The golden light burned, searing the shadows of the Sword Tomb. Li Xuanji stood frozen, Memory's Fang pulsing in his grip, its whisper—Remember—still echoing in his skull. Above, the Enforcers descended, their threads blazing like stars torn from the sky. Red, blue, gold—each thread pulsed with a purpose he couldn't grasp, but their eyes held no mercy.
"Run!" Mira's voice snapped him back. She grabbed his arm, her touch sparking a faint tug at his mind, like a memory slipping through his fingers. Kael was already moving, his blindfolded face tilted toward the ceiling as if he could see the fracture widening.
"Who are they?" Xuanji demanded, his feet stumbling over the uneven stone as Mira pulled him toward a tunnel. The tomb's hum had turned to a wail, the swords in the walls trembling as if afraid.
"Enforcers," Mira hissed, her orbs of light flickering in her hands. "The Loom's hunters. They erase Errors like you."
Xuanji's chest tightened. Error. The word stung, a brand he didn't understand. Memory's Fang grew warmer, almost eager, as if it sensed the coming fight. "Why me?" he asked, but Mira was already darting into the tunnel, Kael close behind.
The air grew colder as they ran, the green glow of the tomb fading into darkness. The tunnel twisted, its walls etched with carvings of threads unraveling into chaos. Behind them, the Enforcers' light followed, relentless. Their voices chanted, a low hymn that made the stone quiver: "The Loom weaves all. Errors are unwoven."
Kael stopped abruptly, his fingers tracing the air. "Here," he said, his voice calm despite the chaos. He pressed a hand to the wall, and a hidden door groaned open, revealing a spiral stair descending into shadow.
Mira shoved Xuanji toward it. "Move, Threadless, unless you want to be erased."
He didn't argue. The stairs were narrow, slick with frost, and each step sent a jolt through his bones. The Enforcers' chant grew louder, closer. At the bottom, the stair opened into a cavern, its ceiling glittering with veins of crystal that pulsed like living threads. A faint mist curled at their feet, cold and heavy, whispering of forgotten things.
"Where are we?" Xuanji asked, his breath clouding in the chill.
"The Veil's edge," Kael said, his blindfold hiding his eyes but not his urgency. "A place the Loom can't see. Not yet."
Mira's orbs flared, casting light across the cavern. "It won't hide us for long. The Enforcers are relentless." She glanced at Xuanji, her shattered-glass eyes narrowing. "You're trouble, Threadless. More than you know."
Before he could respond, a crack split the air. An Enforcer landed at the cavern's entrance, his red thread blazing like blood. His armor gleamed, etched with symbols of woven fate, and his blade sang as he drew it. "Li Xuanji," he intoned. "Your thread is gone. Your existence is a mistake."
Memory's Fang answered before Xuanji could. It leaped in his hand, pulling him forward as if alive. He met the Enforcer's blade with a clash that echoed through the cavern. Sparks flew, and a memory surged into Xuanji's mind: A city of golden spires, threads stretching across the sky like a web, and a machine at its heart, humming with the weight of countless souls.
He staggered, the vision blinding. The Enforcer pressed his advantage, his blade slicing toward Xuanji's chest. But Mira was faster. She lunged, her hand brushing the Enforcer's arm. Her orbs flared, and the Enforcer froze, his eyes wide with horror. Threads of light unraveled from his body, flowing into Mira's palm.
"What did you do?" Xuanji gasped, dodging another swing.
"Stole his memory," Mira said, her voice tight. "He won't remember why he's here. But it won't stop him for long."
The Enforcer roared, his movements erratic now, like a puppet with half its strings cut. Xuanji parried, then struck, Memory's Fang slicing through the Enforcer's thread. A scream erupted—not the Enforcer's, but a woman's, sharp and grieving. The blade drank the memory, and another vision flooded Xuanji: His own face, screaming, standing before the Loom as it tore his thread apart.
The Enforcer collapsed, his thread dimming to ash. The cavern trembled, crystals above flickering wildly. Mira grabbed Xuanji's arm again. "We need to go. Now."
Kael was already moving, guiding them toward a narrow crevice in the cavern wall. "The Veil will hide us," he said, his voice steady. "But only if we reach it before they do."
As they slipped through the crevice, the golden light of the Enforcers flooded the cavern behind them. More were coming—too many. The mist thickened, cold and clinging, and the air grew still, as if time itself hesitated. They emerged into a realm of frost and shadow, where statues of forgotten gods loomed, their forms half-eroded, their eyes glowing with sorrow.
"The Frozen Veil," Kael whispered. "We're safe. For now."
Xuanji's head spun, the stolen memory still burning. His own face, screaming, unraveling before the Loom. "What was that?" he demanded, turning to Mira. "I saw myself. I was… fighting the Loom."
Mira's eyes darkened, her orbs dimming. "I don't know what you saw. But I stole something from that Enforcer." She held up an orb, its light swirling with images: golden spires, a machine that pulsed like a heart, and a figure—Xuanji—kneeling before it, his thread snapping.
"You were there," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "In the Loom's city. You weren't just an Error. You were something more."
Before Xuanji could process her words, Memory's Fang pulsed again, its frost-like sheen glowing brighter. A new vision surged, unbidden: His own face, older, scarred, screaming as he drove the sword into a golden thread, shattering it.
The ground shook, and the statues' eyes flared. Kael's blindfold shifted slightly, revealing a glimpse of empty sockets. "They've found us," he said. "The Loom sees you now."
End of chapter 2