The darkness didn't feel empty.
It felt occupied.
Liora's foot touched solid ground, and the world shifted. The air grew warmer—heavy with dust and something older, like memories left to rot. Dim lights flickered into existence above them, revealing a narrow street that curved unnaturally, its buildings stitched together from mismatched eras.
"This place…" Liora murmured.
"The inner layers," Kael said. "Where the city keeps what it doesn't want seen."
Her chest tightened. "People?"
"Yes."
They walked slowly. Windows glowed faintly as they passed, shadows moving behind the glass. Liora caught fragments—faces pressed close, hands reaching, mouths silently screaming.
She stopped.
"I can hear them."
Kael frowned. "Hear what?"
"Thoughts," she whispered. "Or memories. I don't know."
The air trembled.
From an alley ahead, a figure stepped forward. A woman—transparent, her features blurring at the edges like smoke held together by will.
"You stayed," the woman said, voice layered, echoing from too many places at once. "That means you remember."
Liora's throat tightened. "Remember what?"
"Us."
Suddenly Liora saw it—streets erased overnight, entire buildings removed from existence. People swallowed quietly so the city could remain orderly. Clean.
Her knees weakened.
Kael stepped in front of her. "Don't answer."
But the woman smiled gently at Liora, ignoring him. "You're different. You still belong."
The ground pulsed beneath Liora's feet.
"I don't want this place," Liora said, voice shaking. "I just want them safe."
The woman's smile faded. "Safety isn't what the city preserves."
She dissolved into light.
The street trembled violently now. Doors slammed open. Shadows surged from alleys, crawling toward Liora like living stains.
Kael grabbed her hand. "That was a mistake."
"I didn't mean to—"
"I know," he said. "But empathy is louder than fear here."
The shadows lunged.
Instinct surged through her—not thought, not intention.
Power.
The ground flared with light beneath her feet, forcing the shadows back in a violent wave. The street cracked, buildings groaning as if protesting her presence.
Silence fell.
Kael stared at her.
Liora stared at her hands, trembling. "I didn't mean to do that."
Kael swallowed. "The city just marked you."
A symbol burned briefly into the pavement—then vanished.
Her chest tightened. "What does that mean?"
His voice dropped. "It means you're no longer a visitor."
The street began to close in around them.
"And it means," he added, "we don't have much time left."