The day stretched like a tightening string. Every cup Jace served felt heavier, each intention harder to steady. The café reacted to every customer—lights pulsing, tiles warming or cooling beneath his feet, wooden beams creaking like they were breathing.
It was choosing. Or trying to.
He hated that he could feel it.
Mid-afternoon, a man in a gray coat came in, gaze sharp enough to cut paper. He ordered a black coffee but didn't say a word about why he was there. No aura. No thread. No visible fate strings. Just stillness.
Too still.
Jace prepared the drink carefully, deliberately keeping his mind blank. When he handed it over, the man's eyes flicked to him with eerie precision.
"You're the one who made the anomaly," he said quietly.
Jace froze. His spine stiffened.
The man sipped the coffee and continued, "You tore open something that should never have been touched."
Ren stepped forward. "Hey, buddy—if you're here to start something—"
The man held up a hand, silencing him. Jace saw something in his palm—ink-like residue swirling like miniature smoke.
Loom residue.
Whoever he was, he wasn't normal.
"The balance is weakening," the man said. "And the café isn't the only thing reacting."
Jace swallowed hard. "Who are you?"
"A watcher," the man replied. "One of many. And we are very close to intervening."
Faye appeared behind him so quietly Jace didn't notice until her hand was already at her side, fingers glowing faintly.
"You won't touch my staff," she said.
The man smiled—not warmly, not cruelly. Just knowingly.
"We won't, unless we must." He set the cup down gently. "But the boy is running out of time. And so is your café."
The man left without another word.
The second the door shut, the café lights dimmed, then flared like a held breath released. Faye's fists trembled at her sides.
"Jace," she said. "We're entering the final stage. You need to decide—soon. If you stay, you become part of the café. Permanently."
Jace felt the world tilt.
"And if I leave?" he asked, voice barely audible.
Faye's expression broke for the first time.
"If you leave… the café may collapse."
Jace closed his eyes.
There was no right answer.
Only consequences.