The Sundial Ghost broke through the crimson atmosphere like a bullet fired from the past. Scarlet Cradle wasn't just ominous—it *bled*. Red clouds churned like ink in water, and shattered moons orbited the planet in jagged, silent protest. Rivers of glowing magma cut through the terrain, forming patterns that almost looked like veins.
"This place is haunted," Quillo muttered, his tiny form squashed against the porthole.
Cassidy adjusted a lever. "Scarlet Cradle was once a thriving realm of light and song. Then the Eclipsed came. Now it sings a different tune—one that makes your bones hum in keys that shouldn't exist."
Kael, sitting on a bench and sharpening one of his crystal-blades, didn't look up. "We got the transmission here. That means Yui's on the surface. Or… something pretending to be her."
Ayame, seated nearby with a half-finished sketch of the dream-tree she'd seen as a child, closed her notebook. "Let's not start with that kind of doubt. We owe it to her to believe she's alive."
The ship trembled. Cassidy cursed. "We're being scanned."
"By who?" Ayame asked.
The answer came before Cassidy could reply. A voice boomed across the comms, ragged with static and venom.
**"Trespassers. The Crimson Tribunal sees you."**
A trio of black vessels—twisting spires with wings like scythes—appeared on the horizon.
Kael leapt to his feet. "Looks like we're not sneaking in."
Cassidy smirked. "I never sneak. I *announce.*" She slammed a red button. The *Sundial Ghost* performed a vertical roll, ducking below a beam of distorted time energy. One of the Tribunal ships followed.
Inside, the crew strapped in as alarms blared. "I can get you near the transmission source," Cassidy yelled over the chaos. "But you'll need to jump out mid-air. I can't land while they're tailing us!"
Ayame barely hesitated. "Just get us close."
The ship swooped over a canyon split open by time, glowing blue veins spidering across the rock below. As the back hatch opened, hot wind blasted through the cabin. Ayame looped her paint whip into a harness; Kael summoned his crystal anchor; Quillo clung to Ayame's shoulder like an anxious scarf.
Cassidy gave a crooked grin. "See you on the flip side, heroes."
They jumped.
Ayame's whip lashed out, catching a jagged rock. She swung them forward, the heat scalding but bearable. Kael landed nearby, using his anchor to absorb the force of the impact. Together, they ducked beneath the glowing arches of a ruined temple. The moment they entered, the wind died—and everything went still.
"Something's off," Kael said. "I don't like quiet in a place that screams war."
Ayame scanned the walls. Ancient murals—some cracked, others glowing—told the story of a great sacrifice. Hooded figures offering glowing keys to a blinding light in the sky.
Then a low voice echoed: "Kael… Ayame…"
They spun around.
Yui stood in the doorway.
Her robes were tattered. Her hair floated as if submerged in water. And her eyes… her eyes held too many stars.
"Yui?" Ayame's voice cracked.
Yui smiled—sadly. "It's really me. But I'm not alone."
Kael stepped closer. "What happened to you?"
Yui's gaze darkened. "They tried to use me to open the fifth lock. I resisted… but something *woke up* inside me. Something old."
Suddenly, from behind her, a shape emerged.
It was like looking into a mirror submerged in ink.
Another Ayame.
Eyes pitch black, smile too wide, glowing paint dripping from her hands like blood.
The *Echo* Ayame.
It whispered: "You've come far. But you still don't understand."
Kael summoned his weapon. "Get away from her."
The echo didn't flinch. "We are what's left behind when the stars die. You call us monsters. But we are freedom. No fate. No time. Just raw will."
Yui held up a shaking hand. "They're trying to take me again. You can't fight them with weapons alone. You'll have to go deeper."
"Deeper?" Ayame asked.
Kael looked around. The walls shimmered, like the temple itself was only half real. "This place… it's a nexus. A dream-veil. We're standing between moments."
The Echo Ayame took a step closer. "You want the next key? Then give us a piece of yourself."
Behind them, the sound of gears began to rise.
Cassidy's voice came through the comm. "We've got a problem—those Tribunal ships are charging something *big*. You need to get out of there, now!"
But Ayame wasn't moving.
She stared at her echo—at the shadow version of herself. And for a moment, something flickered between them. A memory. A whisper.
"Why are you crying?" Ayame asked softly.
The echo blinked—and a tear of glowing ink ran down its cheek.
Yui suddenly screamed.
From her chest, a new symbol began to burn—half sun, half clock. A *fifth* key.
Kael lunged forward to stop it—but the temple shattered.
Reality itself cracked open.
And time fell sideways.