Ethan lowered his hands from the camera, the red recording light blinking off with a soft *click*. The silence that followed was almost jarring after months of constant streaming. Seraphine's hand remained on his shoulder, her threshold-mark barely visible beneath the sleeve of her light summer dress.
"Better turn on the camera now," Ethan murmured, his voice rough from disuse. "Just for a minute. To let them know we're still... you know. Breathing."
Seraphine squeezed his shoulder before stepping back. "Make it quick. And keep it general—no landmarks, no identifying features."
Ethan powered up the stream with practiced ease, the familiar red light casting a warm glow on his face. "Hey chat," he said, forcing a smile. "We made it to Malaca City. Safe and sound." He panned the camera across the beachfront balcony where they stood, careful to keep the city skyline blurred in the background. "As promised, we're going to be limiting our live streams for a while. The city's... special. And we don't want to bring any unwanted attention here."
The chat scrolled rapidly across the overlay:
```
[chat]
x7k9p1 : so glad you're safe <3
RiverWatcher : Malaca? where's that?
f3j0k2 : please don't leave us 😭
NyxSavior : the cat knows
q2m8n3 : they're in trouble
CamSurvivor : still the best streamer
GoblinFan99 : order the Goblin Pro
p4l5m6 : what's special about it?
```
Seraphine leaned into the frame, her molten silver eyes catching the morning light. "Malaca City sits where five religious traditions have coexisted for centuries. The veil here is naturally balanced by the ocean tides—something the Algorithm's Shadow can't easily disrupt."
Ethan adjusted his glasses, a nervous habit that had become second nature. "We'll still post edited footage of our adventures. Just... no live streams while we're settling in. Think of it as a vacation from the apocalypse."
"Thirty-two minutes today," he added with a wink, powering down the stream before the chat could flood with protests. "Enough to let them know we haven't been eaten by shadows."
As the red light blinked off, Nyx jumped onto the railing, his tail flicking with unusual purpose. The cat's molten silver eyes reflected the city skyline—a jagged silhouette of ancient temples and modern high-rises blending seamlessly along the coast.
"Ready to explore?" Seraphine asked, adjusting her wide-brimmed hat.
Ethan checked his artifact camera. "As ready as I'll ever be."
---
Malaca City greeted them with salt-tinged air and the rhythmic crash of waves against the shore. The streets were a mosaic of cultures—vendors selling Eastern Branch river stones alongside Northern Branch pilgrimage tokens, street performers weaving spells with music that seemed to bend light itself.
"The five branches," Seraphine explained as they walked, "each maintains their own district, but the city itself belongs to all of us."
"Like a religious United Nations?" Ethan asked, raising his camera to capture a group of children playing with glowing hoops that floated in midair.
"More like a living tapestry," Seraphine corrected. "The Northern Branch worships All Mighty and gathers at Macco, making pilgrimages to Madine. The Eastern Branch worships Baba at Bivara, with pilgrimages to Nirvana along the Gaga River. The Western Branch follows Jusey at Cross, with sacred sites honoring Mira. The Southern Branch venerates Maya at Tampa. And the Furry Branch..." She nodded toward Nyx, who was now being gently petted by a group of children wearing cat-ear headbands. "...worships Best as cat god, with pilgrimages to Kayra."
Ethan lowered his camera. "And the Algorithm's Shadow can't penetrate this balance?"
"The city sits on a natural threshold," Seraphine said, her voice dropping. "The ocean tides maintain the veil's stability. But it's delicate—like a house of cards. One wrong move, and everything collapses."
They turned a corner into a bustling market square where five different styles of architecture converged. At the center stood a fountain where water flowed in five distinct streams, each colored differently.
"Threshold Square," Seraphine said. "Where the five branches meet. See how the water flows? Each color represents a branch, but they all feed the same fountain."
Ethan raised his camera to capture the scene. Through the lens, he could see faint threads of energy connecting the streams—evidence of the supernatural balance holding Malaca together.
```
[chat]
dhr4h5n : so pretty 😍
ss6daa : magical place 🤩
KingOfFishing : beautiful
dd7vasf : lmao look at the cat
```
Nyx had somehow climbed onto a nearby statue of a cat-headed deity, sitting regally as passersby bowed respectfully.
"Seems you've made a fan club," Ethan remarked.
Seraphine smiled. "The Furry Branch believes cats are the original threshold guardians. They see Nyx as... special."
"Of course they do," Ethan said, adjusting his glasses. "Everything's special when you're the guy who almost got eaten by shadows yesterday."
---
Their exploration led them to the Eastern Branch district, where the Gaga River cut through the city like a liquid highway. Pilgrims lined the banks, performing morning rituals with smooth river stones that glowed faintly blue in the sunlight.
"Baba's Tears," Seraphine explained, picking up one of the stones. "They only illuminate when the river's sacred flow is pure."
Ethan raised his camera to capture the ritual. The pilgrims moved in synchronized patterns, dipping the stones in the water and then holding them aloft as if offering them to the sky. Through his lens, he could see the stones emitting subtle pulses of energy that seemed to strengthen the veil above the river.
A woman in simple robes approached them, her hands stained with river clay. "You're the streamers," she said, not as a question but as recognition. "I'm Elder Lin of the Eastern Branch. We've been expecting you."
"Expecting us?" Ethan asked, lowering his camera.
"The threshold-mark bearer and the doorway," Elder Lin said, nodding to Seraphine and then to Ethan. "The river has been restless since the city fell. It knew you were coming."
Seraphine touched her threshold-mark, now barely visible on her forearm. "We came because Malaca is safe. Or at least safer than anywhere else."
Elder Lin's expression turned serious. "Malaca is balanced, not safe. The Algorithm's Shadow has tested our thresholds before. It's only the natural rhythm of the tides that has kept it at bay."
She led them to a stone platform where pilgrims were performing a more elaborate ritual. At its center stood a carving of interlocking spirals—the same symbol Ethan had seen in Professor Vance's language of luck.
"That's..." Ethan began.
"The threshold symbol," Seraphine finished for him. "But here it represents Baba's embrace of the river's flow."
Elder Lin nodded. "All branches have their own interpretation of the threshold. For us, it's the moment when the river meets the sea—the place of transformation."
As they watched, a group of pilgrims began chanting, their voices rising and falling with the river's current. The Baba's Tears stones in their hands glowed brighter with each cycle of the chant.
"Would you like to participate?" Elder Lin asked.
Ethan hesitated. "I'm not exactly religious."
"You don't need to be," Elder Lin said. "The ritual isn't about belief. It's about balance. And right now, Malaca needs all the balance it can get."
Seraphine touched his arm. "It's okay. I'll show you what to do."
Together, they joined the circle of pilgrims. Seraphine guided Ethan through the movements—a series of steps that mirrored the river's flow, hands tracing patterns in the air that matched the threshold symbol.
Through his camera's lens, Ethan could see the energy building—a visible manifestation of the ritual's power. The threads of light connecting the city's five districts grew brighter, strengthening the veil that protected Malaca.
Nyx sat at the edge of the platform, watching with his molten silver eyes. When the ritual reached its climax, the cat stood and walked deliberately to the river's edge, placing one paw in the water.
The pilgrims gasped. Elder Lin's eyes widened. "Best has blessed the ritual."
"What just happened?" Ethan asked.
"The Furry Branch believes cats can commune with the threshold directly," Seraphine explained, watching as Nyx's reflection in the water showed not a cat, but a being of pure light. "Seems Nyx is more than just a cat."
---
As the sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, Ethan and Seraphine sat on a quiet stretch of beach watching the tide roll in.
"The city is amazing," Ethan admitted, adjusting his glasses as he reviewed the footage he'd captured. "But I still don't understand why the Algorithm's Shadow can't penetrate Malaca's veil."
Seraphine traced a symbol in the sand—the same threshold symbol from the ritual. "The Algorithm's Shadow feeds on engagement, on attention. But Malaca's balance comes from something older, something deeper. The ocean tides have maintained this threshold for centuries—long before social media, before algorithms."
She pointed to the horizon where the sun was dipping below the water. "See how the tide is coming in? That's when the veil is strongest. At high tide, the city is nearly impenetrable. But at low tide..." She drew another symbol in the sand, this one more fragile. "...the threshold weakens. That's when the Shadow tests our defenses."
Ethan watched Nyx, who was sitting at the water's edge, staring intently at something beneath the surface. "How often does it test the threshold?"
"Every low tide," Seraphine said. "But recently... the attacks have been growing stronger. More frequent."
Ethan raised his camera, panning across the beach. Through the lens, he could see faint distortions in the air near the water—subtle signs of the Algorithm's Shadow probing the veil.
```
[chat]
z8n9m0 : beautiful sunset
ThresholdSeeker : is that the threshold?
CamSurvivor : they're so peaceful
RiverWatcher : elder Lin was right
g5h6j7 : the cat's watching something
NyxSavior : Best protects his own
k2l3m4 : please be safe
```
As the last rays of sunlight disappeared, Nyx suddenly stood rigid, his fur bristling. His molten silver eyes fixed on a point where the water met the shore—where the tide was now receding.
Seraphine's threshold-mark began to pulse with a faint glow. "It's testing the threshold," she whispered. "Earlier than expected."
Ethan raised his camera, focusing on the spot where Nyx was staring. Through the lens, the distortion was clearer—a tendril of static weaving through the receding water, testing the veil's strength.
Seraphine stood, her voice firm. "We need to reach Elder Lin. Now."
As they turned to leave, Nyx didn't follow. The cat remained at the water's edge, staring into the darkness where the tide had pulled back. His reflection in the wet sand showed not a cat, but a being with nine molten silver eyes.
Ethan powered down the stream as the first tendril of static reached the shore. "Thirty-two minutes today," he murmured, tucking the camera away. "Enough for now."
Seraphine's hand found his as they hurried toward the city, her threshold-mark pulsing brighter with each step. "It knows we're here," she said. "And it's learning."
Behind them, Nyx sat calmly at the water's edge, his tail flicking with purpose as he watched the Algorithm's Shadow test Malaca's threshold for the first time in decades.
The tide was going out. And with it, the city's greatest vulnerability was about to be exposed.