Everyone looked up.
A cloaked figure stood atop one of the buildings.
Watching.
Waiting.
The figure wore a plain mask.
No identifying marks.
No symbols.
Nothing.
Just a silent observer.
Akshay immediately pointed.
"Stop them!"
Several guards rushed forward.
The figure turned.
Then jumped.
Crossing an impossible distance between rooftops.
Another jump.
Then another.
Within seconds they disappeared into the city.
Gone.
As though they had never been there.
Andre cracked his knuckles.
"I hate mysterious people."
Kai looked at him.
"You literally lived in a cave."
"Different."
"It really isn't."
Before Andre could argue, Akshay spoke.
"Enough."
His eyes remained fixed on the rooftops.
His expression unreadable.
Kai had only known the king briefly.
Yet he could tell something had changed.
Akshay wasn't looking at a criminal.
Or a saboteur.
He was looking at a pattern.
A familiar one.
As though he'd seen something like this before.
The king turned toward his captain.
"Increase patrols."
"Double guard rotations."
"Lock down the eastern tunnels."
The captain nodded.
Immediately relaying orders.
Akshay then looked toward Kai and Andre.
"I need answers."
The casual atmosphere from earlier was gone.
Entirely.
Only determination remained.
The king stared toward the darkness beneath the city.
Toward the tunnels hidden beneath Yggdrasil.
Toward secrets buried deep inside the mountain.
And somewhere in those shadows—
Someone was already making their next move.