Raya, Elysia, and Valeum returned to the conference room in silence.
Not the heavy silence of danger—
but the quieter kind that follows.
Elysia moved as though the floor itself resisted her. Each step was careful, deliberate, as if the ground was still hot. She didn't speak until she reached the chair. Then she sat immediately, shoulders slumping the moment her weight settled.
Valeum remained standing for a moment longer. His head shook faintly, not in disagreement—just motion without direction. A body still processing fear after the mind had already accepted it.
Raya took her seat last.
She sat like someone who had words ready—and no desire to use them yet.
Elysia broke the quiet.
"I want to go home."
The words were small. Honest. Not defiant.
Raya turned toward her, expression softening only slightly.
"I know, sunshine," she said. "Part of me wants that too. But first, we must train Cassidy. And Rose must be allowed to purify the souls of Sunslope."
A pause.
"Virel commands it."
Elysia huffed, arms folding tight against her chest in the unmistakable posture of a child asked to accept something she didn't fully understand.
She waited for a response.
Raya didn't give one.
Not out of cruelty—
but because purpose could not always be explained before it was felt.
Valeum spoke next, voice low.
"Valeum was no help. Valeum felt too afraid."
Raya didn't move closer. She didn't reach out. She didn't soften her tone.
"We asked," she said evenly. "And you denied. You have a right to your wants too, Valeum."
Elysia looked at him then.
"It was scary," she said quietly. "I don't want you scared, Val."
Valeum's hands clenched, then loosened.
"Valeum allowed you to go in," he murmured. "Valeum needs to do better."
He didn't say it aloud—but he promised himself.
Elysia climbed into his lap without asking. Her movements were slow, tired. He wrapped his arms around her automatically, as if anchoring both of them.
They stayed like that.
Raya closed her eyes—for just a moment—
And then came the knock.
Uneven. Familiar.
A moment later—
Cassidy stood beyond the glass, already grinning.
She slid the door open, walked in like she owned the space, and dropped into the chair across from Raya with a dramatic sigh, loosening her shoulders.
"What's up, Ray?"
Raya opened one eye.
"Ray is not my name," she said flatly. "What is 'up' is entirely dependent on your recovery. Considering how loudly you're speaking, I assume you think you're ready."
Cassidy thought about that.
Then shrugged.
"Actually? No. I have no clue how to use this." She tapped the irritated mark at her wrist. "But knowing there's a way makes me feel a little better."
Raya studied her.
Accepted the answer.
"I've said this before," she replied. "You bear the mark of a forger. Your calling is the forge."
Cassidy nodded slowly.
"Yeah. When I woke up, it kinda all hit me at once. Thought about it."
A breath.
"And… I humbly accept."
Raya blinked.
Surprised—not by the acceptance, but by the clarity.
"This is not a job," Raya warned. "It is responsibility. Fulfillment. Another has not been born in many years. You are the second, Cassidy."
Her gaze sharpened.
"And your first test is not to make—but to guide"
Cassidy tilted her head.
"…Guide?"
"Guide Rose," Raya said. "She does not bear your mark. You will help shape her extension."
Cassidy nearly jumped out of her chair.
"Wait—me? Help shape it?" She glanced between Raya and her wrist. "That can't be too hard, right?"
Raya shook her head once.
"The forge is not instructions," she said. "It is intent. Execution. Interpretation."
Cassidy stared.
Sat up straighter.
"…Wow," she said. "That sounds really intense."
Raya allowed herself a faint chuckle.
"I learned that the hard way. But you will not walk it alone."
Cassidy thought for a moment, then smiled.
"So… you guide me. So I can guide Rose. To guide the extension."
A pause.
"Guide of a guide. To guide."
Raya was not amused.
"To a simple mind," she said flatly.
The room barely settled before—
Another knock interrupted them.
This one was firm.
The door opened to reveal Jax, Hawk, and Sable.
They stepped in together—and stopped when they saw Cassidy standing upright, eye patch in place, damage visible.
Jax spoke first.
"It's good to see you back on your feet, Cassidy."
She winked.
"I've heard that a lot today."
Jax's expression tightened briefly—memory flashing across his face—but he said nothing.
Sable moved closer. Her steps were quiet, deliberate. She studied Cassidy, then turned to Raya.
"She seems ready," Sable said. "In time."
Hawk stepped forward next, nodding to Raya, his gaze flicking briefly toward Valeum.
"King Vex has ordered a lockdown of Solara," he reported. "All personal will relocate to Virel HQ. Upon arrival, all energy-based individuals will undergo scans."
Jax added, "Including higher operatives."
Raya scoffed.
"Central and their data," she muttered. "When will you learn that control is merely time pretending to be certainty?"
Jax raised his hands slightly.
"These are orders," he said. "Not our plan."
"Following orders," Raya replied coldly. "Doing what the leash obeys."
Sable intervened.
"It is harmless," she said. "Give them comfort. Move forward."
Raya didn't look at her.
"Sable was once guided by me," she said quietly. "To forge her extension."
Cassidy blinked.
"Really?" She leaned forward. "Does it turn invisible or something? And why did you need one—you're human."
Sable didn't answer directly.
"Race is not the only factor," she said. "The forge looks within."
Cassidy shrugged.
"When do we move?"
Jax looked around the room.
At the walls that had held terror.
At the halls that had echoed with laughter.
"Immediately," he said. "Pack what you need."
As if summoned by the words, the intercom chimed.
"ALL PERSONNEL, PROCEED TO DOCKS."
Not loud.
But final.
Nina's voice followed, calm and practiced.
"Pack all your belongings. Board the Falcons."