The moment the thing called him "Anchor," Adrian stopped thinking of it as a misunderstanding.
It was a label.
And labels in his experience usually meant trouble followed shortly after.
The creature inside the room didn't hesitate.
It moved like it already belonged there, its body flickering between human shape and something else—something that didn't care about staying consistent.
But Adrian didn't panic.
He didn't step back either.
He just looked at it.
Cold.
Measuring.
Like he was deciding what kind of problem it was.
Behind him, Lirael moved first.
The vampire blur hit the creature hard enough to slam it sideways into the broken wall. The impact cracked concrete deeper, dust exploding outward.
Selene didn't follow immediately. Her shadow stretched instead—thin at first, then sharp enough to cut the light in the room itself.
Niamh spoke under her breath, and the air bent.
Not magic like fireworks.
More like reality refusing to behave properly.
Kael stepped in last, precise and controlled, striking at the moment the creature tried to recover.
It should've died.
It didn't.
It laughed.
Adrian tilted his head slightly.
"…That's annoying," he said quietly.
No panic in his voice.
Just irritation.
The creature's head snapped toward him again.
"Anchor… you are unstable…"
Adrian walked forward one step.
Just one.
Everything in the room shifted slightly.
Even the others noticed it.
Not power explosion.
Not flashy transformation.
Just pressure.
Controlled.
Heavy.
Intent.
"You came into my space," Adrian said calmly.
His voice was low.
Cold enough that even Lirael glanced back for a second.
"You don't get to talk."
The creature hesitated.
For the first time.
That was enough.
Adrian moved.
Not fast like Lirael.
Not shadowed like Selene.
Not mystical like Niamh.
Just direct.
His hand caught the creature by the face and slammed it into the floor.
The ground cracked.
The creature struggled—but something in Adrian's grip didn't allow freedom.
His eyes didn't change.
Still calm.
Still empty of emotion for anything outside this room.
"…You're going to tell me who sent you," he said quietly.
The creature tried to resist.
Adrian applied pressure.
Not brute force.
Control.
Like he was adjusting something slightly out of place.
The creature's body distorted.
Then cracked.
Not death.
Submission.
"…Greek… watching…" it forced out.
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then colder.
"Greek gods," he repeated.
A faint pause in his voice.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Behind him, Selene stiffened slightly.
Niamh's expression changed.
Lirael's eyes sharpened.
Kael cursed under his breath.
Adrian slowly released the creature.
It collapsed, still alive but broken.
Not out of mercy.
Out of calculation.
Dead things don't talk.
He turned slightly.
"So it begins," Selene said quietly.
"No," Adrian replied.
Everyone looked at him.
He adjusted his sleeve calmly.
"It already began."
A silence followed.
Then Niamh spoke softly.
"Greek pantheon is not alone."
Adrian glanced at her.
"I know."
Kael frowned. "How?"
Adrian looked out the broken window where more distorted figures were gathering below.
Because he could feel it now.
Not just the vampire bond.
Not just Nyx's shadow lineage.
Not just whatever Selene was.
Something else in the world had started waking up.
Old things.
Watching things.
Hungry things.
He exhaled slowly.
"I can feel them," he said. "Greek. Norse. Egyptian. Fae. Witches. Werewolves…"
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"They're all noticing the same thing."
Lirael stepped closer. "You."
Adrian didn't deny it.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
Then he looked at the broken creature again.
Cold.
Ruthless now.
"Which means anyone who comes into my space looking to test me…"
A faint pause.
His tone dropped even further.
"…is going to regret it."
Silence.
Even Kael didn't speak.
Because that version of Adrian wasn't panicking.
Wasn't confused.
Wasn't lost.
That was a man who had already decided how the world was going to treat him.
And how he was going to answer it.
Outside, more things gathered.
Not just monsters anymore.
But signals.
Beacons.
And somewhere far beyond them—
Old gods began to turn their attention toward one city.
And one boy who should not have existed in their balance.