"It's not even close to the cycle," the first said, continuing, his tone dipping further into annoyance. "We've got, what, twenty days before the floor opens properly?"
"Something like that," the other replied, scratching idly at his neck. "No one's supposed to come through. Whole thing's a waste of time."
They fell quiet after that, the kind of silence born from shared disinterest rather than thought. There was no vigilance in them, no expectation of change. To them, this was an assignment with no purpose, a post where nothing happened.
Kael walked past them without a sound.
Neither of them reacted. Their eyes remained fixed in their general directions, their bodies unmoving, completely unaware that someone had already passed between them. [Presence] held firmly, masking him not only from sight but from notice itself. It was not just invisibility, it was irrelevance.
