Every sound in the courtyard vanished the moment the boy's head snapped up.
Kain froze mid‑step.
Those eyes—snow‑pale irises ringed with faint flecks of silver—did not hold awareness or fear. They were unfocused, glassy, like a window whose reflection didn't quite match the world around it.
But beneath that emptiness… something tugged at Kain's senses. Not a resonance. Not power.
Something far simpler—and far more impossible considering he'd never been here before.
Familiarity.
Before he could process it—
BOOM
The ground lurched violently. A shockwave from the demigods' clash several miles beyond the walls rippled through the fortress. Warding sigils along the battlements flared, humming with all the intensity of overworked machines on the verge of collapsing.
The boy clapped both hands to his temples and let out a strangled gasp.
Kain's chest tightened. He darted forward and knelt so they were eye level. "Hey. Can you hear me? What's wrong?"
