They didn't celebrate after destroying the fragment.
There wasn't much to celebrate anyway.
The distortion was gone, sure. The pressure in the air had eased, the streets felt normal again, and for a few hours it almost seemed like they'd actually done something meaningful. But that feeling didn't last.
It never did.
Jovian sat on the edge of a low rooftop, elbows resting on his knees, staring out over the city. The lights stretched out endlessly, flickering in soft patterns that made everything look calm from a distance.
Up close, it wasn't calm at all.
Vital Mirage stood behind him, faint and quiet, like it was conserving its strength. Jovian had started noticing that lately. It didn't stay fully manifested unless it needed to. Like it was waiting.
Or listening.
Footsteps approached from behind.
"You always pick the highest place you can find," Alaric said.
Jovian didn't turn. "Better view."
Alaric stepped beside him, arms folded, Golden Cavalier appearing briefly before fading again. Even when inactive, it felt present—solid, grounded, like it belonged exactly where it stood.
"You're thinking too much," Alaric added.
Jovian let out a quiet breath. "Not thinking enough would get us killed."
"That hasn't stopped you before."
That almost got a smile out of him. Almost.
Silence settled between them, not awkward, just… there.
After a moment, Jovian spoke again. "That fragment… it reacted."
Alaric nodded slightly. "They all do."
"No," Jovian said, finally glancing at him. "This one was different. It didn't just lash out. It… resisted."
Alaric's expression shifted, just slightly. Enough to show he understood the difference.
"You think they're learning?"
"I think something behind them is adjusting," Jovian replied.
They both knew what that meant.
Voss Calder.
The name didn't need to be said out loud anymore.
More footsteps echoed behind them. This time lighter.
"You two planning the end of the world up here without us?" Iggy said as he stepped onto the rooftop.
Phantom Ember flickered briefly over his shoulder, then vanished just as quickly.
"Just talking," Jovian replied.
"Dangerous," Iggy muttered.
Lucien followed shortly after, quieter as usual. He didn't announce himself. He just leaned against a nearby wall, watching them with that same unreadable expression.
"…There's another one," he said.
Straight to the point.
Jovian stood. "Where?"
Lucien tossed something small toward him—a folded piece of paper. Jovian caught it and opened it. A rough map, marked in pencil.
"Same pattern," Lucien continued. "Same energy. Stronger than the last."
"Of course it is," Iggy said. "Wouldn't want things getting easier."
Alaric glanced at the map. "…This is further out."
"Yeah," Lucien said. "Less people. More space."
"More room to make a mess," Iggy added.
Jovian folded the map again, his grip tightening slightly.
"No," he said. "More room for him to watch."
That quiet weight returned.
Lucien pushed himself off the wall. "Then we don't give him a show."
Iggy smirked faintly. "Bit late for that."
Jovian stepped toward the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the streets below. The calm felt fake now. Like it was just waiting to break.
"…We end it faster," he said.
Alaric raised an eyebrow. "That's not a plan."
"It's the only one that works," Jovian replied.
No one argued.
Because deep down, they all felt it too.
This wasn't going to drag out forever.
Something was building.
And whatever came next—
It wasn't going to be another test.
The location was quiet. Too quiet.
An old industrial site, half-abandoned, with rusted metal structures and empty lots stretching out under a pale sky. No workers. No noise. Just wind moving through broken steel.
Jovian stepped forward first.
Vital Mirage appeared immediately, sharper this time. Not hesitant. Ready.
"Same formation?" Alaric asked.
Jovian nodded.
They spread out slightly, not too far. Close enough to react, far enough not to get caught in the same attack.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then the air shifted.
Not violently. Not like before.
This was slower. Heavier.
Like something was pressing down from above rather than striking from the side.
Jovian felt it immediately. His shoulders tensed, his breathing slowing without him meaning to.
"…You feel that?" Iggy said under his breath.
"Yeah," Jovian replied.
Lucien's eyes moved carefully across the area. "…It's not coming from one place."
Alaric clenched his fist slightly. "Then it's already active."
That was all the warning they got.
The ground didn't crack this time.
It sank.
Just slightly at first, like the earth itself was giving way. Then more. Faster.
"Move!" Jovian shouted.
They scattered as the surface dipped inward, creating a shallow collapse that spread outward in a wide circle.
But this wasn't random destruction.
It was controlled.
The edges stopped moving. The center deepened.
And in that center—
Something formed.
Not a creature. Not a fragment like before.
This one was clearer.
More stable.
A shape pulled itself together from the distortion, dark and solid, standing upright as if it had been there the entire time.
Jovian didn't move.
Vital Mirage stepped forward slightly, its stance tightening.
"…That's new," Iggy said quietly.
Lucien didn't respond. His focus was locked on the figure.
Alaric took one step forward, Golden Cavalier appearing at his side again.
"…No," he said. "That's worse."
The figure didn't rush them.
Didn't lash out.
It just stood there.
Watching.
Jovian felt it immediately.
That same presence.
Not as strong as before—but familiar enough to make his chest tighten.
"…He's closer," Jovian said.
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Not like it understood.
Like it was reacting.
Testing.
Jovian stepped forward.
"Then let him see this clearly."
Vital Mirage moved with him, its glow sharpening into something brighter—more focused than it had ever been before.
For the first time since this started—
Jovian wasn't reacting.
He was stepping into it.
And whatever this thing was—
It moved.
Fast.
Straight at him.