Ryn felt them before he heard them.

Two presences stood at the edge of his awareness, trying very hard not to exist.

They were close.

Close enough to hear every word.

Ryn didn't look in their direction, already knowing who they were.

Taylor stood beside him, arms folded. Mira had already started toward Central—she had to continue playing her role, after all.

Ryn inclined his head slightly.

"Not sure the Outside Tribes looking at us like heroes is a good thing," he said.

Taylor didn't glance at him. "But they already do."

"Yeah."

Ryn exhaled quietly.

"But hope externalized becomes dependency. And dependency collapses the moment the pillar cracks."

Taylor exhaled softly. "You're speaking like someone who's already accepted the cost."

"I have," Ryn replied.

She turned her head just enough to study him. "Is that why you proposed the drug?"

He nodded.

"Giving them the means to stand without us," Ryn answered. "Even if it accelerates the damage."

"You know it's extremely complicated, right?" Taylor continued. "Even Jay's still trying to figure it out."

Ryn didn't deny it.

"If it works," he said, "they won't need us."

"And if it doesn't?"

Ryn closed his eyes for half a heartbeat.

"…Then at least the choice was theirs."

Fritz didn't step out immediately.

He waited until Taylor turned away, until the pressure of the conversation eased just enough that pretending ignorance felt insulting rather than safe.

Then he walked forward.

"I don't agree."

Ryn didn't turn.

Taylor stopped.

The silence that followed was different.

"Which part?" Ryn asked calmly.

"All of it," Fritz said.

He stopped a few paces away, posture straight, jaw tight. There was no anger in his voice yet.

"You're talking about giving them something you know is unstable," Fritz continued. "Something that messes with judgment, amplifies aggression, and shortens lives."

"We saw it happen in front of our eyes, Ryn," he exclaimed. "Look at the captives!"

Ryn finally turned to face him.

He held Fritz's gaze.

Then he asked, calmly—

"Then what will you do?"

Fritz faltered.

Ryn didn't give him time to recover.

"What's your plan?" he pressed. "Right now. If not this."

Fritz's jaw tightened. "We confront Kharvos."

Ryn didn't react.

"We take him head-on," Fritz continued, voice rising despite himself. "Expose what he's doing. Stop the summit before it happens."

"And after?" Ryn asked.

Fritz hesitated.

"…We save the Outside tribes," he said. "And build better lives for them."

Ryn waited.

The silence stretched.

Fritz's shoulders sagged just slightly.

"I know it won't work," he said at last, quieter now. "I know we're not strong enough. I know Bloodmane won't just let it happen."

He looked away.

"But we still can't do this," Fritz said. "We can't make a choice like that for them."

Ryn watched him carefully.

"We're not their rulers," Fritz continued. "We're not their gods."

He swallowed.

"And the moment we decide what kind of suffering is acceptable for them… we become no better than Bloodmane."

Ryn didn't raise his voice.

"I'm not deciding for them," he said. "I'm giving them an option they don't currently have."

"That's not how power works," Fritz snapped. "When you hand desperate people a weapon, it's not a choice. It's a push."

Taylor shifted slightly but didn't intervene.

Ryn stepped forward.

"And when you don't," he said quietly, "you're condemning them to their fate."

Fritz stepped in and grabbed Ryn's collar.

His face flushed with rage—not at Ryn, but at himself.

"…If this goes wrong," Fritz said quietly, "people will die because of a choice you made."

Ryn didn't look away.

"And if I don't," he replied, "they'll die because of one I didn't."

Amelia moved before the tension could snap.

She caught Fritz's wrist, firm enough to remind him what's going on, and pulled him back a step.

Fritz resisted for half a heartbeat, then let go. His grip loosened from Ryn's collar, fingers trembling as they dropped to his side.

"Fritz," Amelia said softly.

He didn't look at her.

She positioned herself between them anyway, not as a barrier, but as an anchor.

"That's enough," she murmured.

Fritz took a shaky breath and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. The anger drained out of him fast, leaving something worse behind.

Silence.

The kind that pressed down on the chest.

Ryn let it sit for a moment longer.

Then he spoke.

"If you want to do something about it," he said evenly, "then we need to get stronger."

Fritz looked up.

Ryn didn't soften his tone.

"All of us."

He reached into his ring.

Heat spilled into the air first as a single feather emerged. Red hot and alive with a golden flame, hovering for a heartbeat before settling in his palm.

Amelia froze.

"…Ryn," she breathed.

He held it out to her. "From the Isles. Phoenix Feather. It'll help you stabilize your overheating problem and hopefully help you advance to Knight Rank."

She hesitated, then took it carefully. The feather flared the instant her Essence brushed it, almost like recognizing its owner.

Amelia sucked in a breath, eyes widening.

"I can—" She swallowed. "I can feel it."

Ryn nodded once and turned to Fritz.

The second item was heavier.

A dark, rigid scale, almost as thick as armor emerged. Winds swirled around it, almost like metal to a magnet.

"Wyvern scale," Ryn said. "Should help you advance to Master Rank."

Fritz stared at it for a long moment.

"…You planned this," he said quietly.

"Yes," Ryn replied.

Fritz took the scale, letting the weight just settle into his hand. He exhaled slowly, feeling something steady itself inside him.

Ryn stepped back.

"A confrontation with Kharvos is inevitable," he said.

"No matter what we choose," he continued, "Bloodmane will push back. The only question is whether we're ready when it happens."

Fritz looked down at the scale in his palm.

"And if we're not?" he asked.

Ryn didn't hesitate.

"Then let's hope we never find out."

Amelia glanced between them, then back to Ryn.

"What about you?" she asked quietly.

Ryn's mouth curved slightly.

"Well," he said, "I do have something to test."

His gaze dropped to the already opened status panel to his right.

On it, a line had been rewritten.

[Enhanced Senses has evolved.]

Ryn's breath slowed.

[Blessing Acquired: Limited Foresight (S-Rank)]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.