[Location: New York, USA]
"Why did we just leave, David?" Varek asked the calm man while still looking in the direction they had just left, his grin lingering—but thinner now, edged with something sharper than amusement.
The four of them moved across the rooftop in a loose formation, neither rushed nor relaxed. Just… aware.
David didn't answer immediately.
He stepped off the ledge first.
Not falling.
Not jumping.
Just stepping—
—and the space beneath his foot accepted the decision.
The others followed.
The world shifted subtly around them as they descended, not physically, but in layers—like peeling away from one version of reality into another where their presence mattered less.
By the time their boots touched the next rooftop down, the manor was no longer directly visible.
That didn't mean it wasn't there.
Varek clicked his tongue.
"Don't ignore me."
David adjusted his coat slightly, gaze forward.
"I'm not."
"Then answer."
