They didn't leave immediately.
The street stayed the same.
But the space near the wall—
didn't.
Dev watched it.
Not expecting movement—
but not dismissing it either.
Kai leaned slightly against the opposite side.
Keeping distance.
"…It reacted," he said.
Dev nodded.
"Once."
"And you think it'll do it again?"
Dev didn't answer.
Because that wasn't the question.
It wasn't if.
It was when.
The air shifted.
Light.
Barely noticeable.
But enough.
Kai straightened.
"You felt that?"
Dev didn't move.
His focus stayed on the surface.
Then—
a faint distortion.
Not a ripple this time.
Something else.
The space near the wall—
blurred.
Just for a second.
Like heat—
without warmth.
Kai took a step forward.
"…That wasn't the same."
"No," Dev said quietly.
"It wasn't."
The distortion didn't return.
But the feeling didn't leave either.
It stayed—
like something unfinished.
Dev stepped closer again.
Slower this time.
More careful.
His hand didn't rise.
He didn't touch it.
Because now—
it wasn't about triggering it.
It was about understanding its pattern.
"It's not reacting to force," Dev said.
Kai frowned slightly.
"Then what?"
A pause.
Dev watched the surface.
"…Presence."
The word settled.
Not confirmed—
but close.
Kai glanced at him.
"You mean just standing here does this?"
"Not just standing."
Dev stepped back.
Then forward again.
The distortion flickered—
brief.
Controlled.
Kai noticed it.
"…That's not random."
"No."
Dev stopped moving.
The space steadied.
Silence returned.
But now—
it felt responsive.
Like it was waiting—
not for action—
but for something else.
Kai exhaled slowly.
"…So what now?"
Dev looked at the wall one last time.
Then turned away.
"We leave."
Kai blinked.
"That's it?"
"For now."
The answer didn't hesitate.
Because staying longer—
wouldn't change anything.
Not yet.
Kai followed.
Still looking back once.
The wall stood—
unchanged.
Silent.
But not empty.
They walked out of the narrow street.
Back into movement.
Back into noise.
But something stayed with them.
Not visible.
Not clear.
Just—
present.
"…It wasn't reacting to us," Kai said.
Dev didn't look back.
"No."
A pause.
"It was acknowledging us."
Kai didn't respond.
Because that felt—
closer to the truth than it should have.
And that made it worse.
The street behind them returned to normal.
Completely.
As if nothing had ever been there.
But both of them knew—
that wasn't true.