The shop was quiet now.
Too quiet.
Even the floating threads seemed to float with less sass.
Ren sat on a workbench, gently poking a spool of thread with a long needle like it was a loaded weapon.
REN (muttering):
"Yup. Totally normal day.
Shat my soul out, made a mannequin moan, and now I'm alone in the horror-closet of fabric magic."
That's when the bell above the door chimed.
He looked up.
And saw her.
She wasn't old.
Not young, either.
Just… still.
Like someone whose age couldn't be measured in years, only replicas.
Long white robes. Black laces shaped like stitched wings.
She carried a small leather scroll case in one hand, and her eyes—
Too focused. Too many memories.
??? (smiling softly):
"You must be the traveler."
REN (eyeing her cautiously):
"That's what they call me. Usually before I ruin their lunch rush."
??? (chuckling):
"I'm Thenaia. Just a priest. Nothing important."
REN (grinning weakly):
"No one with that calm a voice is ever just a priest."
She walked slowly into the shop, glancing at the mannequins.
Some of them shifted.
One bowed.
Another actually tried to hide behind a hat rack.
THENAIA:
"I brought something."
She handed the scroll tube to Marra, who had appeared from the backroom mid-sentence.
MARRA (to Thenaia, reading the seal):
"…This is early.
That's not good."
THENAIA:
"I didn't want to wait.
It's moving faster than expected."
REN (raising a brow):
"What's 'it'?"
MARRA (tightening her cloak, not looking at him):
"Something I hoped wouldn't arrive this cycle."
She rolled up a satchel, grabbed her threadstaff, and gave Ren a look that wasn't stern — just... honest.
MARRA:
"If you want to stay here, feel free. Don't break anything.
And don't flirt with the mannequins."
MANNEQUIN (from the corner):
"No promises."
Ren held up both hands.
REN:
"Got it. Shop safe. Don't seduce inanimate objects. Stay out of your room. All good."
MARRA (to Thenaia, quietly):
"Let's go."
And just like that, they vanished — one in white, one in storm-gray thread.
The door shut.
And Ren was alone.
Again.
With a shop full of mannequins.
And now, a scroll on the table that read:
"Phase One Waking. Virelya will fracture. Be ready."