Elira felt the city recoil.
Not people. Not sound.
Infrastructure.
Traffic lights flickered out of sequence as she crossed the intersection. A digital billboard stuttered, its image warping for half a second before correcting itself. Her phone vibrated once in her pocket, then went dead.
She stopped walking.
"Tell me that's not because of me."
Kael was already tracking it.
It is not because of you, he said. It is because of what you carry.
Her throat tightened. "That's not better."
No.
A low hum moved through the ground beneath her feet. Subtle. Mechanical. Too coordinated to be random.
Elira's shoulders tensed. "What's happening now?"
Kael's presence sharpened, attention spreading outward like a net.
They have switched objectives.
She swallowed. "From what to what?"
From retrieval… to containment.
The word landed heavily.
"Containment like… a room?" she asked, already knowing that wasn't it.
Containment is like an environment.
Her pulse spiked. "You mean the city?"
A section of it. A pause. They are preparing to close in on you.
Elira backed toward the side of the street, chest tight. "You said moving fast would keep them from deciding."
You moved fast enough to force the decision.
"That sounds like you're blaming me."
Kael didn't deny it.
Blame is inefficient. Outcome matters.
A sharp crack split the air overhead.
Elira ducked instinctively as something streaked across the sky, too fast to track, leaving a faint distortion behind it. People nearby paused, confused, then resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
Her skin crawled. "They're hiding it."
Yes.
They will hide you, too, if they can.
A memory slid through her mind without warning. White rooms. Clean walls. Silence so complete it rang.
She shuddered. "I won't let them lock me in a box."
Kael's voice dropped, dangerous.
Neither will I.
The hum beneath the pavement deepened. Street access gates at the end of the block began to lower, metal sliding into place with practiced efficiency.
Elira stared. "Those weren't there a minute ago."
Temporary measures, Kael said. Activated for anomalies.
"For me."
Yes.
Her breath came faster. "What do we do?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Then she felt it.
A pressure behind her sternum, deeper than before, like a hand bracing itself against her heart.
You will let me take you through this.
Her steps faltered. "That sounds like losing control."
It sounds like surviving acceleration.
Elira clenched her fists. "You promised not to take more without telling me."
A pause.
Then, carefully:
I promised not to take without necessity. This is a necessity.
The street ahead shimmered faintly, air bending as if heated from within. People walked through it unaware, their outlines blurring for a fraction of a second before snapping back.
Elira stopped short. "What is that?"
Kael's attention locked onto it.
A soft boundary.
They are testing whether you trigger it.
Her heart slammed. "And if I do?"
Then it hardens.
The hum surged, louder now.
Elira closed her eyes, dread curling through her gut. "If I let you drive… what happens to me?"
Kael's answer came close, steady, almost solemn.
You will feel everything. You will remember it. But your body will obey me faster than fear can slow it.
She opened her eyes.
The shimmer ahead pulsed, waiting.
Behind her, the street gates locked into place with a heavy clang.
Elira exhaled shakily. "If this goes wrong—"
—There will be no hiding it, Kael finished. Yes.
She laughed once, breathless. "You really don't do comfort."
I do results.
The boundary rippled again, responding to her presence now.
Elira took one step forward.
The air resisted her like thick water.
Her vision blurred.
Kael moved.
Not sharply. Not violently.
Precisely.
Her heartbeat slowed into an unnatural, powerful rhythm. Heat flooded her veins, not burning, but reinforcing, as if her blood had learned a new pattern and locked into it.
She crossed the boundary.
The shimmer collapsed behind her with a sound like glass flexing instead of breaking.
The hum beneath the street cut out.
Everything went still.
People around her froze for half a second, then continued walking, unaware they had just passed through a closed space.
Elira staggered, breath shaking. "What… did we just do?"
Kael's presence settled deeper, anchored and alert.
You crossed a containment test and did not trigger a hard seal.
Her stomach dropped. "That's good, right?"
A pause.
It means they underestimated you.
Before she could respond, her phone vibrated again.
Once.
Twice.
Then lit up on its own.
A message appeared on the dark screen, text rendering without a sender.
CONTAINMENT FAILED. ESCALATE RESPONSE.
Elira stared at it, blood roaring in her ears.
"They know."
Kael's voice lowered, calm and lethal.
Yes.
Her hands trembled. "So what happens now?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
Now they stop trying to contain you…
and start trying to neutralize you.
Above the city, something shifted direction.
And Elira felt the moment the rules changed again.