====== CHAPTER 16 — Aftermath ====== The door was still open. ---- That mattered. ---- Ace stepped out first. ---- The air outside— ---- louder. ---- Heavier. ---- Messier. ---- ---- Correct. ---- ---- Behind her, the church remained. ---- Unchanged— ---- if you didn’t know where to look. ---- ---- Mai stepped out next. ---- She didn’t turn immediately. ---- Not because she didn’t want to. ---- Because she was still mapping— ---- what had been— ---- and what hadn’t. ---- ---- “It’s contained,” she said. ---- ---- Not certain. ---- Not uncertain. ---- ---- Functional. ---- ---- Shammy followed last. ---- The moment she crossed the threshold— ---- the air shifted. ---- ---- Relief. ---- ---- Subtle. ---- ---- The pressure— ---- belonged here again. ---- ---- She exhaled slowly. ---- ---- “It’s not pushing anymore,” she said. ---- ---- Ace nodded once. ---- ---- “Good.” ---- ---- Behind them— ---- Padre didn’t move. ---- ---- He stood at the doorway. ---- Not crossing. ---- Not retreating. ---- ---- Watching. ---- ---- “…You didn’t fix it,” he said. ---- ---- Mai turned slightly. ---- ---- “No.” ---- ---- A beat. ---- ---- “We prevented resolution.” ---- ---- Padre’s expression didn’t change. ---- ---- “…And that’s better.” ---- ---- Mai didn’t answer. ---- ---- Because “better” depended on perspective. ---- ---- Ace did. ---- ---- “It’s still contained.” ---- ---- That was the only metric that mattered to her. ---- ---- Padre nodded slowly. ---- ---- “…For now.” ---- ---- Silence settled. ---- ---- Not heavy. ---- ---- Measured. ---- ---- V leaned against the wall nearby. ---- They hadn’t moved. ---- Hadn’t intervened. ---- Hadn’t needed to. ---- ---- “…That looked expensive,” they said. ---- ---- Ace glanced at them. ---- ---- “It was.” ---- ---- V smirked faintly. ---- ---- “Good.” ---- A beat. ---- “That means Rogue’s gonna like it.” ---- ---- Mai looked down at the object. ---- ---- It sat in her hand— ---- not resisting— ---- not agreeing— ---- ---- just— ---- present. ---- ---- “It changed,” she said. ---- ---- Shammy nodded. ---- ---- “It stopped trying to finish.” ---- ---- That was the key. ---- ---- Mai’s gaze sharpened. ---- ---- “Which means it can still start again.” ---- ---- Ace didn’t react. ---- ---- “Then we don’t let it.” ---- ---- Simple. ---- ---- V pushed off the wall. ---- ---- “Yeah,” they said. ---- “…that’s kind of how this place works.” ---- ---- Padre stepped back— ---- just one step. ---- ---- Enough to reclaim his space. ---- ---- “This stays here,” he said. ---- ---- Not a request. ---- ---- A statement. ---- ---- Mai considered it. ---- ---- “No,” she said. ---- ---- Padre didn’t flinch. ---- ---- “…Explain.” ---- ---- Mai lifted the object slightly. ---- ---- “It is not anchored here.” ---- A beat. ---- ---- “If it remains, it will attempt to resolve again.” ---- ---- Padre watched her carefully. ---- ---- “…And if you take it.” ---- ---- Mai didn’t hesitate. ---- ---- “It remains incomplete.” ---- ---- That was the trade. ---- ---- Padre exhaled slowly. ---- ---- “…Then take it.” ---- ---- No argument. ---- No negotiation. ---- ---- He understood enough. ---- ---- Ace turned away. ---- ---- “Done.” ---- ---- No ceremony. ---- ---- No aftermath ritual. ---- ---- Just movement. ---- ---- They stepped back into the city. ---- ---- Noise returned. ---- ---- Movement. ---- ---- Life. ---- ---- Everything that didn’t care what had just happened— ---- continued. ---- ---- That was Night City. ---- ---- V fell into step beside them. ---- ---- “So,” they said. ---- “…you always do that?” ---- ---- Ace didn’t look at them. ---- ---- “No.” ---- ---- A beat. ---- ---- “Only when it matters.” ---- ---- V let out a quiet breath. ---- ---- “Yeah,” they said. ---- “…figured.” ---- ---- Mai walked in silence. ---- ---- Processing. ---- Mapping. ---- ---- The structure in the church— ---- unfinished. ---- ---- The object— ---- still wrong. ---- ---- The connection between them— ---- not broken. ---- ---- Just— ---- deferred. ---- ---- Shammy glanced back once. ---- ---- Not at the building. ---- ---- At the space around it. ---- ---- It held. ---- ---- For now. ---- ---- But the pressure— ---- deep beneath it— ---- hadn’t gone away. ---- ---- It had simply— ---- found somewhere else to exist. ---- ---- And as they moved deeper into the city— ---- the distance between that place— ---- and everything else— ---- felt just a little less certain than it had before.