Chapter 11 – How Did This Person Get Here Without Being Caught?
(First Person POV – Charlotte)
It had been nearly a week since the night I should have died.
The memory still surfaced at inconvenient moments: the suffocating darkness, the presence that had crushed the air from my lungs, and then—intervention. I had been saved by someone, or perhaps something. I had not stayed long enough to confirm which.
When I finally reached home that night, I had barely stepped through the door before Lily threw herself at me. She clung to my waist as if I might disappear again, sobbing uncontrollably and demanding to know why I had been so late and why I looked as if I had crawled out of a grave. It had taken nearly an hour to calm her down.
In hindsight, the sight of her puffy eyes and trembling pout had almost made the entire ordeal worth it. She had always been too expressive for her own good.
I forced the memory aside.
Right now, we stood inside the Night Watchers' headquarters.
The building was enormous, far beyond anything found in the slums. Reinforced alloy pillars stretched toward a ceiling lined with surveillance drones and energy conduits. Officers in uniform moved efficiently between terminals, their movements sharp and disciplined. The air carried a faint metallic scent mixed with sterilized cleaning agents.
I was here to submit Lily's legal documents. Normally, I would have done it earlier, but the recent clashes between police patrols and several lower-district gangs had forced me to keep a low profile. My name alone was enough to complicate things. If certain officials decided to look too closely into my associations, Lily's exam qualification could vanish before she even stepped into the testing hall.
That was not a risk I was willing to take.
Lily stood beside me in line, her smaller hand clasped in mine. She was two years younger than me, which made her sixteen this year. Her blonde hair fell neatly to her shoulders, and her eyes—identical to mine—moved around the hall with undisguised curiosity. She was shorter than most girls her age by nearly a head, a trait that only made her appear more fragile than she actually was.
The sounds of the headquarters blended into a low hum: keyboards clicking, distant announcements echoing from overhead speakers, boots striking polished floors. I filtered them out automatically.
"So, Lily," I asked quietly, keeping my voice steady, "have you been training your talent properly?"
She turned toward me immediately, her expression lighting up.
"Yes, Big Sis," she replied with affectionate enthusiasm. "I broke through to First Mental Star Rank last night."
For a moment, I simply stared at her.
Talents typically manifested between the ages of fifteen and sixteen. Those who failed to awaken one within that period were classified as Normals. Lily had not only awakened a talent—she had advanced to the First Mental Star Rank within two months.
That was exceptional.
Even the gang leader had confirmed it.
A surge of pride rose within me, stronger than I expected.
"That's good," I said, unable to completely suppress the warmth in my tone. "Once the legal process is finished, we only need to wait a day. Then you'll take the exam."
She nodded obediently, still looking at me as though I hung the stars in the sky.
We stepped forward when our turn arrived and handed the documents to the officer at the verification desk. His eyes skimmed over the names. For the briefest moment, I caught a flicker of disdain in his expression before it vanished behind professional neutrality.
I pretended not to notice.
Beside me, Lily was staring around in awe. The upper city always had that effect on those raised in the slums. Wide corridors, polished floors, structured authority—it felt like stepping into another world.
"Please return tomorrow for the examination and to retrieve your documents," the officer stated.
I nodded and turned away, keeping Lily's hand firmly in mine.
Then I stopped.
Across the hall, seated casually near one of the side vendor kiosks, was a girl I recognized immediately.
The one from that night.
My body reacted before my mind did. My shoulders stiffened. A faint tremor ran through my hands.
But something was different.
The suffocating pressure—the terrifying aura that had nearly paralyzed me before—was gone. I could see her clearly now without feeling instinctual dread clawing at my spine.
That did not make her less unsettling.
"Big Sis?" Lily tugged at my hand. "Are you okay? You look scared."
I forced myself to look down at her and managed a strained smile.
"I—I'm fine," I said, though my voice betrayed me with a slight shake. "Let's go."
Lily did not press further, but I felt her grip tighten around my hand as we walked toward the exit. Whether she sensed my unease or felt something herself, I could not tell.
I did not look back again.
(First Person POV – May)
I noticed her the moment she entered.
Recognition came easily. She was the girl I had been paid sixty mid-tier coins to deal with. Her posture shifted the instant our eyes nearly met. Even from across the hall, her body language spoke clearly—fear, hesitation, then confusion.
Interesting.
It seemed she no longer sensed the aura I had once leaked uncontrollably. Cellular Adaptation had done its job well.
My attention drifted briefly to the smaller blonde girl holding her hand. The resemblance was unmistakable. Sisters, most likely. The younger one radiated a more stable mental signature. Her Void flow was cleaner, less chaotic.
So one of them was candidates for the Night Watchers.
Noted.
However, I did not dwell on them for long.
My primary focus at the moment was significantly more important.
The slice of cheese pizza in my hand.
I took another bite, chewing thoughtfully.
The crust was crisp but not dry, the cheese perfectly melted, and the sauce carried a faint hint of spice unfamiliar to Earth's standard recipes. I had not expected another planet to surpass most of Earth's pizza establishments, yet here I was, pleasantly surprised.
"Host appears satisfied," Cellular Adaptation observed.
"I am conducting critical comparative analysis," I replied internally.
"Of pizza?"
"Yes."
Charlotte and her sister exited the building.
I finished the last bite, brushed crumbs from my fingers, and leaned back slightly in my seat.
Tomorrow, the exams would begin.
And judging by the candidates I had just seen, this training arc might be more interesting than I initially anticipated.,