The footsteps stopped.
Liora held her breath, every muscle locked in place as darkness pressed in around them. The air was cold here, stale, like it hadn't been disturbed in years.
Kael slowly released the door.
Silence.
"This place," Liora whispered, "what is it?"
"A pause," he said. "Not safe. Just… overlooked."
He reached into his coat and flicked on a small light. The beam revealed an old maintenance room—cracked concrete walls, exposed wiring, symbols carved deep into the floor like someone had tried to leave warnings behind.
Liora's chest tightened. "People were here before us."
"Yes," Kael said quietly. "Most didn't leave."
Something tugged at her—an invisible pull, subtle but insistent. Her gaze drifted to the symbols etched into the ground. They vibrated faintly, responding to her presence.
Kael noticed instantly. "Don't touch them."
"I didn't," she said quickly. "They're reacting to me."
The light flickered.
A wave of dizziness swept over her, and suddenly she wasn't in the room anymore.
She stood in the square again.
Before the disappearances.
She saw Mina laughing. Mr. Hall adjusting his jacket. Life, whole and uninterrupted.
Then the image fractured.
People froze mid-motion. Shadows peeled away from their bodies. The city inhaled.
Liora cried out.
She collapsed back into the room, gasping for air, tears burning her eyes.
Kael caught her before she hit the ground.
"You saw it," he said, voice tight. "Didn't you?"
"They didn't vanish," she whispered. "They were… taken apart."
A heavy silence fell.
"That means the city isn't just testing you anymore," Kael said. "It's showing you truth."
Her voice broke. "Why me?"
He hesitated—just long enough for her to notice.
"Because you can still choose," he said finally.
A sharp crack echoed above them.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The symbols on the floor flared brighter.
And somewhere nearby, something ancient stirred—aware now that she understood.