The silence between them stretched like the last sliver of dusk before night. The ruins around them groaned with the wind, ancient wood creaking against broken steel. Radiant Man stood tall beneath the crumbling arch, his golden cape rippling in the breeze like a banner of celestial wrath. His eyes, glowing faintly like twin suns caught behind clouded glass, bore into Elius with unsettling intensity.
Elius met the gaze without flinching.
The silence broke when Radiant Man stepped forward. Dust rose around his boots, the ground itself seemingly unwilling to bear his weight. His voice, when it finally emerged, was steady—low, calculated, almost casual—but each syllable vibrated with power too vast to contain.
"…You've been near him, haven't you?"
Elius blinked once. "Him?"
Radiant Man tilted his head, just slightly. "Keith. Young man. Sixteen. Brown eyes. Temper like wildfire. A mother who hides behind curtains and lies. You've seen him, haven't you?"
