Night fell slower than it should have.
Not because the sun lingered, but because no one moved to leave.
The courtyard, once a battleground of celestial pressure and human defiance, had turned into something far more dangerous—a place where decisions were being silently made.
Baek Siheon stood near the fractured center, arms relaxed at his sides, eyes distant. He could feel it now—threads pulling outward from him.
Attention.
Curiosity.
Fear.
Human fear felt different from divine judgment.
It was messier.
Unpredictable.
Seraphina watched him closely from a few steps away, pretending to clean her sword while actually monitoring every subtle change in his expression.
"…You're thinking too loudly," she said.
Siheon blinked and looked at her. "I am?"
She nodded. "You get this look. Like you're standing in ten places at once."
Lucian—the original one, still leaning against a broken pillar—snorted. "Yeah.
That's the 'something bad is coming but I don't know what yet' face."
Lucian Vale glanced at him. "You're oddly perceptive for someone who looks like he trips over air."
"Hey," Lucian protested. "I trip over important air."
Aegis remained a short distance away, shield resting against his shoulder. He wasn't watching Siheon anymore.
He was watching everyone else.
Director Han broke the uneasy calm.
"This incident will not remain contained," he said. "Celestial Bureau reports are already spreading. Other nations will notice."
Ulfric cracked his neck. "Good."
Seraphina shot him a look. "That's not comforting."
Ulfric grinned. "It's honest. Power that hides rots. Power that stands gets tested."
Siheon exhaled slowly.
"So what happens now?" he asked.
Han studied him carefully. "Now? Now you become a problem no one can ignore."
Lucian Vale laughed. "Congratulations. You're internationally inconvenient."
A faint smile tugged at Siheon's lips.
Inside his mind, the systems reacted—not loudly, but deliberately.
〈Celestial Ascension System: Global awareness probability increasing.〉
〈Demonic Sovereign System: Heh. The board's getting crowded.〉
Seraphina stepped closer to Siheon, lowering her voice. "This means more eyes. More misunderstandings."
"More enemies," Lucian added helpfully.
"And more allies," Aegis said quietly.
Everyone looked at him.
He met Siheon's gaze directly.
"Humans like me don't answer to Heaven or Hell," Aegis continued. "We exist because something has to stand between them and annihilation."
Siheon nodded slowly. "You're afraid of me."
Aegis didn't deny it. "Yes."
The honesty surprised Seraphina.
"But fear isn't rejection," Aegis added. "It's caution."
Lucian Vale crossed her arms. "He didn't fight like a god. Or a demon."
She tilted her head. "He fought like someone who knows loss."
That hit closer than Siheon expected.
Ulfric laughed softly. "Told you. He's unfinished."
Director Han sighed. "Which is exactly why the Bureau will push for oversight."
Seraphina stiffened. "No."
Han raised an eyebrow. "You object?"
"Yes," she said flatly. "Siheon is not a weapon to be cataloged."
Han didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he looked at Siheon.
"And what do you want?" he asked.
The question hung heavy.
Siheon hadn't been asked that in a long time.
He thought of the Veiled Arbiter's words.
Unfinished.
"I want control," Siheon said finally. "Not over others. Over myself."
Ulfric's grin softened—just slightly.
Seraphina nodded, relief flashing across her face.
Lucian raised a hand. "And maybe fewer sky explosions?"
Siheon chuckled. "I'll try."
Director Han exhaled. "Then here is my proposal."
Everyone turned serious.
"The Bureau will not detain you," Han said. "But you will not operate blindly either."
A projection rune flared between his fingers, revealing a shifting map of the world.
"Anomalies are increasing," Han continued. "Dungeons that don't obey known rules. Entities that predate current systems."
Ulfric's eyes sharpened.
Seraphina frowned. "Primordial-adjacent?"
Han nodded grimly. "Yes."
Siheon felt a quiet pull in his chest.
The systems stirred.
〈Celestial Ascension System: Data insufficient. Threat level indeterminate.〉
〈Demonic Sovereign System: Old things waking up. I don't like that.〉
"We want you," Han said, "to observe. Investigate. Intervene only when necessary."
Lucian blinked. "So… freelance apocalypse prevention?"
"Essentially," Han replied.
Lucian Vale grinned. "I'm in."
Aegis inclined his head. "As am I."
Seraphina looked at Siheon. "This won't be easy."
Siheon met her gaze.
"I don't want easy."
For a moment, the group stood united—not by loyalty, but by alignment.
Then—
Lilith laughed softly.
Everyone turned.
"Oh, don't look so serious," she said. "This is only the beginning."
She stepped closer to Siheon, eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" she whispered. "Something pulling."
Siheon nodded slowly. "Yes."
"Good," Lilith smiled. "Because whatever took notice of you beyond the Axis… wasn't the only one."
Far away, unseen—
A throne cracked.
A crown stirred.
And something that remembered Michael and Lucifer before the war opened its eyes.