The industrial fight didn't stay quiet.
By morning, low-resolution footage had spread across public feeds, shaky drone clips of metal walkways collapsing, creatures shrieking, and one frame that froze repeatedly:
Mando is firing upward.
Clean shot.
Mid-tier drop.
People replayed it.
Over and over.
Inside a crowded transit hub, civilians whispered.
CIVILIAN 1 That's not standard summoning.
CIVILIAN 2 Look at the barrel shift, that's an advanced modification.
CIVILIAN 3 Who trained him?
The question spread faster than the video.
Mando noticed the stares before he understood why.
On the street. In storefront reflections. On public monitors replaying blurred combat footage.
He stopped walking.
Kael didn't.
MANDO They're looking at me.
KAEL Good.
Mando frowned.
MANDO Good?
Kael finally turned.
KAEL Pressure reveals cracks. Better they surface now than later.
That didn't feel comforting.
At the warehouse, training was different.
No combat.
No weapons.
Kael placed a chair in the center of the floor.
KAEL Sit.
Mando blinked.
MANDO That's it?
KAEL Sit. And do nothing.
Mando sat.
Minutes passed.
Silence.
Then Kael activated the surrounding monitors.
Footage of the fight.
Commentary feeds.
Public analysis threads.
Speculation about "irregular signatures."
About him.
Mando shifted uncomfortably.
MANDO Turn it off.
Kael didn't.
KAEL If attention shakes you, control will abandon you. Your weapon listens to your mind. Right now, your mind is loud.
Mando clenched his jaw.
The footage replayed his near miss, the claw grazing his shoulder.
A freeze frame.
"Instability spike detected."
He hated that part.
MANDO I almost lost it.
KAEL But you didn't.
Silence again.
Longer this time.
Mando's breathing slowly evened out.
The screens kept playing.
Eventually
They stopped bothering him.
Kael watched carefully.
A faint nod.
Across the city, an official announcement aired.
The title appeared across every major broadcast:
REGIONAL COMBAT EVALUATION — ADVANCED SESSION
Public qualification trials.
Performance ranking.
Dominant-class scouting.
Registration opens in three weeks.
Liora stood before a council chamber of officials.
COUNCIL MEMBER Acceleration wasn't scheduled.
LIORA Neither was legendary movement.
She placed a data slate on the table.
Mando's combat signature pulsed on-screen.
LIORA If anomalies are emerging, we need them measured, not hidden.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
LIORA Especially this one.
That night, Aysh stood alone in a dim corridor beneath the city.
The broken crown insignia glowed faintly on the wall behind her.
A projection flickered on.
UNKNOWN VOICE He has drawn attention.
Aysh remained silent.
UNKNOWN VOICE The Evaluation will expose him.
A pause.
Then:
UNKNOWN VOICE You will ensure he registers.
Aysh's head snapped up.
AYSH No.
Silence.
Then colder:
UNKNOWN VOICE If he does not enter the system willingly…He will be claimed by it forcibly.
Her breath faltered.
UNKNOWN VOICE Guide him. Or lose him.
The transmission ended.
Aysh stood motionless for a long time.
Back at the apartment, Mando leaned against the balcony railing.
City lights flickered below.
His weapon formed briefly in his hand, stable, quiet.
MANDO (thought) Evaluation…
He wasn't afraid of fighting.
He was afraid of being measured.
Behind him, Aysh watched in silence.
Torn between two futures.
One where he stayed hidden.
One where he stepped into the open.
And somewhere deep underground
Something ancient smiled.
End of Chapter 15