The streets of Ka'tar seemed to twist with a will of their own. Jagged shards jutted from walls and collapsed pillars, catching dim light like fractured eyes. Dust swirled in the faint wind, curling around their boots and vanishing before it touched the ground.
Law led the Five, scarf tight around his neck, eyes scanning every ledge and shadow. The pulse of the city hummed beneath his feet, subtle but insistent, like it was testing them.
"It's too quiet," he murmured. "Even the wind's holding its breath."
Zero moved behind him, blades low, eyes sharp. "Quiet isn't empty," he said. "It's listening." Every step he took left a shadow that seemed heavier than it should, as though Ka'thar absorbed it.
Nysera's tail swept low, ears twitching. "It already knows how we move," she said. Her claws flexed instinctively, muscles coiled for strike.
Liora's silver threads flickered between her fingers as she brushed a shard-encrusted wall. "Every vibration, every whisper… it records us. Feeds on the rhythm of our heartbeat."
Laura crouched beside her, amber-gold pendant glowing faintly. "Not just rhythm," she said. "It responds. Adjusts. Tracks intent."
Law narrowed his eyes. "Then we move carefully. One misstep and it knows more than we do."
A soft click echoed from the shadows.
Nysera lunged first, claws slicing through debris. A shard spike erupted beneath her feet, fizzling into dust just inches from her wrist. "Reactive," she hissed.
Zero's knives traced a silent arc, deflecting another spike. "Not just reactive," Liora corrected, threads wrapping an incoming shard and snapping it aside. "It learns from fear."
A faint rustle drew their attention. Three corrupted Beastkin emerged, eyes flickering crimson and green, shard-veins pulsing unnaturally.
"Positions!" Law ordered.
The Five moved like a single organism. Zero vanished into motion, knives leaving green afterimages. Nysera struck with precision, syncing with the pulse beneath the stones. Liora's threads wove a protective net, catching shards aimed at them. Laura's heartbeat sped, pendant glowing brighter, as she anticipated the smallest motion.
Time fractured.
Laura felt the familiar pull between heartbeats. For a moment, she split: one version standing, one intercepting a dagger aimed for Liora. The shards flared in acknowledgment before collapsing back into shimmer.
The Beastkin staggered, confused, retreating under the city's subtle manipulation. Zero finished the motion cleanly; Law kept his staff ready, watching, calculating.
"They saw," he murmured. "Ka'thar saw it."
Liora's threads dimmed. "Between moment and echo… we crossed it."
The city's hum deepened, reverberating through the walls. Shard reflections twisted along broken glass, recording, remembering.
The Five regrouped. Every movement measured, every breath cautious. Ka'thar was no longer just alive. It was aware—and it would not forget.