Seraphina didn’t move immediately.

That was the first thing Kael noticed.

Not fear. Not hesitation.

Just observation.

The forest in front of them felt wrong in a way that had nothing to do with darkness or night. It was quieter than it should have been, like the world itself had decided to stop participating. Even the wind seemed to avoid the clearing where the armored figure stood.

Kael shifted slightly in front of Seraphina.

Not fully blocking her.

Just... adjusting position.

Seraphina noticed that too.

"You’re doing it again," she said.

Kael didn’t take his eyes off the figure.

"Doing what?"

"Standing in front of me like I’m fragile."

A pause.

"You are not fragile," Kael said.

"Good."

"But you are important."

Seraphina blinked once at that.

Then huffed softly.

"That sounds like a problem."

Kael didn’t answer.

Because the armored figure moved.

One step forward.

Then another.

No rush.

No aggression.

Just certainty.

It stopped at a distance that felt intentionally calculated. Close enough to speak. Far enough to avoid immediate resistance.

The voice came again, same calm mechanical tone.

"Subject Seraphina Valois. Confirm compliance."

Seraphina tilted her head slightly.

"...You say that like I had a meeting scheduled."

No response.

Kael spoke instead, voice low.

"This is not negotiation."

Seraphina glanced at him.

"What is it then?"

Kael’s expression tightened slightly.

"Collection."

That word made the air feel heavier.

Seraphina exhaled slowly.

"So dramatic."

The figure’s head tilted.

"Secondary subject detected. Kael Arden. Confirmed attachment status: high."

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Seraphina looked at him instantly.

"...Attachment status?"

Kael didn’t respond.

That silence was worse than denial.

Seraphina stared at him for half a second longer than necessary.

Then she turned back to the figure.

"So you’re saying he’s part of the package."

Kael finally spoke.

"I am not part of anything."

The figure raised its arm slightly.

The forest behind it shifted again.

Not movement.

Presence.

Something unseen spreading outward like pressure on water.

Seraphina felt it immediately.

Her instincts sharpened.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"That’s... suppression magic."

Kael’s gaze sharpened.

"You can feel it?"

Seraphina rolled her shoulders slightly.

"I can feel everything. I just ignore most of it."

"That’s not reassuring."

"It should be."

The figure spoke again.

"Compliance required. Resistance will result in separation."

Seraphina frowned.

"Separation?"

Kael moved half a step closer to her.

The figure continued.

"Primary subject will be secured. Secondary subject will be isolated and reassessed."

Silence.

Seraphina blinked slowly.

"...Reassessed."

Kael’s voice dropped slightly.

"That means captured separately."

Seraphina looked at him.

Then at the figure.

Then back at Kael again.

For the first time since leaving the academy, something in her expression changed.

Not fear.

Not panic.

Focus.

"Oh," she said again.

But this time it was different.

"I don’t like that."

Kael didn’t look at her.

"I know."

The figure moved its arm fully now.

A faint metallic sound clicked inside the armor.

Then the air snapped.

It wasn’t an explosion.

It was absence.

The space between them distorted for a fraction of a second, like reality had been tugged out of place.

Kael reacted instantly.

"Move."

He grabbed Seraphina’s wrist and pulled her sideways.

A sharp pressure tore through where they had been standing.

The ground cracked.

Not burned.

Cracked.

Like something invisible had pressed down with controlled force.

Seraphina steadied herself immediately.

Her eyes flicked to the ground.

"...That was not normal attack magic."

Kael was already scanning the surroundings.

"No."

The figure hadn’t moved.

It hadn’t needed to.

Seraphina’s expression slowly shifted.

"This is retrieval technique," she said.

Kael glanced at her.

"You’ve seen this before?"

"No," she admitted. "But I’ve read about it."

"That’s not helpful."

"It’s very helpful. I know what kind of people do it."

Kael didn’t ask.

Because the figure moved again.

This time faster.

The forest around them flickered.

And suddenly there were more.

Not identical copies.

Different positions.

Surrounding angles.

Three.

No—five.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

"...We’re surrounded."

Seraphina looked around calmly.

"Not bad efficiency."

"That’s your reaction?"

"I’m evaluating."

"You’re under attack."

"I’m always under something."

Kael exhaled sharply through his nose.

That almost looked like frustration.

The figures raised their arms in unison.

The air pressure deepened.

Seraphina finally stopped joking.

Her gaze sharpened.

"Kael."

"Yes."

"Can you run?"

A pause.

"Yes."

"Good."

She stepped forward slightly.

Kael grabbed her wrist again immediately.

"Don’t."

Seraphina looked at his hand.

Then at him.

"Let go."

"No."

"That wasn’t a request."

"That wasn’t a suggestion."

The figures began to move closer.

Slow.

Coordinated.

Seraphina sighed.

"This is inconvenient timing."

Kael spoke quietly.

"If you’re planning something reckless—"

"I always am."

"That’s the problem."

Seraphina tilted her head slightly.

Then, very calmly, she lifted her other hand.

And snapped her fingers.

Nothing dramatic happened.

For half a second.

Then the ground beneath the nearest figure shifted.

Not explosively.

Precisely.

A thin layer of earth collapsed inward, like gravity had briefly changed its mind.

The figure stumbled half a step.

That was all Kael needed to see.

"...You can manipulate terrain that precisely?"

Seraphina didn’t look at him.

"I said I ignore most things. Not that I can’t use them."

The figures paused.

Slightly.

That hesitation was enough.

Kael moved.

He pulled her forward this time.

"Now."

They ran.

Not blindly.

Not panicked.

Controlled movement through forest gaps, avoiding open lines of sight.

Behind them, the retrieval units adjusted instantly.

No shouting.

No chasing noise.

Just synchronized pursuit.

Seraphina ran beside Kael, matching pace easily.

"You’re unusually calm," she said while running.

"I’ve done this before."

"That’s alarming."

"Later."

Branches blurred past them.

The forest wasn’t dense enough to slow them properly, which meant it wasn’t designed as a barrier.

It was designed as a funnel.

Seraphina noticed it first.

"They’re guiding us."

Kael responded immediately.

"Yes."

"Toward what?"

"I don’t know yet." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"That’s not comforting."

"I noticed."

A faint shift in air pressure again.

Seraphina glanced back once.

One of the figures had moved closer than before.

Too close.

She clicked her tongue softly.

"Kael."

"I see it."

He didn’t slow down.

Instead, he changed direction slightly.

Not random.

Strategic.

Seraphina followed without hesitation.

"You planned this route."

"I prepared for escape," he corrected.

"When?"

"...Before we left."

Seraphina blinked while running.

"You were expecting this."

"I was expecting possibility."

"That’s worse."

Kael didn’t respond.

The forest ahead opened slightly into a wider clearing.

And that was when Seraphina felt it again.

The pressure changed.

Not pursuit.

Arrival.

She slowed instinctively.

Kael did too.

In the center of the clearing, something was already there.

Not a figure.

Not armor.

A carriage.

Black.

Silent.

No horses visible.

Just standing there like it had always existed.

Seraphina stopped completely.

"...That wasn’t there before."

Kael’s expression tightened.

"No."

The air behind them shifted again.

The retrieval units were closing in.

Seraphina looked at the carriage.

Then behind her.

Then back at Kael.

"...So that’s the trap."

Kael nodded once.

"Yes."

Seraphina exhaled slowly.

Then smiled faintly.

"This is getting interesting again."

Kael looked at her.

"You have very concerning definitions of interesting."

Before she could answer—

The carriage door opened.

Slowly.

Quietly.

Like it was inviting them in.

And from inside—

A voice spoke.

Not mechanical this time.

Human.

Calm.

Familiar in a way Seraphina did not like.

"Seraphina Valois."

She froze.

Kael’s hand tightened slightly on her wrist.

The voice continued.

"We’ve been waiting."

Silence.

The forest behind them tightened.

The retrieval units stopped moving.

As if they were no longer the priority.

Seraphina stared at the carriage.

"...That’s not how ambushes are supposed to work," she muttered.

Kael didn’t respond.

Because for the first time—

He didn’t recognize the voice either.

And that meant one thing.

This was not the first layer of pursuit.

This was the second.