The abandoned transit outpost felt colder that night. The kind of cold that didn't come from the air but from the knowledge that something was out there, moving toward them, tightening the circle. The Titans had gone through hours of training before, hours of pressure and combat drills, but nothing felt as suffocating as this silence.
Blaze couldn't sleep.
He didn't even try.
He sat near the far wall, back against an old rail control cabinet, watching the dim overhead bulbs flicker every few minutes. He could hear Lionel pacing near the doors, the metallic scrape of Ryuji's staff against concrete, the quiet rhythmic click of Aya's pen as she tried to analyze scattered data that didn't make sense. The team had settled into different corners of the room, each trying to look calm, but the tension was so thick Blaze could almost taste it.
Aurion wouldn't stay quiet.
And they all knew it.
Around two in the morning, Diego finally broke the silence.
