The alley stretched ahead, shadows folding over themselves in tight, uncomfortable angles. The remnants of chaos clung to the walls: scuffed boots, streaks of dried blood, and the faint copper tang that never left. The air was heavy, thick with dust and the distant hum of forgotten machinery.
Creak… drip… hum…
I ran a hand along the rough brick, letting the scrape echo in the silence. Kara had been here. Or had she? Her words still lingered, bruised and furious. She'd claimed she was framed, but the truth? That was a puzzle I'd been forced to put together without her. Now, the space she occupied was empty. The warmth gone. Only the faint trace of leather and the hint of perfume remained, dissolving quickly into the alley's cold bite.
Tap.
Footsteps. My own, bouncing back at me. I muttered under my breath, sarcasm a thin shield: "Great. Alone again. Just me and the ghosts of bad decisions."
A screen flickered on the wall ahead, too precise, too deliberate. Rei. Her digital presence carved through the static with surgical clarity.
"Dylan," the feed began, voice clipped, urgent. "The Architect doesn't kill you. He rewrites you."
I leaned closer, squinting at the flickering image. "Rewrites me? That's comforting. Real comforting." My fingers traced the edge of the wall, nails scratching faint lines into the plaster, grounding myself in reality.
Buzz… click…
No response came beyond the message. Rei didn't linger. She vanished as quickly as she appeared, leaving behind a thin pulse of static that whispered against my ears.
I blinked, heart still hammering. The alley returned to its normal state silent, indifferent. Kara wasn't there. Rei was gone. And the warning… it crawled under my skin, squeezing tighter with every heartbeat.
Rattle… groan… scuttle…
I scanned the corners, expecting something to leap out, something that would prove the danger tangible. But there was only emptiness, calculated and cold. A reminder that in this city, in this web, absence was as meaningful as presence.
I exhaled, a dry, bitter hiss. "Rewrite me, huh? Let's see who comes out on the other side."
And with that, the alley swallowed me. Alone again, but sharper, more alert. Every shadow, every silence, every absence, Rei's warning and Kara's sudden disappearance added threads I couldn't ignore. The game wasn't slowing. Neither could I.