The knock wasn't loud.
Just three soft taps against the shelter's upper hatch.
Kael didn't move.
He knew immediately it wasn't one of them.
No one knocks in Lunaris.
Not unless they already know you're inside.
Mira scanned the signal.
"Unmarked. No ping. Too clean."
Juno was already armored, standing in position beside the exit.
Ryke cracked his knuckles once and said nothing.
Kael moved toward the door and stopped a few inches from it.
Then the voice came.
"Kael Isono. This is Control Division Alpha. You've been identified."
He didn't speak.
"You are not under arrest. You are not under threat. We're here to talk."
Kael opened the hatch slowly.
The figure standing outside wasn't armored.
She wore a government-grade coat—gray, lined, reinforced.
No weapons drawn.
Just a handheld device glowing with Kael's full sync signature on it.
And his face.
"You're tagged," she said.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "So?"
"That's not an accusation. It's an alert."
"Who sent it?"
"We don't get names. We get red-level triggers. Your Frame activated too close to Obelisk."
Mira joined Kael at the hatch. "So what? You're here to 'contain' him?"
The woman didn't blink.
"No. I'm here to offer you protection."
Kael frowned. "From what?"
She tilted the screen toward him.
It showed satellite logs—city-side movements, Node system surges, and at least three new Frame pulses across Lunaris.
"Whatever's happening… it's waking up others."
Ryke finally stepped forward.
"You want us to work for you?"
"No," the woman said. "You already work for something else. I just want to keep the fallout off the grid."
Juno narrowed her eyes. "And if we say no?"
The woman stepped back once.
"Then I file the report."
"And what does that do?" Kael asked.
Her voice was calm.
"It changes the rules."
She left a data key on the ground and disappeared down the stairwell.
No threats. No backup.
But the message landed anyway.
Kael picked up the key, staring at it for a long time.
Mira spoke from behind him.
"They're scared of you."
"No," he said quietly. "They're scared of what I'll make them choose."