“It seems you two have escaped somehow."

  The man stood at the bottom of the stairs, hands clasped behind his back. He looked between them with small dark eyes.

  Abell's body still ached from his earlier fight. He knew wouldn’t be able to do much against this man.

  But still he kept a confident face.

  "I was given the important task to overlook this operation" The man said, voice calm, By lord Augustus himself"." He took one step forward, the stone cracking beneath him. "I don’t know how you made it down here but…. In the name of house Benedict I’ll make it so you don’t remember what you saw here”.

  His eyes moved across the boys slowly. Then he cracked his knuckles, let out a deep breath and readied himself.

  "I'll be returning you both to your cells now."

  Yeah. We'll see about that.

  Abell stepped forward, with a confident smirk.

  Abell's hand moved to his back instinctively before he remembered. His sister’s blade wasn’t there. He didn’t want to use his Lux so soon but he summoned it again, golden light began crawling up from his palm until the sword flickered into shape, flickering wildly.

  His body ached as the sword manifested in his hand.

  Maybe I got five minutes at most but… Screw it

  Then Gaius's arm shot out across his chest.

  Abell looked at him. "What?"

  Gaius didn't look back at him. His eyes were fixed on the man ahead, moving slowly, reading him the way Abell had seen him read a room before taking something from it.

  "Your sword looks unstable." Gaius said it quietly, just for Abell.

  Abell looked down at his hand again.

  "I know but—"

  "You’d get destroyed here." Gaius let his arm drop. "Fall back. Let me handle this one."

  Abell tried to open his mouth but…

  "Please." The word came out flat but it was still the first time Gaius had said it.

  Abell looked at the man ahead. Then back at Gaius.

  “Whatever, I’ll let you handle this weakling.” he said.

  He let his sword dissolve and stepped back.

  The man let out a deep laugh, the sound filling the whole chamber.

  "You would do well to fight together." He looked between them, almost amused. "Because alone neither of you stands any chance against me."

  “Quiet.” Gaius said, sternly.

  “I won’t have a dog of the Benedict family stop me here.”

  He stepped forward and Abell noticed his hands.

  They weren't still. A faint tremor ran through his fingers that were barely visible, the kind of thing you'd miss if you weren't looking. But Abell had been watching Gaius long enough to know that stillness was his default.

  Not the cold, calculated kind either. This rage seemed raw. Something that had been building since that cage in the corner.

  The man studied Gaius for a moment, unbothered.

  "Is that so." He tilted his head slightly. "Tell me boy, are you the thief that's been giving Raxus's people so much trouble?"

  Gaius was already moving, completely ignoring the question.

  He crossed the distance between them in an instant, faster than someone his size had any right to be. Abell barely tracked it. One moment Gaius was beside him, the next he was inside the man's guard, daggers drawn.

  A faint glow traced up his legs and was gone just as quickly.

  The cut opened across the man's cheek before he could react. Clean and precise, drawing a thin line of blood just below his left eye.

  The man didn't stumble. He just stopped and reached up slowly, pressing two fingers to his cheek. He looked at the blood on them with the same unbothered expression he'd had since he walked in.

  Then something shifted behind his eyes.

  "Interesting."

  Abell’s eyes were wide eyed, completely stunned.

  “Was that resonance!?”

  Gaius didn't answer. His eyes stayed fixed on the man, daggers raised, already repositioning.

  The man reached up slowly and pressed two fingers to the cut on his cheek. He looked at the blood for a moment, then back at Gaius, smiling.

  "It seems you are worthy of a proper introduction." He lowered his hand and straightened to his full height. "I am Wido. Enforcer of Lord Augustus's private guard."

  Gaius shook his head, daggers still raised.

  “I don’t care.”

  He moved again, closing the gap in an instant, driving both daggers forward in a low cross strike.

  Wido's hand came up almost lazily and caught Gaius by the wrist. One hand. He held him there for a moment like he was holding something mildly inconvenient, then shook him off with a flick.

  Gaius skidded back across the stone floor, catching himself before he knocked a table over.

  “It’s a shame, someone of your strength could have served the Benedict family well.” Wido said.

  “Now it’s my turn.

  Wido rolled his shoulder once and came forward.

  He didn't rush. Just closed the distance with those same heavy deliberate steps, each one shaking the floor slightly. Then he drew his arm back and swung.

  The punch came down like a falling wall.

  It connected with nothing.

  The image of Gaius shattered like smoke, dissolving into thin air. Wido's fist drove straight through it and cracked into the stone floor, leaving a spiderweb of fractures beneath his knuckles.

  The real Gaius dropped from above and drew a clean line across the top of Wido's head before landing behind him.

  Wido straightened slowly. He reached up and touched the cut with two fingers, the same way he'd touched the one on his cheek. Two lines of blood now.

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  He turned around.

  "A Lux." His voice carried no particular surprise, more like something being filed away. "Even more interesting."

  Abell watched from behind the table, arms folded.

  He's good.

  Not just fast. Precise. Every movement had a purpose, nothing wasted. Two cuts already on a man that size without taking a single hit back. Gaius made it look effortless in a way that was almost annoying.

  Where did he even learn to fight like that? Could I even beat him?

  Wido looked across the chamber slowly, eyes moving from shadow to shadow.

  "Clever tricks." He cracked his neck to one side. "But it doesn't matter how many copies you make." He planted his feet and raised his fists, the stone beneath him groaning slightly from the shift in weight. "I'll knock down every single one until the real you shows up.

  Three copies of Gaius stepped out of the shadows simultaneously, daggers raised, moving from different angles.

  Wido didn't hesitate. He swung at the nearest one. It shattered like smoke on contact and he was already turning to the second, driving his elbow through it before it could close the distance. Gone. He spun toward the third.

  It dissolved before he even touched it.

  He stopped. Looked around the chamber slowly.

  Then movement behind him.

  The real Gaius came in low and fast, driving both daggers upward in a cross strike toward Wido's back. Wido spun just fast enough, catching one blade on his forearm and letting the other graze his side.

  He grabbed at Gaius's collar.

  Gaius was already gone, sliding back out of reach.

  Wido looked down at the fresh cut along his ribs. Then back up at Gaius.

  For the first time since he'd walked in, his expression had shifted.

  "I see."

  Gaius moved again, circling wide, forcing Wido to turn with him.

  Then he stepped in.

  Wido swung hard, a straight punch aimed at Gaius's chest with enough force to end the fight on the spot.

  An image of Gaius took the hit. It shattered instantly, smoke dispersing outward from the point of impact.

  The real Gaius was already around his guard, slipping past his extended arm, and drove a dagger clean into Wido's shoulder from the side.

  But Wido caught him.

  Wido caught him with a backhand as he came in. Casual, almost effortless. But the force behind it sent Gaius clean into the stone wall, cracking it on impact. He slid down slowly and hit the floor on his hands and knees.

  He coughed once.

  Blood hit the stone beneath him.

  Abell tried to take a step forward.

  "Don't!" Gaius's voice came out hoarse but firm. His head was still down, one hand pressed flat against the floor.

  Wido walked toward him unhurried, rolling his shoulder.

  "You are skilled." He stopped a few feet away and looked down at him. "But there is a difference between skill and strength. And down here—" He reached down to grab him. "—I am the warden.."

  Gaius straightened up slowly, eyes still on Wido.

  Then he chuckled

  It was short and quiet but it stopped Wido mid-step.

  "I know about you." Gaius shook his head. "Wido, the ever loyal dog of who’s loves the Bendict family… give me a break.

  Wido's expression didn't change. "Watch your words boy."

  "Lord Augustus." Gaius let the title drip with contempt. "A man who locks people from the lower quarters in cages underground. Who uses them like animals for his experiments." He looked directly at Wido. "And you protect him. You're proud of that."

  Something moved behind Wido's eyes.

  "Yes anything I can do to help the Benedict family rise is worth it." His eyes, filled with pride.

  "Disgusting." Gaius's voice stayed completely flat. "You and that pathetic family." He tilted his head slightly. "If I were to slit Augustus's or throat right now—"

  Wido's composure cracked.

  "YOU DARE—" The words tore out of him like something had broken loose inside his chest. His whole body shook, fists clenched at his sides, that flat unbothered expression completely gone. "SAY THAT AGAIN AND I'LL TEAR YOU APART WITH MY BARE HANDS."

  Abell blinked.

  What just happened to him.

  "And Cedris." Gaius kept going like Wido hadn't spoken. "The great lord of Hallion. Hiding behind walls and titles while his people cower like animals" He gestured slowly at the chamber around them. "A man who can't even keep his own house clean." He looked back at Wido. "Weak. Pathetic. Not worth the ground he walks on."

  Wido's whole body shook.

  "I'LL KILL YOU." The words tore out of him raw and unrecognizable, nothing left of that calm elegant voice. "I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS—"

  Abell stared.

  Who is this man right now.

  Wido moved.

  All that composure, all that patience, gone in an instant. He crossed the chamber in three massive strides and swung with everything he had.

  His fist connected with Gaius's chest.

  But the it was only a clone.

  Wido stumbled forward through the smoke, momentum carrying him into the table behind it. The whole thing collapsed under his weight, clay jars exploding across the floor, dark liquid spreading out in every direction.

  The real Gaius dropped from above in complete silence.

  Both daggers found Wido's back simultaneously, driving him down to one knee. Gaius landed on top of him, pressing the blades and kicked Wido to the ground.

  The chamber was quiet.

  Gaius leaned down close.

  "The Benedict family can't save you down here."

  Abell stepped out from behind the table slowly, staring at Gaius.

  "What was that." He looked between Gaius and Wido on the floor. "Why did he just lose it like that."

  Gaius stood up and sheathed his daggers. "Wido is well known in Hallion." He glanced down at him without expression. "He was a notorious guard, known for his deep love and admiration to the Benedicts." He stepped over one of the broken jars pieces. "He also has an extremely short temper when it comes to anyone speaking against them. Before he once crippled a man who critized Cedris."

  Abell looked at Wido, still down, breathing hard.

  "So you used that?"

  Gaius said nothing. Which was an answer.

  "You knew all of that before we even came down here?"

  "I make it a point to know who the dangerous people in this city are." Gaius started walking. "It keeps me alive."

  Abell stared at his back for a moment.

  Damn.

  Gaius took two steps and his legs gave out.

  He hit the ground on one knee, catching himself with a hand on the stone floor. His breathing was controlled but shallow, the kind of breathing someone does when they're trying to hide how much something hurts.

  Abell was beside him in an instant, grabbing his arm and pulling it over his shoulder.

  "I'm fine." Gaius said.

  "Sure you are." Abell hauled him upright.

  Gaius steadied himself, jaw tight. He looked toward the stairs.

  "We need to move. Raxus will come looking when Wido doesn't report back."

  "Can you walk?"

  "Yes." He took a step to prove it. Slow but stable.

  Abell stayed close anyway.

  They moved toward the corridor, stepping around the broken vessels and scattered equipment. Neither of them looked back.

  Behind them the dark liquid crept slowly across the stone floor, finding the cracks, spreading outward in thin dark lines.

  It spread slowly across the stone until it reached Wido's cut wound, pooling around his fingers. For a moment nothing happened.

  Then his fingers twitched once and went still again.

  Hugo pushed through the doors of Noctua Hall and stepped out into the cold night air.

  He stood there for a moment, rubbing his hair.

  “I hate that man.” he sighed.

  Cedris had smiled through the entire meeting. Two hours of talking without saying anything at all, and somehow Hugo still left feeling like it had been his fault.

  He started walking.

  “I wonder how Abell is doing?”

  "You look terrible, little one."

  An old man appeared, arms crossed with two guards at his sides. Gray hair, clean shaved, dressed in a deep navy coat with a small Benedict crest embroidered at the chest.

  "Master Adrian." Hugo dipped his head slightly. "I didn't know you were back in Hallion."

  "I just arrived today." Adrian said. "I’m surprised you are here, little one." He dismissed the guards with a small gesture and fell into step beside Hugo. "How'd it go in there."

  "How do you think?"

  Adrian let out a quiet breath. "My son is many things. Subtle is one of them."

  "I can’t stand him." Hugo kept walking.

  Adrian was quiet for a moment. "I worry about that boy, but what can I do i’m just an old man now."

  “You saw that but… I know you can still hold your own, Master.

  Before Adrian could respond, one of the guards who had been following at a distance jogged forward and stopped beside them, fist to his chest.

  "Apologies for the interruption." The guard stepped forward. "There's been some kind of disturbance near the Church of Lumious. The patrol can't explain it but they're requesting backup."

  Hugo stopped walking.

  He looked at Adrian.

  Then at the guard. "Take us there."

  Adrian fell into step beside him without another word.

  "Lead the way." Hugo said to the guard. He was already moving.

  “Could this be why you came here, Hugo?”

  “Perhaps…”