Gravefall rain didn't stop.
But inside Duskveil headquarters, it was silent.
The building looked unimpressive from the outside.
Concrete.
No grand banners.
No flashy wards.
Inside?
Layers of reinforced mana barriers.
Training halls beneath the foundation.
Observation chambers overlooking the district.
In a circular room lit by soft blue mana lamps—
Five seated figures watched a replay.
A projection of the street fight flickered midair.
Slow-motion.
Level 13 rushing.
Jareth stepping inside.
Solar plexus strike.
Pause.
Rewind.
Play again.
⸻
Duskveil Council Status
Elder Kael Viremont
Level: 147
Prestige: 2
Rank: Archon
Captain Seris Halden
Level: 92
Rank: Sovereign
Instructor Maerin (the woman who observed him)
Level: 34
Rank: Obsidian
Two additional advisors Level 70+.
⸻
Elder Kael leaned forward slightly.
"No crystal detected?"
Maerin shook her head.
"None."
Captain Seris frowned.
"He reinforced without overflow. No visible mana bleed."
Advisor spoke quietly.
"That Level 9's combustion destabilized."
"It wasn't sabotage," Maerin replied. "He overfed it."
Silence.
Elder Kael tapped the projection.
"Rewind."
They watched again.
Frame by frame.
Jareth breathing steady.
No fatigue.
No stagger.
Seris narrowed her eyes.
"After three impacts and one internal burst… he should have at least shown strain."
"He didn't," Maerin said.
"Is he hiding output?"
"No."
Maerin folded her arms.
"He doesn't know how."
The room went quiet.
⸻
Elder Kael finally spoke.
"He's Level 2."
"Yes."
"And he fractured a Level 13 crystal."
"Yes."
"Not shattered."
"Not yet."
Another pause.
"Do we recruit him," Seris asked, "or monitor him?"
Maerin didn't hesitate.
"If we don't recruit him, someone else will."
Advisor countered.
"Or he destabilizes."
Seris leaned back.
"He doesn't look unstable."
Maerin gave the smallest smirk.
"He made a joke while bleeding."
That actually got a small reaction from the Elder.
Interesting.
⸻
Elder Kael stood.
His mana pressure was controlled but immense.
"We are Rank 63 in the Veil Trials."
Silence.
"We have not produced a Prestige candidate in 41 years."
Another silence.
"We do not ignore anomalies."
He looked at Maerin.
"Bring him in."
Pause.
"Not as a prodigy."
Maerin raised an eyebrow.
"Then?"
"As a test."
⸻
Across town—
Jareth sat on a rooftop again.
Bandage around his knuckles.
Watching mana currents drift in the air.
Status faintly flickered.
Jareth Nocturne
Level: 2
Mana Stability: 100%
Hidden Mana Pool: Unmeasured
He exhaled slowly.
Then he muttered to himself:
"…So that's how reinforcement leaks."
He'd already figured out why the combustion backfired.
He was thinking.
Learning.
Alone.
⸻
Behind him—
A voice spoke calmly.
"You fight inefficiently."
He didn't turn.
"…You've been watching for a while."
Maerin stepped into view.
Duskveil coat shifting in the wind.
Level 34 pressure subtle but present.
"You don't belong here," she said.
"Probably not."
"We're offering you structure."
"And if I say no?"
She looked at him carefully.
"Then Gravefall eats you."
Pause.
Jareth stood slowly.
Hair shifting in the wind.
"You guys weak?"
Maerin almost laughed.
"We're surviving."
"That's not what I asked."
A long look passed between them.
Then she replied:
"We're not strong enough."
That answer satisfied him.
"…Alright."
⸻
END OF EPISODE 2