Hajin walked beside the Captain at the head of the formation.
The ruined street narrowed between leaning walls while the surviving knights followed in a tighter column. Shields held toward windows that opened onto nothing but darkness.
No single rune had appeared since the anchor shattered, but nobody trusted the silence enough to loosen formation.
The Captain carried his claymore across his good shoulder and looked toward Hajin every few steps.
"You found the anchor. I watched you run toward that tile," he said when the knights had fallen beyond easy hearing. "Then the statue intercepted you before you finished the third step."
"A friend pointed out the pattern, and I followed the mana threads feeding the barrier," Hajin replied while keeping his gaze on the road.
"Someone inside the Gate," the Captain asked as one brow lifted.
"A distant one," Hajin replied without giving him another opening.
The Captain studied him while loose stone ground beneath their measured steps.
