The summons took them straight to the capital. The letter was clear. The time for preparation was over.
When they reached the Dragon Hourglass, the temple stood silent and severe, cloaked in the echo of distant bells.
Kaley's footsteps were light on the marble, but every one of them felt like thunder in her chest. The walls were smooth—too polished. Every reflection caught her peripheral vision like a threat. She felt the Void stir around her, uneasy. Watching.
Naofumi stepped forward and pressed his palm to the stone plate beneath the Hourglass. The crystal interface pulsed. The countdown began.
Two days until the next Wave.
The others arrived not long after.
Ren. Itsuki. Motoyasu.
Each flanked by new followers. Each with postures like peacocks, all feathers and pride.
Kaley's presence soured the air—not because she said anything.
Because she didn't.
She stood beside Naofumi with practiced stillness, her expression unreadable. The system still refused to classify her. She was an anomaly. And anomalies drew fear.
Raphtalia moved closer to her, almost without thinking. Filo clung to Kaley's cloak and chirped—small but defiant.
"Still letting the devil woman walk free, Shield?" Ren's voice rang cold through the hall.
Kaley didn't react.
Naofumi's jaw tightened. "If you've got something to say, say it to me."
"She's warping the system," Itsuki said. "She shows up blank to everyone but the Shield. No stats. No name. Just a corrupted glyph. That's not normal."
"And she's beautiful," Motoyasu added, dreamlike. "Strong. Ethereal. My Valkyrie…"
Kaley shot him a sidelong look—flat, unamused. "Keep dreaming."
Raphtalia stepped forward, voice like steel. "Kaley protects us. She's part of this family."
Kaley's heart gave a quiet stutter. She didn't let it show. But the words rooted deep.
"She's manipulating you," Ren insisted. "She's not even from this world!"
"And yet here I am," Kaley replied, calm as shadow. "Bleeding for it."
The silence that followed was taut.
"She's dangerous," Itsuki said. "We should petition the Crown. Have her restrained. Watched. Or removed."
Motoyasu hesitated. "That's… a bit extreme, isn't it?"
"You'd defend her?" Ren snapped.
Motoyasu frowned, clearly torn between his delusions and his pride. "She hasn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. I don't know what she is, but… she saved people."
Naofumi stepped between them, shield arm steady. "She's not your concern. She's ours."
Kaley didn't flinch. But her gaze flicked to Naofumi—and for the first time in that chamber, there was a flash of something unspoken.
They left the hall in silence. The nobles whispered behind them.
That night, they camped at the edge of the city. Far from watchful eyes.
Raphtalia cooked. Filo chased fireflies. Naofumi worked on a new shield form with grinding focus.
Kaley stood at the stream, watching her reflection ripple.
The Man in the Wall was there again.
This time, mimicking not her—but Naofumi.
Her breath caught.
He looked at her with Naofumi's face.
And smiled.
"Even heroes wear masks," he whispered.
Kaley's knees bent. Her hand shot to her blade. But there was no real threat—just the water.
She snapped the mirror shut with a sharp breath.
When she looked up, Naofumi was already there.
He didn't speak. He just sat beside her.
After a long silence, she finally said, "He's testing boundaries. Learning emotions. Copying people."
Naofumi didn't ask who. He already knew.
"We'll hold the line," he said.
Kaley glanced at him. "Even if I'm the one he steps through?"
Naofumi's voice was steady. "Then we'll pull you back."
Behind them, Raphtalia laid out the token she had carved.
Filo nestled beside Kaley's knee and chirped softly.
And for a moment, the reflection in the stream… was gone.
Kaley didn't smile.
But the breath she let out was no longer tight.
The next day, they finished their errands quickly, keeping to side alleys and shadowed streets. Kaley stayed close to Raphtalia and Filo, silent but alert.
When they stopped for a moment to rest, Raphtalia leaned in. "You're quieter than usual."
Kaley looked at her—not just saw her, but truly met her eyes.
"You remind me of someone. She taught me to survive when the galaxy wanted me gone."
Raphtalia tilted her head. "Your mother?"
Kaley hesitated. "Something like that."
Raphtalia offered a quiet smile. "You're doing the same for me."
Kaley looked away—but this time, not to retreat. To hide the flicker of something fragile.
A bond forged not of blood.
But of pain. Of choice.
And of hope.
That night, after dinner, Naofumi raised his bowl. "To strange friends and stranger enemies."
They clinked their bowls together in quiet defiance of the world.
When they returned to the city gates the next morning, a sealed letter awaited them—bearing the royal crest.
It was direct:
You are summoned to the Dragon Hourglass. The next Wave is coming.
And beneath it, scrawled in faded ink:
You are being watched.