The warehouse gate loomed in the gathering dusk like a rusty jaw, half-open on secrets I'd rather not dig up. My bike chain clicked softly as I coasted to a stop, the pendants a steady warmth against my chest, Phobos and Deimos quiet for now, like they sensed the shift from blood and venom to... whatever this was. The purge last night had left me hollowed out but clearer-headed, the whisper's echo dulled to a faint static hum, like a radio station fading over bad reception. Ophy's training had burned off the worst of the itch, turning Scorpio's stain into something I could grip, not just endure. But the Star Fragments in my pocket? They pulsed faintly, a reminder that "complete" quests just queued up the next one. New Quest Pending: Shadows in the Stacks. Vague as hell, but the warehouse pinged it hard.
8:02 PM. They were late, or I was paranoid-early. The industrial district stretched out in concrete bones under sodium lamps, the air thick with diesel ghosts and distant rain-scent. Mira and Lena. The Gemini twins. I'd known who they were since that factory roof bailout, Leo's flames roaring below, Aries's charge shaking the girders, Taurus bulldozing like a pissed-off freight train. They'd dropped in like silver-green hurricanes, Mirror Clones splitting the odds, whips and daggers turning the tide before vanishing with a wink and a warning. "Fascinating glitch," Mira had grinned, ponytail whipping as she scooped me up. Lena's glare had been all edges: "Don't drag us into your erasure." School chats since then? Casual probes wrapped in candy and algebra gripes, but always circling the "off" stuff, the temple smoke, the underpass ozone. This invite? No coincidence. Alliance bait, or council audit. Either way, no swords tonight. Just... time. Cooldown, as the post-fight haze demanded.
Footsteps crunched gravel, two sets, synced like heartbeats. Mira burst from the fog first, backpack slung low, a lantern swinging from one hand like a firefly on steroids. "Rei! Score one for the living dead, you showed!" Her grin split the gloom, all teeth and zero pretense, ponytail bobbing as she hip-checked the gate open wider. Lena followed, hoodie up against the chill, eyes scanning the chain-link like it might sprout teeth. She nodded, a faint curve to her lips that passed for a smile. "Traffic. Mira's fault, insisted on detouring for 'authentic ghost bait.'" She dangled a plastic bag: candy bars, glow sticks, a battered Ouija board peeking out the top.
I snorted, locking my bike. "Ghost bait? Warehouse is more tar-beast than boo-sheet. But hey, if it summons algebra homework, I'm out." Phobos hummed faintly in my mind, Caution, Rei. Duality hides hooks. Deimos chuckled low: Or fun. Lighten up, kid, blades stay sheathed.
Mira laughed, shoving a glow stick into my hand. It snapped to life, neon green threading the dark like serpent veins. "Tar-beasts? Sounds epic. Spill while we explore, your security gig's gotta have stories." She looped an arm through mine, casual as breathing, dragging me past the gate. Lena fell in on my other side, her presence a cool counterweight, like Phobos to Mira's Deimos vibe. No armor hum, no interface pings, just three teens trespassing in the industrial corpse of the city.
The warehouse swallowed us whole, doors groaning shut on the outside world. Mira flicked on her lantern, beams cutting dust motes into golden swirls. Crates towered like forgotten monoliths, labeled in faded ink: Zodiac Imports, Fragile. Ironic. The air hung heavy with oil and echo, but tonight it felt less like a trap, more like neutral ground. "This way," I said, leading them to the catwalk overlook, my "patrol perch," high enough for the full sprawl without the floor's grime. We climbed the rattling stairs, Mira chattering about school ghosts (the math teacher, mostly), Lena adding dry asides that had me smirking despite the knot in my gut.
Up top, the view was different in the company. Moonlight slanted through broken panes, painting the stacks in silver-blue. Mira vaulted the railing, perching like a gargoyle, legs swinging. "Prime haunt spot. Bet this place has vibes, shadowy visitors, right? Lena swears she felt a ripple here last week, like static in her clones." She snapped another glow stick, tying it to a loose chain like a lantern. Lena leaned beside her, unpacking the bag: candy divided out, Ouija board unrolled on a crate top like a dare.
I dropped cross-legged opposite, unwrapping a bar, chocolate and nuts, Mira's pick. "Ripples, huh? Yeah, this joint's got history. My shifts? Mostly quiet, but last one..." I tried testing. The Aries scorch marks below, faint black webs on concrete. No need to spill the Stinger surge, the crimson overload. "Chemical spill. Fried the floor, woke me up sweating."
Lena's eyes sharpened, but not accusatory, curious, like she was piecing a puzzle. "We know the cover. Felt it in the network, Scorpio echo, then purge. Bold, Rei. Ophiuchus glitches don't just... reset." She popped a glow stick, the snap echoing. No henshin tease, just fact. Mira leaned in, elbows on knees. "Spill the tea. That factory save? We bailed 'cause your vibe screamed 'cycle-breaker.' But the temple? Cancer's shell cracking? You stirred the pot. What's the endgame, thrones or shatter?"
Phobos stirred: They're fishing. But honest. Deimos: Let 'em. Builds the squad.
I chewed slow, the chocolate grounding the post-purge fog. Honesty? Risky, but the twins had earned a sliver, that roof yank from Leo's jaws, clones mirroring my strikes like they'd synced souls. "Endgame's erasure-proof. Gods took Andi, supermarket collateral, wiped clean like bad code. Jay's pitch? Unite to kill 'em. Tempting, till the whisper tried rewriting my head." I flexed my hand, flawless skin over the ghost-ache. "Purged it observatory-style. Blood moon backup-Jay, scythe and static. Felt good cracking him, project lives on, though. Orb ghosts."
Mira whistled low, tracing zodiac doodles on the board with a glow stick, twins entwined, serpent coiling through. "Damn. Lara's echo hit us too, Jay's net pinged every Rider. Our folks? Fogged in a Taurus stampede, year back. No graves, no pics. Just... split memories, like Gemini's curse doubled." Her voice dipped, cheer cracking for a beat. Lena covered, voice steady: "Duality's our edge, we mirror the fog, slip council eyes. But it pulls. Clones glitch sometimes, show ghosts we can't unsee."
The Ouija board sat between us, planchette idle. Mira nudged it. "Ask it something stupid. 'Will math kill us first?'" We laughed, mine rusty, but real, as she spelled out nonsense, the board "answering" with pushes that had us accusing elbows. Glow sticks strung a makeshift web overhead, turning the catwalk into a neon nest. Mira raided her bag for more: "Emergency kit, candy for sugar rushes, board for vibes, pepper spray for... whatever." Lena rolled her eyes but pocketed one, her knee brushing mine accidental-not. "You're the glitch we need, Rei. Forbidden's unbound, no life-days ticking like ours."
Time blurred, rain pattering the roof like distant applause. Stories spilled easy: Mira's clone pranks on Aquarius (water-boy shorted out mid-flood), Lena's dagger duels with Virgo's vines ("Elara's a healer, but her thorns? Bitchy"). I countered with the temple heist, Lily's trident glint under festival lights, crab-shell faith-buffs cracking under serpent strike. "Date gone wrong. Thought she was normal." Mira cackled: "Rider romance? Recipe for trident heartbreak." Lena's gaze lingered: "Normal's the lie. But us? We're the rewrite."
Phobos approved softly: Balance. They ground the storm. Deimos: And the fun, keep 'em close, kid.
Midnight crept, rain sheeting the panes. We sprawled, backs to crates, glow web flickering like captured stars. Mira dozed first, head lolling on my shoulder, trusting, chaotic. Lena across, eyes half-lidded but watchful. "Quest pinged yet?" she murmured. I checked the interface, Shadows Explored. Trust Thread Woven. Fragment Synergy: +10%. Subtle upgrade, coils humming warmer.
"Nah. Just... this." I gestured to the nest. No fights, no venom surge, just time, raw and rare. The twins' duality mirrored my split, Phobos caution in Lena's stare, Deimos fire in Mira's snore. Gods stirring? Yeah. But here, under rust and rain, the cycle felt crackable. Not alone.
Dawn grayed the edges as we packed, glow sticks dimmed to stubs. Mira stretched, yawning. "Round two? Next time, ghosts or gods." Lena smirked: "Probe the sanctum. Virgo's festival, Elara's mending Aries. We mirror in, you coil the core." Alliance hook, dropped light.
I nodded, pendants thrumming. "Deal. But candy's on me." We slipped out, rain-washed and lighter, the warehouse shrinking behind. Quest updated: Allies Echoed. Next: Mend the Fracture. Cooldown over. Storm brewing. But for the first time, I biked home grinning, blades sheathed, but squad forged.
I got home trying to get some sleep, I don't know about the next quest. But it's fun tonight, which is weird since they're my enemy, I have to fight them sooner or later, this whole situation is mess up. It's seems everyone lose something that make them fight in this tournament, even that crazy bastard Jay. Maybe we all not so different after all.