightings near the southern farms. The barrier was weakening faster than predicted.
rlin sat on the couch, staring at the map on his system display.
[Gate Breach Forecast: 28:09:51]
He was already planning the fight when Nathan flopped into the chair opposite him. "You're thinking too hard again."
rlin didn't look up. "Soone has to."
—
The breach ca the next afternoon.
It started with a sound like stone splitting. Then the shimr in the archway tore open, spilling out a wave of cold air thick with dust. The first creatures through were small, fast, hard to track. The guards moved to intercept, but the air behind them darkened.
The boss ca through slow, massive shoulders scraping the stone. It stood twice the height of the gate, hide like blackened steel, eyes burning faint orange.
Nathan swore under his breath. "That's… bigger than I thought."
rlin's system lit up instantly.
[Boss-Class Entity: Vorik Maul]
[Recomnded Combat Strategy: Direct Decapitation]
[Risk Level: Critical – Damage Output Exceeds Safe Threshold]
'Safe threshold for who?'
—
They didn't see the white-haired man again. Not during the breach. Not during the cleanup. Not after the monster was finally down, body sprawled across half the plaza.
It was like he'd vanished completely.
And rlin knew what that ant.
'You're letting handle this one on my own.'
—
Nathan collapsed onto the grass, chest heaving. "You're… a demon."
rlin stood a few feet away, barely winded. "You lasted longer today."
"By two seconds," Nathan shot back, glaring up at him. "And you weren't even using both hands."
'That's because if I did, you'd be unconscious.'
rlin didn't say it aloud. Instead, he offered a hand. Nathan took it reluctantly, muttering sothing under his breath about "unfair advantages."
The system pinged in the corner of rlin's vision.
[Status Update: Energy Differential – 812% Advantage Over Target]
[Projected Outco in Direct Engagent: Target Defeat in ≤ 12 sec]
'Dropping by three seconds… still not close.'
Nathan shook the sweat from his hair and squared up again. "One more round. I've got a new move."
rlin raised an eyebrow but humored him. "Alright. Show ."
Nathan lunged, swinging wide. rlin sidestepped, tapped his shoulder with the flat of his blade, and swept his legs before he even hit the ground.
Nathan landed with a grunt. "That… wasn't even two seconds."
rlin smirked. "Closer to one."
Nathan groaned, flopping back. "Why do I even train with you?"
"Because you're getting stronger," rlin said simply.
Nathan sat up, eyeing him. "And you're getting impossible."
rlin just shrugged, turning his back to fetch their water. 'Better this way. If he ever realizes how far apart we are… it'll crush him.'
Behind him, Nathan was already getting back on his feet.
—
Nathan dusted himself off, still panting. "You're not even breathing hard. You're like—what—part machine?"
rlin twisted the cap off his water flask and tossed it to him. "Drink. You'll need it if you want another round."
Nathan caught it and took a long gulp, glaring over the rim. "One of these days, I'm going to land a clean hit."
'Not unless I let you.'
rlin didn't say that. Instead, he adjusted his stance and waited. Nathan had good form now, better than a few months ago, but his attacks were still readable. Too much wind-up. Too predictable.
They squared off again. Nathan lunged, blade low. rlin parried, slipped inside his guard, and pressed his own blade against Nathan's neck in one fluid motion.
Nathan froze, blinking. "…That was fast."
rlin stepped back, lowering his sword. "You hesitated."
"I did not."
"You thought about your next move instead of making it."
Nathan groaned and flopped onto the grass again. "You're unbearable."
rlin smirked faintly and looked up at the clouds drifting past. 'If this is unbearable now, wait until the gap between us really opens.'
The system chid again in his peripheral vision.
[Status Update: Energy Differential – 845% Advantage Over Target]
[Projected Outco in Direct Engagent: Target Defeat in ≤ 10 sec]
'Ten seconds. And that's being nice.'
He sheathed his blade and glanced at Nathan, who was still sprawled out. "Co on. Last round before we call it."
Nathan groaned but rolled over, grabbing his sword again. "Fine. But when I beat you, you're buying lunch."
rlin let the corner of his mouth twitch upward. "Deal."
'Not happening.'
They took their stances again, but rlin kept part of his focus on the faint prickle at the back of his neck. It wasn't from Nathan. It wasn't from anyone nearby.
It was the feeling of being watched. Again.
And he already knew who it was.
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