Night had reclaimed the sky by the time Ezra, Meliodas, and Escanor returned to their camp outside Elfar. A fire crackled at the center, embers dancing like spirits in the gloom. Ezra sat close to the flames, the heat doing little to thaw the icy unease still lodged in his chest.
He kept replaying the fight against his doppelgänger in his mind. It wasn't just about power or skill. The illusion had spoken with his voice—voiced his doubts, his fears. It knew him.
"That wasn't a demon," Ezra muttered. "It was... personal."
Meliodas sat beside him, sharpening his broken blade. "Illusions are only effective if they have something real to twist. Whoever designed that trial knew how to get under your skin."
Escanor, now in his sunlit form thanks to the early rise of dawn, stood watch at the edge of the camp. His eyes were distant, locked on the forest shadows.
Ezra brought up his system interface. The quest timer ticked on, each second a steady drumbeat toward inevitability. But something new had appeared:
[??? Detected: Observation Interference in Progress.] [Source: Unknown Entity. Codename: "The Watcher"]
Ezra's fingers froze over the glowing interface.
"Meliodas... have you ever heard of something called 'The Watcher'?"
Meliodas looked up slowly. "Where did you hear that name?"
Ezra turned the interface so he could see it. The words flickered, then vanished.
Escanor stepped closer, brow furrowed. "What's going on?"
"We're being watched," Ezra said. "And not by demons. This thing—it's tied to the system somehow. I think it's learning."
Merlin's voice interrupted them from the darkness as she stepped into the firelight. "Then it confirms my theory."
Ezra blinked. "What theory?"
She tossed a bag of enchanted components near the fire and conjured a containment sigil in midair. "That your system isn't just granting power. It's connected to a higher-dimensional intelligence. One that observes... and influences."
Meliodas frowned. "And if it's observing, it might be guiding. Or manipulating."
Ezra swallowed. "So what do I do? Shut it down?"
Merlin shook her head. "No. Not yet. We need to know more. Tomorrow, you'll undergo another trial. This one won't come from the system. It will come from us."
Ezra looked up, surprised. "You mean a test?"
Meliodas stood. "A real one. No illusions. No backup. If you want to fight alongside us, you need to prove your strength the old-fashioned way."
Escanor cracked a rare smile. "Think of it as tradition."
Ezra stared into the flames, heart pounding. He wasn't afraid of a fight. He was afraid of what he might find in himself during that fight.
The night deepened, and beyond the veil of stars, something unseen continued to watch.