Kaiser let the echo of his words fade into the oppressive silence of the hallway. The shadows clung to the walls as if fearful of him, drawing back to corners and crevices to avoid the oppressive blaze of his crimson eyes. He stood unmoving, a pillar of chilling authority.

Lyra's violet eyes flared brighter, glowing fiercely, a captivating but unsettling mirror to Kaiser's infernal gaze. Instantly, she recoiled as if struck, one arm thrown defensively over her eyes while her other hand clutched her dagger tightly. Sweat beaded on her forehead, trickling down the pale contours of her face, betraying her usual confident composure.

"Gods above," Lyra whispered, voice trembling slightly despite her attempt at nonchalance. "How in the absolute hell does a Heroic Liberator possess that much Sol?"

Kaiser's eyebrow arched inquisitively, noticing the faint and trembling orange aura around her, now sharply concentrated around her glowing eyes. Her reaction was telling—she was using the same technique he unconsciously wielded, a means to gauge strength. And clearly, his presence had overwhelmed her.

Inside, Kaiser cursed himself silently. 'I need one of those damned rings Tristan wore,' he thought bitterly, his annoyance carefully hidden behind a composed mask.

Lyra quickly shifted into a fighting stance, feet spread apart, her daggers poised expertly. Her voice was steady again, defiant, with just a hint of playful bravado. "Can't imagine why a Heroic Liberator of your magnitude would come sniffing around this dump, but I doubt it's for my charming personality alone~"

At that, Kaiser threw his head back and laughed. "Relax," he chuckled softly, lowering his chin to level a piercing gaze at her. "We're on the same page, believe it or not. I'm not specifically after that man's life."

Lyra's blades dipped just a fraction, uncertainty flickering in her expression. The silence held precariously until Leos, still trembling behind her, found his voice again.

"Lyra! You promised—you said you'd get me to my sister alive! If he captures us, I'm dead and you lose everything. Our home won't be yours—" Leos's voice cracked with panic, the desperation clawing at his throat.

"I know that, darling," Lyra snapped softly, never taking her eyes from Kaiser's imposing form. "But screaming like a scared rabbit won't solve anything right now. So please, try shutting up for once~"

Kaiser raised his hand calmly, a gesture filled with enough quiet authority that even Leos felt compelled into silence. "Stay put," Kaiser said, his tone calm but unyielding. "I only have a question."

Leos swallowed audibly, his throat dry and raw. "A question? What could you possibly—"

Kaiser shook his head dismissively, eyes never leaving the doorway. "Not for only you two."

As he said that, something began to happen. From the far wall where a faded painting of a windswept field was put up, a figure began to materialize. For a blink it seemed like a trick of the afterimage still dancing in the air, but then the painting rippled and parted, letting a young man step through into the barely-lit room. He wore a stained cloak, hood low, and as he drew it back, the low light caught a jagged scar running from cheekbone to jaw. His eyes, dark and defiant, swept the room before freezing on Leos.

Leos recoiled, voice cracking with shock and relief. "Eryk?!"

Eryk grinned, but there was weariness in the curve of his mouth. "Couldn't let you have all the fun dying in public, Leos. Someone's got to keep your neck attached."

Lyra, who'd kept her daggers poised and her stance light, grinned with sly satisfaction. "Oh, you two know each other? How delightfully tangled~" Her gaze flicked between them and Kaiser. "Eryk here is a new friend from my dear, dreary homeland. He's got a personal gambit in all this too, one of many reasons we took the job~"

Eryk tipped his head toward Lyra, respect and old camaraderie flickering in his eyes. "She's being modest. If not for her, I'd still be sleeping in a cell of my own."

Kaiser regarded the newcomer with the same calculating scrutiny he'd shown Lyra, though something in his expression eased. "So, not just a bystander, then. An accomplice?"

Leos, regaining his voice, almost laughed. "Eryk's my best friend!"

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Kaiser watched this proclamation in silence for a beat, then cut in, voice low and absolute. "Personal gambits aside, I still have a question. Depending on your answer, this night ends in cooperation, or not."

The room seemed to contract around him. Lyra's gaze grew sly, Eryk's became guarded, and Leos simply looked torn between gratitude and suspicion.

Kaiser addressed Eryk directly, but let his eyes flick to both Lyra and Leos. "I have heard your conversation before, so I'm aware of your familiarity with the Syndicate. But I do expect some sort of an answer, even from a low end agent of it… What does the Syndicate want with Glunko?"

Eryk and Lyra exchanged a wordless glance, something private flickering between them before Lyra replied, her tone as airy as ever, though a subtle seriousness edged her words. "As you seem to know, Kaiser, our dear Leos here is more of a disposable pawn than anything~ Just another cog in the Syndicate's creaky little clock. Eryk and I? No ties, no oaths, no ugly branding. We dance for ourselves, and nobody else~"

Then Lyra continued, her tone breezy but the message pointed. "But… The Syndicate's got their slimy fingers in every pie, darling~ And Glunko's pie is especially tempting these days. He's one of the last merchants left with true independence, and that makes him a threat. They want him leashed, or gone~"

Kaiser nodded once, expression unreadable, but it was clear gears were grinding somewhere behind those crimson eyes. He regarded them both, letting the silence stretch. "Now, humor me. What exactly are your specialties?" His smile was calm, almost inviting, but something cold shimmered beneath it.

Eryk and Lyra traded another wary look, Eryk's jaw tight, Lyra's lips pursed in a half-smirk, half-grimace. Before either could deflect, Kaiser gave a low, rumbling laugh—genuine, but somehow predatory. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not here to conscript you. I'm just…impressed. Skills like yours don't show up often, and I rarely spot them before they vanish."

His gaze fixed on Lyra, eyes glinting. "You, in particular. That little trick with the axe, and how you so perfectly threw your shining dagger at the exact moment for it to shatter. It takes more than quick hands to manipulate Sol like that."

Lyra's flippant air faltered, a chill running through her as she stared at him. "Monster…" she breathed, almost to herself. "To see that much, that fast…"

Leos, sensing the weight in the room, tried to muster his courage. "Look, I don't know what you're after, but—"

Kaiser silenced him with a raised hand, not even sparing a glance. "Not now, Leos."

Lyra, recovering, rolled one shoulder. "I won't brag—well, maybe a little~ But if it's stealing, spying, or secrets you need? I'm among the best. And tonight's little lightshow was just a taste."

At that, Kaiser's mouth curled into a true, unfiltered smile—a sight so stark, so predatory, that everyone in the room, even Lyra, instinctively took a half-step back. The temperature seemed to drop. "Excellent. It's a rare thing to meet someone who can say that and mean it. Truly rare."

He turned to Eryk. "And you?"

Eryk's response was flat and immediate, his tone hard as iron. "I refuse. Not interested. Not for you—not for any man who smiles like that. You might as well be Syndicate yourself."

Kaiser's brow arched, mild confusion touching his voice. "What do you mean by that? I haven't threatened you, haven't asked for your services. You don't even know what I want."

Eryk's lips curled, his eyes never leaving Kaiser's. "I don't need to. I see people for what they are. Not the mask, not the Sol, not even the name. When you smiled, it was like the world flipped inside out. All I saw was something hungry. Something that shouldn't exist."

Kaiser chuckled softly, as if genuinely pleased. He looked to Lyra, "He's sharp. I'll give him that."

Lyra, who had inched closer to Kaiser despite herself, met his gaze with a lingering, greedy nervousness. "You know, love, I think we could get along~ If you ever need a miracle, or a mess swept under the rug… you know where to find me."

She slipped a slim, luminescent card from her coat and pressed it into Kaiser's palm, her touch lingering a heartbeat too long. The card was faintly warm, pulsing with a light that matched her eyes. Kaiser tucked it away without comment, but noted it felt much like the contact card he got earlier that day.

Eryk stared at her, incredulous. "Lyra—what the hell are you doing? We're supposed to be laying low, not trading info with the scariest bastard in the South!"

Leos echoed, nervous and incredulous, "You really trust him?"

Lyra gave them a sweet, breezy smile. "Oh, don't be daft~ A girl's got to make her Sul somehow. Besides… this one pays in opportunities." She flashed Kaiser a wink, then returned to teasing her partners. "It's nothing personal, loves, it's just business~"

Kaiser inclined his head, and for a rare moment, there was no threat in it, only a strange, sincere respect. "I appreciate your honesty. May our paths cross for profit, not conflict."

He turned as if to leave, the oppressive weight of his presence still lingering. For the briefest moment, the only sound were the screams from the people on the street, and the soft breath Lyra let out, barely audible compared to the former.

Then, without warning, Kaiser simply vanished—no smoke, no sound, just an instantaneous blink out of existence. The air where he had stood quivered with afterimage, as if the world itself needed a second to catch up.

As he vanished into the darkness, Lyra let out a shuddering breath she didn't realize she'd held, slipping her blades back into her pouch. "What a truly terrifying man~" she murmured appreciatively. "I almost wish I'd asked for his name a second time."

Leos, still trembling, glanced between the two of them. "Are we safe now?"

Lyra smiled softly, turning to the youth who still lingered uncertainly near the doorway. "Oh, darling, 'safe' is such a dull concept. But for tonight, we are undeniably lucky~"

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