The city was a skeletal remnant of its former self. Streets were littered with rubble, buildings collapsed halfway into ash, and smoke curled from the remains of fires long burned out. Between the crumbling structures, jagged dimensional rifts flickered in and out, shimmering like broken glass, unpredictable, dangerous, and alive.
Isaac leaned on Helena as they navigated the streets, the knife still clutched in his hand. His muscles ached, his bruises throbbed, but the fire inside him, part grief, part Irithel's lingering presence, drove him forward.
Isaac (quietly, determined): "We have to find her… Lucy. She's out there somewhere. I know it."
Helena scanned the streets carefully, her hands glowing faintly as she felt for residual magical traces. "It won't be easy. The rifts… they're unstable. Hunters could be anywhere. We need a plan."
Isaac frowned, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I don't… I don't know where to start. We have nothing. I have nothing."
Helena crouched, gesturing at the street before them. "Nothing? No, you have more than you think. You survived. You fought. You learned something… and that's rare. And we have clues — the rifts aren't random. Whoever took Lucy likely moved her through them. We follow the trail. Step by step."
Isaac nodded slowly, forcing himself to focus. Every rift, every unstable corridor, every twisted alley was a potential death trap. But it was also a path forward, a path to Lucy.
Hence, they moved cautiously through the partially destroyed district. A street lamp flickered violently, casting warped shadows.
Sparks of residual dimensional energy pulsed faintly in the air, Helena paused, sensing traces of movement.
1Isaac's reflexes tingled, the subtle echoes of Irithel's memory guiding his steps. He mimicked fluid motions instinctively, dodging unstable debris and energy bursts from minor rifts opening in walls.
Isaac (whispering): "These rifts… they're like… windows. But not stable. We have to… be careful."
Helena nodded, leading the way. "We stick together. You scout ahead, but I stay close. If anything goes wrong, I can help patch you up. Just… promise me you won't rush blindly."
Isaac gritted his teeth. "I promise."
As they progressed, a faint glow shimmered from one rift, casting distorted light across broken concrete. Helena's eyes widened.
Helena: "That's… residual energy. Someone passed through here recently. It could be her… or someone taking her further."
Isaac's grip tightened on the knife. Rage, fear, and determination blended together, making his movements sharper, more precise. For the first time since the invasion began, he felt a plan, a path, and a purpose.
They moved slowly, dodging flickering rifts that spat shards of energy like glass.
Helena whispered warnings as she detected lingering traces of hunters.
Isaac mirrored Irithel's memory movements as he navigated, rolling, pivoting, and slashing at unstable obstacles, almost dancing with the chaos around them.
Hours passed in tense silence, broken only by the distant roars of hunters or the shattering hum of nearby rifts. Each step forward was a gamble, but the trail… the faint magical residue, the twisted path of rift debris, pointed them in the right direction.
Finally, Helena paused at a cracked building corner, peering around cautiously.
Helena (quietly): "Isaac… I think we're close. Whoever moved her… she's not far from here."
Isaac swallowed, feeling the weight of grief and determination press together. "Then we go. No matter what."
The ruined streets stretched before them, flickering rifts dancing between shadows. The hunt was far from over, but Isaac was no longer just running. With Helena at his side, he was learning to move, react, and prepare, the first steps toward a fighter capable of facing the dimensional chaos that had stolen everything from him.