The trees thinned as they reached the river path. Moonlight spilled across the water, turning the rushing surface into a silver ribbon that cut through the forest. Mist rolled above it in ghostlike wisps.
Palo let out a breath he'd been holding.
"Finally. Open space."
Silva shook her head.
"Don't relax. Open space just means we're easier to see."
Ash stepped to the riverbank, legs trembling from both the sprint and the energy pulsing inside him. His core hummed sharply—like a warning chime striking deeper and deeper in his chest.
The copy noticed the wince.
"Ash… the next layer is waking, isn't it?"
Ash swallowed.
"Yes."
Palo moved instantly to his side.
"Is it going to hurt you?"
Ash paused.
He didn't want to lie.
"…I don't know."
Silva crouched and touched the water's edge.
"We cross here. The river disrupts signature tracking. It'll mask Ash's presence for a few minutes."
The Founder nodded.
"Hunters can't track through fast-moving water. It scrambles their sensing fields."
Palo blinked.
"Wait—they're that limited?"
"No," the Founder said quietly.
"They adjust. They always adjust."
Ash hated how that made his chest tighten.
They slipped into the water—cold, rushing, loud enough to drown out Ash's racing thoughts. The current pushed hard against them, and Palo grabbed the back of Ash's shirt to steady him.
"Easy. I've got you."
Ash nodded, teeth chattering.
They moved quickly, carefully, trying not to slip. Halfway across, the river deepened and the current surged.
Silva shouted over the water, "Stay together!"
Ash lost his footing for a second, slipping on a submerged stone. The current yanked him sideways—
Palo grabbed his arm instantly, pulling him upright.
"Careful!" Palo said, panic in his voice.
Ash managed a faint, breathless smile.
"Thanks."
But then—
He froze.
A pulse shot through him—bright, sharp, unavoidable.
He gasped.
Silva looked back immediately.
"Ash. Not here. Not now—control the core!"
"I'm trying—!"
The river around him lit faintly, silver threads shimmering in the current.
The copy's eyes widened.
"It's reacting to the flow—Ash, the water is amplifying your signature!"
Palo swore under his breath and moved in front of Ash as if he could shield him from the inevitable.
The Founder's voice rose sharply.
"You must suppress it! If the Hunters detect this flare you'll expose your exact position!"
Ash squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his head.
The next lock layer was forcing itself open—
not waiting for his consent,
not caring about danger.
Fear spiked through him.
Palo grabbed his face with both hands.
"Ash. Look at me again."
Ash forced his eyes open, trembling.
"Breathe," Palo whispered.
"Breathe with me."
Silva's device crackled violently.
"They're scanning again—this time closer!"
Ash tried to breathe steadily.
Tried to suppress the surge.
But something new flooded into him—
Not fear.
Not pain.
Memory.
A broken fragment of his mother's voice:
"Your second lock… guards the link. If it opens—your emotions will synchronize—"
The memory cut out abruptly.
Ash gasped.
His core pulsed again—harder.
The river brightened around him.
Palo tightened his grip on him.
"Hey—stay with me. Stay with me."
Silva's voice shook.
"They're going to spot us—Ash, you have to force it down—!"
The Founder's eyes widened as he finally understood.
"No. He can't force it down. If he resists the lock when it's mid-opening, he'll destabilize the entire core!"
Palo stared at Ash in horror.
"Then what do we do?!"
The Founder looked directly at Ash.
"You have to let it open."
Silva froze.
The copy stiffened.
Palo's hands trembled around Ash's face.
"Let it open? Here?! While they're hunting us?!"
The Founder nodded grimly.
"It's either that… or the core collapses."
Ash sucked in a sharp breath as another pulse rippled through him like a second heartbeat.
Gold light flickered faintly beneath his skin.
The Hunters' distant footsteps echoed from the woods behind them.
Closer.
Ash lifted his eyes to Palo's—frightened, uncertain, shaking.
"Palo… I don't know what's going to happen if I let it open."
Palo didn't look away.
"Then whatever happens… happens with us."
Ash's throat tightened.
Silva glanced back at the dark forest.
"They're coming!"
Ash felt the next pulse rise—inevitable, unstoppable.
The Founder nodded sharply.
"Now, Ash!"
Ash inhaled—
Let the fear go—
And released the second lock.
Light exploded across the river—
not blinding, but deep and resounding, like a strike against something ancient inside him.
The current surged.
The air trembled.
His heart flipped painfully.
But there was no pain.
Just—
Connection.
A bond latching onto something outside of himself.
He gasped—
and at that same instant, Palo did too, eyes widening in shock.
Silva stared.
The copy froze.
The Hunter footsteps stopped abruptly—
the forest falling silent—
As Ash's second lock fully opened.