Cael didn't stop running.
Not because he thought he could escape.
But because stopping meant letting them decide what happened next.
And he had already learned—
Decisions made by others cost more than time.
The streets blurred past him.
Rust.
Smoke.
Broken lights.
Familiar.
But not safe.
Not anymore.
Behind him—
The air changed.
He didn't need to turn around.
The pressure said enough.
They had authorized something.
The sky dimmed.
Not from clouds.
But from subtraction.
Light itself seemed to hesitate.
Cael's breath came sharp.
His wrist burned.
03:12:36:11
Below it—
The rising counter pulsed steadily.
00:00:03
Three seconds.
Three pieces of himself.
Gone.
And still—
It wasn't enough.
A corner appeared ahead.
Narrow.
Hidden.
He turned—
And stopped.
Someone stood there.
A girl.
No armor.
No insignia.
No fear.
Just…
Recognition.
"Cael?"
His chest tightened.
She knew him.
The realization hit before the memory did.
She stepped closer.
"You're alive."
He should know her.
He could feel it.
But her face—
Was empty.
His mind searched.
Desperately.
Nothing.
"I—"
His voice faltered.
Her smile faded slightly.
"You disappeared after the raid last year," she said.
"I thought—"
Raid.
The word sparked something.
A burning street.
Smoke.
Hands pulling him through debris—
A hand.
Her hand.
The memory flickered—
Then slipped away.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
She froze.
"What?"
"I don't—"
His throat tightened.
"I don't remember you."
The silence that followed was worse than any weapon.
Her eyes searched his.
Waiting for the lie.
Waiting for the joke.
Waiting for anything that would make the words less real.
Nothing came.
"You're serious," she said quietly.
He nodded.
Hurt flashed across her face.
Sharp.
Unfiltered.
"I pulled you out," she said.
"When your building collapsed."
He felt it.
Not the memory.
But the absence of it.
"You wouldn't even be alive if I hadn't—"
Her voice broke.
"I know," he said.
And the worst part—
Was that he meant it.
Because somewhere inside him—
He understood she mattered.
But the part that knew why—
Was gone.
Behind them—
The sky cracked.
A line of darkness tore through the air.
The weapon.
She turned.
Fear finally surfacing.
"What is that?"
Cael didn't answer.
Because he knew.
Containment had escalated.
And this—
Was the cost of running.
"Stay behind me," he said.
She looked back at him.
Hurt still there.
Confusion still there.
But she stepped closer anyway.
Because she remembered him.
Even if he didn't remember her.
The weapon fired.
Not light.
Not sound.
But absence.
A beam of subtraction.
Everything it touched—
Stopped existing.
The wall behind them vanished.
Not broken.
Not destroyed.
Gone.
The ground trembled.
The pull returned.
Stronger than ever.
Take another second.
He clenched his fists.
No.
Because if he did—
He might forget her completely.
The beam moved again.
Closer.
"Cael—"
Her voice shook.
And suddenly—
He understood.
This wasn't about survival anymore.
It was about choosing—
What to lose.
The pull screamed.
Pain waited.
The watchers observed.
And for the first time—
Borrowing didn't feel like power.
It felt like betrayal.
He reached inward—
And hesitated.
Because this time—
The price had a face.