A week later, Nova Tower went silent.
Liora and Azephon had confirmed a massive energy signature—similar to the fractured beast Renzo fought—hovering just outside their world's spatial border. It hadn't entered, but it was there.
Kael called a team.
Liora, Azephon, Jinsei, Renzo, Ryuu, Tetsu—and Kael himself.
Kaito stayed behind to watch over the younger students and Kiyomi, who had started having more dreams of the shadowed figure.
They traveled to the barren cliffs of Tenma's Edge—a place once used for high-level dimensional scans.
The scanners pulsed.
Something was coming… but hadn't yet arrived.
Renzo stood on edge, fists clenched. "I feel it. Same pressure as last time… heavier."
Tetsu looked into the sky. "It's waiting for something."
Azephon added, "Or someone."
Jinsei spoke softly. "Maybe it's watching us like we watched it."
Kael nodded. "Then we stand ready."
They stayed there for hours, weapons drawn, senses flaring.
But nothing came.
No beast. No signal. Just a vast, eerie silence hanging in the air.
It was the kind of silence that screamed louder than any roar.
Liora whispered, "It knows we're here."
Azephon nodded gravely. "And it's deciding when to strike."