Soho sat on the low stone railing overlooking the courtyard, knees pulled up, arms wrapped tightly around them. The night air was cool, but she still looked like she was freezing.
Roco walked over and stopped beside her.
"You've been quiet," she murmured.
Soho didn't answer.
"Back there," Roco continued. "When you walked up to him. Why did you freeze?"
Soho's fingers dug into her arms. After a long pause, her voice came out quiet.
"…I got too close."
Roco frowned. "What does that mean?"
Soho's shoulders tensed.
"When I stepped near him, I saw it," she whispered. "Everything under his skin was moving. Grinding against itself. Hot. Constant friction. And at the same time it was fixing itself over and over."
Roco's jaw tightened.
Soho's hands started to shake.
"The pressure didn't feel like a person," she went on. "It felt like something much bigger was looking down at me." She swallowed hard. A few tears slipped down her face. "I thought no one could be scarier than Aunt Noire… I was wrong. That boy is the scariest thing I've ever seen."
He has her crying? Roco thought.
She watched the tears for a second, then spoke in a low voice.
"Then we don't get close to him again."
Soho wiped at her face. "If he wanted to, he could've killed everyone in that training ground. Easily."
Roco looked out over the empty courtyard.
"You're sure about what you felt?"
Soho nodded once. "I've never been more sure of anything."
Roco exhaled slowly.
"Alright," she said. "We stay away."
Soho didn't answer. She just pulled her knees closer and stared out at the dark courtyard. Roco stayed beside her without saying anything else.
The wind moved through the banners along the walls. Neither of them spoke for a long time. Soho's hands eventually stopped shaking, but the tension in her shoulders never fully left.
The moonlight through the high windows cut thin lines across the dark wooden floor of the room. Outside the door, Bijan and Jarek stood in silence. Their presence was steady and deliberate, the kind of quiet that made the air feel heavier than it should.
Jaeger stood near the center of the room.
Kota looked at him. "What did you find?"
Jaeger glanced toward the door, then lowered his voice.
"Three things."
"First," he continued, "there's a place deep below the palace. Heavily locked. Guards rotate on a strict schedule. The outer seals are reinforced with something I couldn't identify. Whatever's down there, they're treating it like it could break free at any moment. Not ceremonial. Real containment."
Kota's fingers curled slightly at his side.
Leiya's eyes narrowed. "Contained how?"
"Locked and watched," Jaeger answered. "Multiple layers. I couldn't get close enough to see more than the outer seals, but the security is deliberate. Someone doesn't want that place disturbed."
"Second," Jaeger said. "I saw the purple-haired girl near the lower districts at night. Only for a moment. She noticed me… then she was gone."
Kota's expression didn't change much.
"And third?"
Jaeger looked at him directly.
"I got a clearer picture of the strongest people here."
He listed them without hesitation.
"Rhen. Noire. Caldera. Roco. Soho. Remi. Xerxus. After them, Jude. Then Harlan."
What are you planning to do with all that? the voice in his head asked.
Kota's eyes paused on two of the names.
Roco… Soho…
For a brief moment, something unreadable passed through his expression.
Interesting, the voice murmured. She left an impression.
"That girl who tried to speak to me…" Kota said. "She didn't look like a threat."
Jaeger looked at him. "What girl?"
"One of them came up to me after the fight," Kota replied. "Tried to talk. Didn't get the chance."
Leiya glanced between them. "She was with another girl. The quieter one pulled her back pretty fast."
Jaeger gave a small nod.
The room stayed quiet for a few seconds. Outside the door, one of the guards shifted his weight. The sound was small, but it carried.
Leiya looked at Kota. "You're thinking about talking to them?"
Kota didn't deny it.
"One of them got close enough to feel what's under my skin," he said. "I want to know what she felt."
Leiya's expression tightened. "Don't. Just leave them alone. We don't need more attention right now."
Kota looked at her. "I'm not asking them for help. I just want answers."
"And if they decide to go to Xerxus?" Leiya pressed. "Or Noire? You're already being watched. Don't make it worse."
Kota didn't answer right away. The silence stretched.
Leiya's voice dropped lower. "I'm serious. Not everything needs a response. Some things are better left alone."
Kota's eyes shifted toward the window.
Jaeger watched him carefully. "And the place under the palace?"
"That stays quiet for now," Kota said. "I don't know enough yet."
Answer me, boy, the voice said, clearer this time. What are you planning to do with all this information?
Kota was silent for a moment longer.
"I'm going to talk to those two girls."
Leiya's jaw tightened. She stared at him for a second, waiting for him to look back at her. When he didn't, she let out a quiet breath through her nose and turned her face away. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Kota ignored the reaction. His gaze stayed on the window.
A few seconds passed before he spoke again, quieter this time. "Is there a way I could slip through undetected?"
She didn't answer right away.
The room stayed still after that.
But Kota already knew the next step.