The Workshop's New Shadow

---

The morning sun rose lazily, spilling golden light through the cracked windows of the workshop. The hum of machinery, usually comforting, felt heavy that day. Even the scent of solder, oil, and burnt wires — a mix Elijah and Maya normally found oddly calming — did nothing to settle their nerves.

It was 9:03 AM.

Elijah sat slouched in the corner, his hand idly spinning a wrench on the table, his mind replaying last night's encounter like a broken tape.

The boy.

The hood.

Those eyes.

Maya, meanwhile, was hunched over her workbench, pretending to be busy with the circuit board in front of her. But the way her hand trembled whenever she reached for a tool betrayed her. Her mind wasn't on the microchips and wires. No, it was on the stranger with the speed that bent reality.

"Elijah," she muttered finally, not looking up.

"What?" His voice was sharp, impatient — but not with her. Just with everything.

"You think he's… human?" she asked, still soldering as if her life depended on it.

The wrench stopped spinning. Silence hung thick between them.

"I don't know, he might be an elemental though....... A maybe legendary elemental." Elijah admitted. "I don't even know what to think. That guy… he moved like— like physics didn't apply to him. And those eyes—"

"—Cold," Maya whispered, finally glancing up. "Like he was looking through us."

Elijah leaned forward, his jaw tight. "If he comes back—"

"Then what?!" Maya snapped, slamming her soldering iron down with a sharp clang. "You saw what he did. You think you can stop him?"

The outburst echoed in the workshop, a sharp reminder of the fear crawling beneath their skin.

Before Elijah could reply, the bell on the shop door chimed softly.

Ding.

Both of them froze.

The soft footsteps that followed were too light to belong to any regular customer. Elijah's eyes darted to the front of the shop, then back to Maya. She shook her head frantically, mouthing, don't move.

Then the figure appeared.

The hooded boy from last night.

Kael-X.

He stepped into the dim light, his hood casting a shadow over his face, but this time there was no malice in his posture. No sharp, predatory aura that had chilled their bones the night before. He simply stood there, hands in his pockets, his presence quiet but… undeniable.

"Morning," he said softly, his tone unexpectedly polite. Almost… respectful.

Elijah blinked. "...What?"

"Morning," Kael-X repeated, his voice calm, almost friendly. "Didn't mean to scare you two last night."

Maya blinked, her brows knitting together. "Scare us? You nearly killed us."

Kael tilted his head slightly, like he didn't quite understand the accusation — or maybe just didn't care. "I didn't, though."

Elijah stood abruptly, his chair screeching against the tiled floor. His fists clenched at his sides. "Why are you here?"

Kael's gaze shifted to him, steady but not hostile. "Because…" He paused, as though searching for the right words. "…because you're the only ones who didn't run. You saw me, and you stayed."

Maya exchanged a glance with Elijah. Confusion, unease, and a spark of something else — curiosity.

"That's not exactly something to be proud of," Elijah said slowly.

"Maybe not." Kael shrugged, then stepped forward just enough for the light to hit his face. For the first time, they saw it clearly — sharp features, a strange calmness in his eyes that was almost… ancient. "But I don't have anywhere else to go."

His words weren't desperate. No trembling voice, no begging. Just a simple, matter-of-fact statement.

Maya crossed her arms, her voice sharp. "You expect us to just let you waltz in here after what you did?"

Kael met her glare with an unnerving stillness. "No. I expect nothing. But… if you'll let me, I just need a place to stay low. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere I won't be… noticed."

The workshop was silent again, filled only by the faint hum of the machines in the background.

Elijah's mind was racing. Every logical part of him screamed to throw this stranger out — to tell him to vanish and never come back. But there was something… something about the boy that stopped him.

Maybe it was the way he stood, like a lone wolf without a pack. Or maybe it was that strange, almost respectful tone that clashed with the chaos they'd seen him unleash yesterday.

Maya broke the silence first. "Why us? Why here?"

Kael's lips curved into the faintest ghost of a smile. "Because you're not afraid of me. Not really."

Elijah scoffed. "Oh, we're afraid. Don't flatter yourself."

But Kael tilted his head again, that unreadable calm never leaving his face. "Fear's easy to read. Yours isn't the kind that makes you run. It's the kind that makes you… stay. That's different."

The workshop door creaked as the wind outside rattled it, the sound pulling them back to reality.

Finally, Maya sighed, rubbing her temples. "Fine. Stay. But you keep your hood up, you don't talk to customers, and if anything—anything—happens because of you, you're gone. Got it?"

Kael's eyes softened — just a fraction — and he nodded once. "Understood."

Elijah frowned, stepping closer. "One more thing."

Kael arched a brow. "Yeah?"

Elijah jabbed a finger at him. "No funny business. You so much as blink the wrong way, and—"

Kael cut him off with a faint chuckle, the first trace of humor they'd heard from him. "Relax, mechanic. I'm not here to cause trouble."

The word "mechanic" made Elijah bristle — but before he could retort, Maya shot him a look that said drop it.

"Back room," she muttered instead, jerking her thumb toward the storage area. "Stay there. Nobody goes in except us. You'll be… safe."

Kael hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod and silently moved past them, disappearing into the dim hallway that led to the back of the shop.

As his footsteps faded, the tension in the workshop slowly ebbed, though not completely. Elijah let out a long breath, running a hand through his messy hair.

"This is insane," he muttered. "Letting a… whatever he is… hide out here? Maya, this is suicide."

Maya didn't look at him. She was staring at the doorway Kael had vanished through, her mind churning with thoughts she couldn't quite put into words.

"Maybe," she said finally. "But something tells me… he's not just some runaway with freakish speed."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Then what is he?"

Maya shook her head. "I don't know. But until we figure it out… he stays."

---

The rest of the day passed in a haze. Customers came and went, oblivious to the secret hidden just a few feet away in the back room. Elijah forced himself to focus on the work — replacing busted engines, rewiring old boards — but every so often, his eyes flicked toward the hallway, half-expecting Kael to reappear.

Maya was no better. She tried to bury herself in the hum of soldering irons and the scent of heated circuits, but the quiet presence in the back room gnawed at her thoughts.

Neither of them knew what they'd gotten themselves into.

But one thing was certain — their quiet little workshop would never be the same.

Not with Kael-X in it.

Not now.

Not ever.

---

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.