The square was silent again, but the quiet was different this time—charged, deliberate, like a predator holding its breath before striking.
Selene stepped closer to Liora. "It's time for the first real confrontation. Not shadows. Not echoes. The city has sent it."
Liora's stomach twisted. "It?"
Kael's jaw tightened. "An entity. One of the vanished who became something… else. The city bends them, reshapes them. They're faster, stronger, and unpredictable."
A low vibration ran through the pavement. The lights flickered. From a nearby alley, a figure emerged.
Tall. Featureless. Its skin shimmered like liquid obsidian. Its eyes—or the shapes that might be eyes—fixed on Liora.
"You… are marked," it whispered, a voice layered with dozens of faint echoes. "You belong now."
Liora backed away instinctively. Energy flared at her fingertips, bright and unsteady. The entity moved faster than she could react, closing the distance in an instant.
Kael grabbed her wrist. "Focus! You don't fight it—you control it!"
Her pulse surged. Images of the vanished people she had seen flashed in her mind—their fear, their silence. She let that memory guide her, feeling the energy flow through her hands like water, steadying and bending around the entity instead of striking.
The entity faltered, recoiling slightly. Its whispers grew frantic, layered with confusion and rage.
"You… resist…" it hissed.
Liora's chest tightened. "I won't be controlled!"
The energy around her flared, forming a protective wave. The entity slammed into it, and for a heartbeat, the world shook. Then it dissolved, leaving only a faint shimmer in the alley.
Kael exhaled, gripping her shoulder. "That… was perfect. You didn't destroy it—you tamed it."
Liora sank to her knees, trembling. "I—I didn't know I could…"
Selene knelt beside her. "You did more than survive. You acted with purpose. That's the difference."
The square returned to its quiet state, but the air still pulsed with awareness, as if the city had taken note of her victory.
"You're learning," Selene whispered. "And now it will watch you even more closely."
Liora's gaze hardened. "Then I'll make sure it knows I'm not afraid."
The shadows around them twitched, attentive. The vanished city was alive—and it had a new player