For a moment, no one spoke. The ruined street lay quiet around them, dust settling where their steps had stopped. Elyra was the first to break the silence.

She turned slightly, eyes shifting toward Noir, her tone calm but curious. "Noir," she asked, "what exactly did you sense?"

Noir didn't answer out loud.

Her voice slipped into their minds instead, steady and focused.

'There is a smell,' she said. 'Strong. Unnatural. It doesn't belong to any monster we've faced so far.'

Elena frowned faintly, hugging her arms a little closer to her body as she listened.

'It lingers,' Noir continued. 'Like something that has been here for a long time. It doesn't feel hostile by itself… but it feels important. Like a trail left on purpose, or carelessly.'

Noel nodded slowly, even though she couldn't see him.

"That matches what I was thinking," he said. "If there's even a chance it's connected to what's happening here, I don't want to ignore it."

He glanced north for a brief second, then back toward the darker streets ahead. "Regrouping is still the priority. But walking past a potential clue like this without checking would be careless."

He reached into his dimensional pouch and pulled out the device Theo had given him earlier. The faint lines along its surface glowed softly as he activated it.

"Theo," Noel said evenly. "Can you check on the others for me? I need to know if anyone's in immediate danger."

The device went quiet.

Seconds passed.

The group waited without speaking. Elyra's gaze swept the surroundings automatically, Elena stayed close to Noel, and Laziel shifted his grip on his staff, nerves still not fully settled from the earlier fights.

At last, the device hummed again.

"I'm checking now," Theo's voice said from the other side, distant but clear. "Island by island."

Another pause followed, longer this time.

Finally, Theo spoke again. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary. No signs of imminent danger. If something changes, I'll alert you immediately. For now… you can take your time."

Noel exhaled quietly. "Alright. Thanks, Theo."

He deactivated the device and looked back at the others.

"You heard him," he said. "We have some breathing room."

Elyra gave a small nod, already accepting the shift in priorities. Elena relaxed just a fraction, though her unease didn't fully fade. Laziel didn't argue, which in itself said enough.

Noel's gaze settled on Noir once more.

"Lead the way," he said.

Noir stepped forward, nose low, ears alert, following the invisible trail only she could perceive.

Noir kept moving, steady and precise, her nose close to the ground as if the scent had become a line only she could read. The others followed in a loose file behind her, steps quiet against cracked stone.

This part of the island felt different.

No monsters surged from alleys. No chains rattled from the dark. No distant screams of spellcasting echoed between buildings. Just ruined streets, broken windows, and the kind of silence that made even breathing feel too loud.

Elena walked a little closer than usual, shoulders slightly drawn in. After a few minutes, she finally spoke.

"I don't like this," she admitted softly. "This place gives me… chills. It reminds me of the darker streets in Valon."

Noel glanced at her, then ahead.

"Yeah," he said. "I get what you mean." His gaze swept the empty corners, the narrow passages between buildings. "Same kind of vibe. Places like that aren't safe, not because something is guaranteed to happen, but because no one's watching. No eyes. No witnesses. If something goes wrong, it goes wrong quietly."

Laziel made a sound like he regretted having ears.

"Can you two stop saying things like that?" he muttered. "Do you want something to actually happen? Because this is how it starts. You talk about creepy streets, you compare it to places where bad things happen, and then—boom—something jumps out."

Elyra didn't even look back.

"There are no monsters nearby," she said calmly. "If there were, they would've already thrown themselves at us like the others. That's how these things behave."

Laziel frowned. "Unless they're waiting."

Elyra's tone stayed flat. "If they're waiting, then we'll let Noel handle it."

Noel couldn't help it. A short laugh escaped him.

Elyra's comment wasn't wrong.

He glanced down briefly, not at the ground, but at the invisible path his thoughts always returned to now—the steady, relentless climb. Every kill. Every fraction. Each one bringing him closer to the next Core.

It didn't matter if it was 0.01% or 0.02%. It added up. It always did.

And with the Second Pillar still out there… with the First Pillar still alive…

Getting stronger wasn't optional. It was the only responsible choice.

"We'll be fine," Noel said aloud, mostly for Laziel. "But try not to manifest your worst-case scenario."

Laziel grimaced. "I'm not manifesting anything. I'm just saying I don't like it."

Noir slowed slightly, ears twitching as she angled down a narrower street.

Her voice brushed across their minds.

'We're getting closer,' she said. 'The smell is stronger here.'

Noel's gaze sharpened.

"Alright," he murmured. "Stay alert."

Noir slowed to a near stop.

Her body tensed, muscles coiling beneath her fur as her ears flattened slightly. The street ahead looked no different from the others, collapsed stone, shattered doors, shadows pooling where sunlight couldn't reach, but something in the air had changed.

Her voice slid into their minds again.

'It's stronger now,' she said. 'We're very close to the source.'

Noel felt a familiar tightening in his chest.

'Sometimes,' he thought, 'you really are a cheat code.'

He had lost count of how many times Noir's senses had carried them straight to the truth. Hidden enemies. Traps. Lies that couldn't be seen but could be smelled. More than once, her instincts had turned a bad situation survivable—or a lost cause into a decisive victory.

As far as he could remember, her nose had never been wrong.

…Almost never.

'You know,' Noel thought back to her, 'I think you've only been wrong once.'

Noir's head tilted slightly as she kept moving.

'Hm?' she replied. 'I don't remember being wrong. Ever. Are you sure?' There was a hint of genuine confusion in her mental voice. 'When did that happen? Refresh my memory.'

Noel's steps slowed.

'On the ship,' he answered. 'When Roberto tried to pet you. You almost bit him.'

Noir didn't respond immediately.

Then—

'I told you I don't like his smell,' she said firmly. 'I already said that back then.'

'Yeah,' Noel replied, 'but I never understood why.'

Noir hesitated this time.

'Because it's strange,' she admitted. 'It's similar to the smell of the Circle. Not the same—but close. Much softer. Like it's been diluted… or mixed with something else.'

Noel stopped walking altogether.

The words settled in his mind, clicking into place one by one.

Similar to the Circle.

But not identical.

Mixed.

His gaze lifted slowly, shadows deepening around his feet without him meaning to.

'So…' he thought, the realization forming before he could stop it.

Then he spoke aloud, voice low.

"So you're saying… Roberto belongs to the Circle?"

The street remained silent.

And the question lingered in the air, unanswered.

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