Li Feng's "Cyber Haven" was still open at 6:12 a.m.—the neon "24HR" sign flickering like it was on life support. The stairwell smelled the same: stale ramen, cigarette ash, overheated motherboards.
Ren knocked the old pattern—three quick, two slow.
The reinforced door cracked open. Li Feng's face appeared—sleep-rumpled hair, one eye still half-closed, then both snapped wide when he saw Aoi standing behind Ren.
"Holy—dude. You brought the angel home? Like, literally?"
"Shut up and let us in," Ren muttered.
Li Feng stepped aside. "Yeah, yeah. Before the drones start circling like vultures."
Inside, the place looked exactly as Ren remembered: rows of glowing monitors, tangled cables like vines, the faint hum of cooling fans. The back room—mattress, mini-fridge, blackout curtains—was already made up like someone had been expecting trouble.
Li Feng locked the door behind them, threw three deadbolts, then activated a small jammer that made the air buzz faintly.
"Signal dampener. Cheap Korean knockoff, but it scrambles Purification trackers for about ninety minutes. After that we're on borrowed time."
Aoi looked around—taking in the anime posters, the half-eaten cup noodles, the faint scent of energy drinks—then turned to Ren.
"You trust him this much?"
Ren nodded. "He's the only one who didn't run when I first woke up with Kurogami riding shotgun."
Li Feng snorted. "I ran. I just ran in circles around my own apartment screaming for ten minutes first. Same difference."
Aoi gave a small, tired smile—the first real one since they'd fled Shinjuku.
Ren dropped onto the mattress. Every muscle ached from the chained Shadow Steps. The Anchor rune over his heart pulsed once—warm, reassuring—but the seal still burned low and steady against his neck.
Aoi sat beside him. Close enough that their shoulders touched. The Resonance Echo bloomed again—stronger in the small space—carrying her exhaustion, her relief, her quiet terror.
Li Feng leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"So. Fugitives. Cool. What's the play?"
Ren rubbed his face. "We need twenty-four hours. Maybe forty-eight. Food, sleep, a plan. Purification's going to lock down every major transport hub by noon. They'll have my face and Aoi's on every drone feed."
Aoi nodded. "They'll classify us as 'collaborators under demonic influence.' Standard protocol: capture alive if possible, eliminate if we resist. Tanaka-senpai will try to bring me back first. He still thinks he can save me."
Li Feng whistled low. "Damn. Romantic tragedy vibes."
Ren shot him a look.
Li Feng raised both hands. "Sorry. Bad timing. I'll go raid the vending machines downstairs. Get you guys something that isn't instant curry. Back in ten."
He slipped out, leaving them alone.
Silence settled—thick, heavy with everything unsaid.
Aoi spoke first.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this deeper."
Ren turned to her. "You didn't drag me. I chose every step. The rooftop. Kabukicho. The mountain. This."
She looked down at their joined hands—fingers still laced from the escape.
"But now you're a target because of me. The Order won't stop. Saint Kurosawa won't stop. And Mei… she'll smell blood in the water the second the news leaks."
Ren squeezed her hand.
"Then we don't let it leak. We go dark. Disappear. Find a way to remove the seal without triggering a full corruption spike. Use the Anchor to keep me stable. Build strength slowly. Wait for an opening."
Aoi met his eyes—searching.
"And then what? Hide forever? Run from city to city until one of us slips?"
Ren exhaled slowly.
"No."
He shifted so he faced her fully.
"I want more than surviving. I want us to win. Not just stay alive—actually change the rules. Prove that a Pagan and a Miracle can exist without one having to destroy the other. Show them the war doesn't have to be zero-sum."
Aoi's breath caught.
"That's… impossible."
"Is it?" Ren touched the Anchor rune through his hoodie. "This thing is proof it's happened before. One vessel held Kurogami for a decade without losing himself. If it's possible once, it's possible again. And if we can do it—together—maybe others can too."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she leaned forward—forehead resting against his.
"You're insane."
"Yeah."
"And I'm in love with you for it."
Ren's heart stuttered.
She pulled back just enough to look at him—sunrise eyes steady, shining.
"I'm in. All the way. But we need allies. Resources. A place they can't reach easily."
Ren thought for a second.
"Li Feng has contacts in the underground scene—Pagan runners, black-market essence dealers. Not loyal to Mei. Not loyal to the Order. Just loyal to money and survival. We start there. Small jobs. Build a network. Stay one step ahead."
Aoi nodded slowly.
"And when they catch up?"
"We fight. But on our terms. Not theirs."
She smiled—small, fierce, beautiful.
"Then we start tonight."
The door opened. Li Feng slipped back in carrying two plastic bags: onigiri, canned coffee, chocolate bars, a pack of disposable burner phones.
"Breakfast of champions," he announced. "Also—rumor mill's already spinning. Purification put out a sealed alert thirty minutes ago. 'Grade-7 Pagan vessel and rogue Miracle. High-priority. Do not engage alone.'"
Ren took an onigiri. "Good. Means they're scared."
Li Feng sat cross-legged on the floor.
"So what's the first move, boss?"
Ren looked at Aoi.
She looked back.
Then—together—they answered.
"We disappear."
Li Feng grinned—wide, reckless.
"Finally. I've been waiting for someone to say that."
They ate in silence for a while—simple food tasting like freedom.
When the bags were empty, Ren lay back on the mattress. Aoi curled against his side—head on his chest, listening to the Anchor's soft pulse under his heartbeat.
Li Feng killed the main lights. Only monitor glow remained—soft blue washing over them.
"Get some sleep," he said quietly. "I'll keep watch. First shift's mine."
Ren felt Aoi's breathing even out against him.
Through the Echo he caught the last clear emotion before she drifted off:
Hope.
Real. Fragile. But there.
He closed his eyes.
For the first time since the seal went on, the future didn't feel like a countdown.
It felt like a beginning.
Essence Level: locked at 7.1 (reinforced – Anchor active)
Daily draw cap: 65% (currently 28% remaining after escape)
Resonance Echo: stable at close range
Current status: Fugitives – Phase 1 (disappear & regroup)
End of Chapter 12