Night settled over the Zeus Village like a velvet curtain, thick with the hum of lightning still crawling across the sky. The inner courtyard had long emptied after Thaleia's failed test, yet Lysandros remained restless.
He shouldn't trust them.
He couldn't trust them.
But every instinct he had—sharpened through years of lightning cultivation—told him that Kairo and Selene weren't ordinary. Not prodigies. Not wanderers. Something else.
He paced along the balcony, watching the two "travelers" enter the guest quarters the Elders had reluctantly offered.
"Something is off about them," he muttered. "No normal Aether user catches a sun-burst barehanded."
Inside the room, Kairo closed the door quietly.
As soon as the lock clicked, Selene exhaled sharply.
"You overdid it."
"No," Kairo replied, flopping on the bed. "I held back."
"You held back publicly," she corrected, sitting at the edge of the bed. "But Kairo… remember what Sensei said."
Kairo groaned, quoting dryly, "Never reveal two colors of Aether in one place unless you want the world to panic."
"Yes," Selene sighed. "That."
Kairo pressed his palms together, letting his shadow Aether swirl faintly—his only permitted ability in public.
No lightning.
No dual flares.
Nothing that would expose him.
Selene leaned back against the window frame, her moonlit aura soft and harmless—her only allowed power.
"Tomorrow," she said, "we start the infiltration properly. We observe. We learn. We blend."
Kairo smirked.
"I blend fine."
"No, you show off," she shot back.
Kairo shrugged.
"Same thing."
Selene shook her head, trying not to smile.
"Just don't use lightning. Please."
"No problem."
Kairo let the shadows fade.
"Shadow only. Cool, mysterious traveler vibe."
Selene gave a small nod.
"Good."
Outside their door, Lysandros froze.
Shadow?
He could barely feel faint traces of it—Aether that wasn't a Greek type.
Shadow Aether didn't belong to any Greek clan.
He stepped away before they sensed him.
"I need more information."
Earlier That Night — The Training Fields
Two silhouettes moved through the empty grounds—Lysandros and Thaleia.
"You think they're dangerous?" Thaleia asked.
Lysandros crossed his arms.
"I think they're hiding something."
Thaleia smirked.
"You're jealous."
He shot her a dead glare.
She nudged him.
"Relax. If they cause trouble, you'll be the first to sense it. Lightning intuition, right?"
Lysandros didn't laugh.
"Callistratos is humiliated," he murmured. "The Elders will want explanations."
"And you'll give them…?" she prompted.
"The truth," he replied.
"They're strong. Too strong. But not malicious."
Thaleia raised an eyebrow.
"You trust your gut that much?"
Lysandros looked toward the guest house where faint moonlight leaked through one window.
"My gut has never failed me."
But even so…
He still didn't trust them.
Not fully.
Not yet.
Back in the Guest Quarters
Selene stood by the window, watching the distant lightning pillars glow.
"Kairo," she said quietly, "this village… it's complicated."
"Every village is," he replied lazily.
"No."
She turned to him, eyes serious.
"This one… feels like a storm waiting to explode."
Kairo sat up, the shadows behind him coiling like lazy serpents.
"Good," he said.
"Storms make perfect cover."
Selene rolled her eyes.
"Just don't reveal your other side."
Kairo offered a mock salute.
"Shadow only. Not a spark of lightning."
She held his gaze—making sure he meant it.
After a long moment…
Kairo's expression softened.
"I know the mission."
Selene nodded slowly.
"Then get some rest. Tomorrow we start gathering intel."
Kairo smirked wickedly.
"And maybe find which prodigy I'm supposed to 'accidentally' humiliate next."
Selene groaned.
"Kairo…"
"What?"
He shrugged.
"It's infiltrating with style."
She didn't want to admit it…
But it was working.
Enemies underestimated him.
Prodigies got flustered.
Leaders got curious.
And the whole village was already talking about the "cool traveler who stopped sunlight with one hand."
It was exactly the distraction Sensei would approve of.
Selene whispered, "Just don't slip."
Kairo closed his eyes, voice low.
"Dual users don't survive long when discovered. Trust me—I know."
A cold silence fell.
Selene understood.
More than anyone.
That was why they hid.
That was why they moved in shadows.
That was why they infiltrated instead of marched.
After a moment, Selene turned off the lamp.
"Goodnight, Kairo."
"Night."
Outside, in the dark corridor…
Lysandros clenched his jaw.
He had heard enough.
Shadow Aether.
Strange phrases.
Talk of storms and infiltration.
Not enough to accuse them.
But enough to watch them more closely.
He stepped away from the door, lightning flickering in his eyes.
"I don't trust you, Kairo," he whispered.
"But I'm going to find out exactly who you are."