They absolutely did not pursue us.
Even before the shadow verified it—I was certain of that—before it came back with the exact same silent assurance, the sharp metallic taste of panic and the faint whispers of some, made it carry back.
The ones that were in the unfortunate situation ran away from me.
Good.
Fear reached far quicker than the bodies did.
Now, Rei was just a few steps behind. Not far enough, like she was trying to leave me for good.
Not close enough to do a little touch.
The distance was - very - calculated, like a cautious approach to a sword that had not yet decided whether it was time to stop cutting.
"I guess it was all your doing," she said uttering it just after a while.
"Indeed."
The tensing of her jaw was visible. "By killing him, you tried to signal."
"I killed him," I said calmly, "because otherwise, one of them would try to do it later. Who knows, when you are powerless or when I am not paying attention."
The corridor that we were going through turned into a very irregular plaza—a place consisting of broken stairways leading to nowhere, of platforms hanging by chains that just vanished into darkness above. Some symbols faintly glimmered in reaction to our coming.
Rei halted.
"That still does not grant you the right."
I rotated my body and confronted her.
"Right does not keep you alive," I told her. "It is predictability that does."
Shadow elongated behind my back and shaped up a vague figure that was more or less taller than it ought to have been. Observing.
Rei made a slow and deep breath out. "You are changing."
"Yes."
The reply was too quick.
That also made her afraid.
Text—or whatever it was—very faintly flickered—a sign that the system had lost interest and did not bother to announce it loudly anymore.
REPUTATION VARIABLE: FEAR—INITIALIZED
We had some company.
The sound of movement above us—metal against stone, tightening of chains—was heard.
I turned my head sideways.
"There are three," I remarked.
"Perhaps four."
Rei made a face.
"You can sense that?"
"I can deduce."
The shadow flowed up like ink spilled and rose along a fractured pillar. The world through it opened in angles and probabilities—positions, lines of attack, windows of hesitation.
A voice shouted.
"Do not move!"
A man with a gun pointed came into sight, standing on a tall platform. More people followed—four candidates in total.
Text was shown.
KAWASAKI TOMO — ACTIVE
UGENO RIN — ACTIVE
ISHIDA HARU — ACTIVE
MINAMI YUKI — ACTIVE
Tomo's throat moved as he swallowed when he saw me.
"You," was all he said. "You are the one who got on the altar."
The rumor was already out.
I kept quiet about it.
Rin was quavering with fear. "We mean no harm."
"Then you shouldn't have stalked us," was my answer.
Haru was digging his knuckles into the grip of his gun. "We just wish to be let through."
The shadow beat like a heart, supplying me with likelihood.
LIKELIHOOD OF AMBUSH IF ALLOWED TO PASS: 63%
Way too high.
I moved my hand up slowly—not rude, just to the level of being able to be heard.
"Everyone drop your guns," I ordered. "And move back from the edge."
No sound.
Yuki was saying something very hurried to Rin.
Tomo was uncertain.
Rei looked at me and then very quickly said, "Kuro."
I did not turn to her.
"This is the last warning," I told them. "If you take too long, I will interpret it as intent."
Tomo's gun went down.
Haru's did not.
That was the wrong move.
The shadow was quicker than the imagination—not to kill, but to make a point. It wrapped around Haru's arm, withering the bone with a crisp, dreadful crack.
Haru yelled, letting go of his gun as he went down.
The rest of the people were shocked and staggered back.
Text blazed.
ISHIDA HARU — CRIPPLED (NON-LETHAL)
Rei was fixed on me.
"You—"
"I did not execute him," I replied in a flat tone. "Because it was not needed."
I turned my gaze up towards the other candidates.
"Now you get the rules."
They ran away at once—pulling Haru with them, fear leaking from every step they took, and thus the ceaseless traitor dragged along.
The plaza was left with no sound at all.
Rei spun around towards me. "You just did it so easily, breaking his arm."
"Yes."
"How can you still be so relaxed?"
I tried to find an explanation.
None that would give her any kind of comfort.
"Because now it's the shadow that deals with the feeling," I answered. "The emotion is caught up in me dat the decision is made."
At that moment, a text showed up, almost as if it was just showing us the truth in plain words.
BEHAVIORAL SHIFT CONFIRMED
THREAT PROFILE: CALCULATED
Rei turned away from me with her fists tightly closed.
"I don't know how long I can stay with someone like this," she said in a low voice.
This was an important thing to note.
I was aware of the fact that it was important.
However, I could not experience the feeling of how much.
"I am not going to make you," I told her. "But being close to me raises your chances of surviving."
She let out a bitter laugh. "You are just like the system."
"Then the system and I have a common point of view."
The Underway trembled once more.
This time it was a pulse that was deeper—the pulse was slower and heavier, deliberate.
Suddenly, text burst forth across the space.
TRIAL CONVERGENCE DETECTED
MULTIPLE THREATS APPROACHING
From the dark front, something enormous smoothly and silently changed the position—something that was neither a predator nor a candidate.
Something ancient.
Rei's eyes were locked on the darkness, her fear extinguishing everything else.
"What is that?"
Without realizing it, I moved in front of her.
The darkness fully ascended, extremely well-defined, and waitful.
"I said something that expects us to run."
My mouth formed a teasing pout—not truly a grin.
"It will be let down."
Distantly, but not visible, the eyes that were probably watching put their focus on us.
And thus the very first time since the start of the Descent, I was mentally strong about one thing:
In case life-saving meant turning into a fiend—
I would select what kind.