The archive was quiet. But not the sleepy kind.
This was the kind of quiet that came before something changed.
Kairon sat upright—not slouched, not half-buried in scrolls, but centered.
Eyes open.
Hands folded.
Watching.
Lio noticed it first.
He rose from the meditation floor and stepped into the central chamber without a word.
Brix appeared next, knuckles already cracking, sensing the tension.
Mav didn't flounce in. He glided, slower than usual, mouth twisted in curiosity instead of his usual smirk.
Kairon's gaze passed over them all. One by one.
Then—he spoke.
Not muttering. Not dreaming.
Clear. Measured.
"There's someone out there."
Silence.
Then again:
"Someone like you. But he's not coming here."
"Because he thinks his hunger makes him wrong."
"He's not wrong."
Kairon's voice never rose. But the words landed like stone.
"He's mine."
The System chimed:
[Sin Candidate Detected: GLUTTONY – Signature Weak but Stable]
[Location: Lower Cistern Region – Undercity Slums, Sub-Sector 09]
[Threat Detected: Red Sigil Mobilization en route – 3 Units Inbound]
Kairon didn't blink.
"Bring him to me."
Lio's brows lowered. "Do you want him unharmed?"
Kairon didn't answer.
Instead, he said:
"He's not hunting. He's hiding. That tells me more than any system scan."
Brix flexed both fists. "If they already found him—"
"They didn't," Kairon said. "But they will."
He paused.
Then added, softly:
"And when they do, they'll call it mercy when they break him."
That's when Mav finally spoke.
"And us?"
Kairon met his eyes—just briefly.
"I'm sending hunger to find hunger."
The System flared:
[Mission Class: Retrieval]
[Sin Target: GLUTTONY – Status: Unregistered]
[Affiliation: Neutral. Mental State: Fragmented. Physical: Unstable.]
[System Transfer Activated: Partial Sync for Team]
Each of the three felt it—just a flicker.
A taste.
A flash of an image none of them spoke aloud:A boy crouched in the dark, surrounded by scraps.Not eating.Just holding them.
"He doesn't want to feed," Kairon murmured. "He just wants not to be emptied again."
None of them joked.
Not even Mav.
Brix stepped forward.
"Do you want him saved?"
Kairon finally smiled.
Faint.
Barely there.
"I want him home."
[Mission Start: Chapter 7 – Hunger Knocks]
[Target: Codename "Hollow-Eater"]
[Objective: Secure Sin Gluttony Candidate and return to Archive.]
[Timer: Passive – Red Sigil Infiltration Active.]
The archive opened.
For once, not to protect the world from them.
But to let them save one of their own.