Darius and Ais stood on the ridge, staring down at the city below.

  It was still intact.

  For now.

  The air was wrong.

  The city felt too still.

  Not silent.

  Not empty.

  But as if it was waiting to be unmade.

  Darius exhaled slowly. “We’re here just in time.”

  Ais adjusted the straps on her daggers. “Or too te.”

  Neither of them moved.

  Because this time—they weren’t running from the rewrite.

  They were here to witness it.

  And maybe—stop it.

  The city’s name was Vornis.

  A sprawling trade hub built along a great river, its towers rose high into the sky, banners fluttering in the evening wind.

  Merchants called from their stalls.

  Children ran through the streets.

  Torches flickered in the dimming twilight.

  It looked normal.

  It looked real.

  And yet—Darius knew it wouldn’t be here by sunrise.

  He had seen it before.

  A city on the edge of erasure.

  History already shifting around it.

  And yet, its people went about their lives—oblivious.

  Ais's voice was low. "They have no idea, do they?"

  Darius shook his head.

  "Not yet."

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  They entered the city just as night fell.

  The air grew heavier.

  Darius felt it.

  The pull of something vast and unseen.

  The same way he had felt it in Vaelmoor.

  In the temple ruins.

  In every pce that was about to be rewritten.

  But this time—he would not wait for the erasure to finish.

  This time, he would find the cracks before they vanished.

  The first sign of the rewrite came in the marketpce.

  Darius and Ais moved through the stalls, watching, listening.

  And then—he saw it.

  A merchant selling fruit stopped mid-sentence.

  His hands trembled.

  His face went bnk.

  And then—he simply walked away.

  Leaving his stall behind.

  No hesitation.

  No words.

  As if he had forgotten he had ever been there at all.

  Ais frowned. "Did you see that?"

  Darius nodded.

  The rewrite had already begun.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  They pushed deeper into the city.

  People hesitated in their steps.

  Paused mid-conversation.

  Gnced around as if they had forgotten what they were doing.

  As if something was slipping from their minds.

  Ais’s grip on her dagger tightened. "It’s happening fast."

  Darius exhaled. "Too fast."

  He had seen erasures before.

  But this was different.

  More precise.

  More deliberate.

  The Thanatarchy was rewriting Vornis section by section.

  As if this time, it did not want to leave even a single crack behind.

  Ais grabbed his arm. "Look."

  Darius followed her gaze.

  A woman stood in the street, staring at her hands.

  Her lips moved—whispering something under her breath.

  She looked around, eyes wide.

  Then—she gasped.

  Like someone had taken her breath away.

  Like she had just realized she was vanishing.

  Darius stepped forward.

  And for the first time, the woman noticed him.

  She turned sharply.

  Her eyes locked onto his.

  And she spoke.

  “You can see it, can’t you?”

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Darius froze.

  Ais tensed.

  Because this woman—this stranger—

  She knew.

  She felt the erasure.

  She understood what was happening.

  And that was impossible.

  Darius' breath came slow, steady. "Who are you?"

  The woman exhaled shakily.

  Her hands were still trembling.

  “I don’t know anymore.”

  Ais's voice was sharp. "What do you mean?"

  The woman looked around the street.

  “I had a name.”

  She swallowed.

  “I had a home.”

  Her voice grew weaker.

  And then—her eyes filled with something terrible.

  “But the city is forgetting me.”

  Darius’ heart smmed against his ribs.

  This had never happened before.

  In every erasure he had seen—people vanished without realizing.

  But this woman—

  She was still aware.

  She could feel herself being rewritten.

  Which meant—

  Something was wrong with this rewrite.

  Something was breaking.

  Ais stepped forward, her voice urgent. "Listen to me—do you remember your name?"

  The woman shook her head violently.

  Tears welled in her eyes.

  “I—I can’t—”

  Darius clenched his fists.

  “Then say mine.”

  The woman stared at him.

  Darius’ voice was sharp, unwavering.

  “Say my name.”

  The woman hesitated.

  The rewrite pressed in around her.

  Her form flickered.

  And then—she whispered.

  “Darius… Vaelthorne.”

  The moment the words left her lips—the air shifted.

  The rewrite staggered.

  A ripple passed through reality—as if the world itself had hesitated.

  And in that moment—Darius saw it.

  A crack in the rewrite.

  A glimpse of something beneath the surface of history.

  Something the Thanatarchy did not want him to see.

  And before he could react—

  The world shattered.