The territory didn't explode into chaos.
That was the worst part.
After the emergency severance, after Leela was stabilized and escorted to the infirmary, everything looked… normal. Patrols resumed. Conversations restarted. Fires crackled where they had before. People went back to pretending the world hadn't just shifted under their feet.
But Arjun could feel it.
The Conduit field hadn't relaxed.
It had tightened.
He stood alone near the eastern barricade, eyes closed, letting the sensation map itself through him. The network he'd opened—however briefly—had left an imprint. Pathways where there had been none. Echoes of intention, faint but unmistakable.
Someone inside the territory had felt the current.
And instead of recoiling, they'd leaned into it.
Nyxara joined him silently.
"You're tracking," she said.
"Yes," Arjun replied. "But it's… messy."
"That's because you're not hunting a monster," she said. "You're hunting potential."
He opened his eyes. "I don't like how that sounds."
She smiled thinly. "No one ever does the first time."
The phone vibrated.
INTERNAL ANOMALY: PERSISTENT
SIGNATURE TYPE: HUMAN (NON-NORMALIZED)
ESTIMATED LOCATION: WITHIN TERRITORY
Arjun stared at the text. "So they're still here."
Nyxara nodded. "Of course they are. Whatever touched the network didn't do it accidentally."
"Could it be someone panicking?" Arjun asked. "Someone reacting instinctively?"
"Yes," Nyxara agreed. "At first."
"And now?"
"Now," she said calmly, "they're curious."
That word again.
Arjun exhaled slowly. "Alright. We do this cleanly."
Nyxara raised an eyebrow. "Define 'cleanly.'"
"No public accusations. No panic," Arjun said. "We observe. Narrow it down."
She studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Good. Paranoia fractures networks faster than enemies."
They moved through the territory together, not openly searching, just present. Arjun let the Conduit field relax slightly—not enough to lose sensitivity, but enough to invite response.
It worked.
A faint tug brushed against his awareness. Not forceful. Testing.
Arjun froze internally, holding steady.
The tug retreated.
Nyxara's lips curved. "They noticed."
"Can you trace it?" Arjun asked.
"Partially," she replied. "It's weak. Untrained. But it's adapting quickly."
Arjun frowned. "That shouldn't be possible."
Nyxara looked at him. "Nothing should be possible anymore. That rule died with the old world."
They continued walking.
Near the southern barricade, Arjun felt it again—stronger this time. A pulse of intent, like someone pressing a hand against glass from the other side.
His jaw tightened.
"There," he murmured.
Nyxara followed the sensation, eyes glowing faintly. "Sector D. Near the supply depot."
They didn't rush.
Rushing would spook whoever it was.
Instead, Arjun deliberately flared the Conduit field—just a touch. Enough to let the intruder feel him.
The response was immediate.
The tug sharpened, focused—directed.
Arjun staggered a half-step as a surge of pressure slammed into his chest.
Nyxara cursed. "They're trying to pull from you."
The phone vibrated violently.
UNAUTHORIZED CONDUIT INTERACTION
SOURCE: INTERNAL NODE (UNREGISTERED)
INTENT: EXTRACTION
Arjun gritted his teeth. "They're draining."
"Clumsily," Nyxara said. "But yes."
He focused, shaping the field instead of resisting blindly. The pressure didn't vanish—but it slowed, redirected, looping back on itself.
A sharp cry echoed from near the depot.
They moved fast now.
The culprit was a young man—early twenties, lean, eyes fever-bright. He was kneeling on the ground, hands pressed to his temples, breathing hard as if he'd run miles without moving.
Arjun recognized him.
New arrival. Quiet. Kept to himself.
"What's your name?" Arjun asked evenly.
The man looked up, startled. "Eli."
Nyxara felt the residual distortion around him and frowned. "You're awake," she said.
Eli blinked. "I… what?"
"You can feel it, can't you?" Arjun said. "The pressure. The current."
Eli swallowed. "I thought I was losing my mind."
Nyxara crouched in front of him. "And when you reached for it?"
Eli hesitated. "It… answered."
Arjun felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"You didn't tell anyone," Arjun said.
Eli shook his head. "I didn't want to be locked up. Or worse."
"That was wise," Nyxara said dryly. "You'd have been."
Eli looked between them, panic rising. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just—I felt something open when you did that thing earlier. When the woman almost collapsed."
Leela.
Arjun nodded slowly. "You felt the delegation."
"Yes," Eli said quickly. "It was like… like someone left a door ajar. I didn't know what I was doing at first. I just wanted it to stop hurting."
Nyxara straightened. "And then?"
Eli's gaze dropped. "Then I realized it made me feel… steadier."
Arjun absorbed that. "You were pulling strain."
Eli nodded, ashamed. "I didn't know it would affect anyone else."
Nyxara's eyes hardened. "It did."
The phone chimed.
EMERGENT ABILITY CONFIRMED
SUBTYPE: CONDUIT SENSITIVITY (UNTRAINED)
RISK PROFILE: UNSTABLE
Arjun closed his eyes briefly.
This was it.
The thing Nyxara had warned him about.
Power spreading unevenly.
"Listen to me," Arjun said carefully. "You didn't do this on purpose. But if you keep doing it without control, you will kill someone."
Eli's face drained of color. "I'll stop."
Nyxara laughed softly. "No, you won't."
Eli flinched.
"She's right," Arjun said. "You can't unfeel it now. And pretending you can is how accidents happen."
Eli's hands trembled. "Then what do I do?"
Arjun met his eyes.
"You learn," he said. "Or you leave."
The words landed hard.
"You can't stay here like this," Arjun continued. "Not untrained. Not hiding."
Nyxara folded her arms. "And make no mistake—you don't get to feed on the network."
Eli looked up sharply. "Feed?"
"That's what you were doing," Nyxara said flatly. "Taking stabilization meant for others and routing it into yourself."
Eli's mouth opened, then closed.
"I didn't realize," he whispered.
Arjun believed him.
That didn't change the danger.
"Here are your options," Arjun said. "You can leave the territory by sunset. Or you can stay—and submit to oversight."
Eli's eyes widened. "Oversight?"
"You don't touch the Conduit without permission," Arjun said. "You don't pull without direction. You don't hide what you feel."
Nyxara added quietly, "And if you break those rules, I end you."
Eli shuddered.
He didn't hesitate.
"I'll stay," he said. "I don't want to be alone out there."
The honesty mattered.
The phone vibrated.
DECISION REGISTERED
INTERNAL THREAT: CONTAINED (TEMPORARY)
RECOMMENDATION: SUPERVISED INTEGRATION
Arjun exhaled slowly. "Then we start carefully."
Nyxara studied Eli with open suspicion. "One mistake," she said softly, "and you don't get a second."
Eli nodded frantically.
That night, Arjun sat alone again on the overpass.
But this time, the solitude felt heavier.
Nyxara stood beside him, arms crossed, gaze distant.
"You handled that well," she said.
"I almost banished him," Arjun replied.
"Yes," she said. "And that would have been simpler."
He looked at her. "You think I should have?"
"I think," Nyxara said slowly, "that every time you choose integration over elimination, you increase complexity."
"And every time I choose elimination," Arjun replied, "I lose something I can't get back."
She smiled faintly. "You sound like a ruler already."
He didn't smile back.
The phone buzzed softly.
CONDUIT NETWORK: STABLE (LIMITED)
NEW VARIABLE: HUMAN NODE (SUPERVISED)
Arjun stared at the city.
One person had reached back into the current.
There would be others.
And next time—
They might not ask.