The gym hums under neon striplight and dead quiet. No cheers. No clank of weights. Just Naku stepping into the ring of polished rubber and steel.
His old crew stands by the equipment wall, shoulder to shoulder, too still. Their heads lift together.
Blue light flickers in their eyes, timed like a pulse. Their hands hang loose, ready, unnatural.
Rin
Naku. Stop right there.
Rin steps forward first, but the others match the move half a beat behind, like a single body learning to walk.
Rin
They said you would come. They want a demonstration.
The path to the dumbbells closes as the synced line fans out, blocking every easy angle. One of them tilts their head, waiting for Naku to choose.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover the source of the remote control
“nodding he heads to work out like norm letting those things watch after all if they wanted a fight they would've already attacked”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Naku gives the tiniest nod and turns away from the blocking line, taking the nearest bench press like the room never made a demand of him.
Steel slides. Rubber mats creak under his weight. The synced crew stays put, but their eyes track him in perfect unison.
Rin
You are really doing this? After everything?
Naku loads the bar, methodical and silent. The gym’s neon catches on old scars as he settles into the start position.
Rin
They said you would prove something. I think they want to see if you still move like yourself.
The Synced Crew
Keep your rhythm. Don’t look at us.
Naku starts the first rep, and the room loosens by a fraction. The crew’s stance changes from blocking to watching, as if waiting for the answer in his breathing.
“look at them naku says simply "prove what this old monster is still a monster wasn't the five psychos from yesterday proof enough how bout that corp hit squad just cause you want proof here doesn't mean there isn't already proof enough"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -3)
Naku
Prove what this old monster is still a monster. Wasn’t the five psychos from yesterday enough? How about that corp hit squad? If you want proof, there’s already proof enough.
Naku keeps the bar moving as he says it, but the words land cleaner than the steel. Rin’s eyes flick once, then lock on him again, and the line of synced bodies seems to pause with them.
Rin
You did all that and still walked in here alone.
Rin
The remote in their pocket buzzes once, like it hates being noticed.
One of the crew’s hands twitches toward Rin’s jacket, not quite their own motion. A slim black puck slips free and skitters onto the mat near the bench.
The source is in the open now, a thumb-sized controller with a blinking blue seam, and the crew’s synchronized stare narrows on it as if they all feel the loss at once.
Rin
So that is what you came for, then.
Naku finishes the rep with a hard clank, but the effort costs him, a fresh line of blood beads through one torn seam at his shoulder. The room holds on Rin’s question, waiting for what Naku does with the controller.
Quest Complete
Discover the source of the remote control
Fault Removed: tissue tears