They slipped away from the plaza before the first patrols arrived.

  Behind them, the noon chimed faintly, its echo scattering down empty streets. Casen and Elian moved in unison, shadows drifting past shattered storefronts and silent kiosks. Each step felt heavy, loaded with the weight of fractured futures.

  "We saw it," Elian whispered, voice raw. "You—me—both broken on that platform."

  Casen adjusted the pack on his shoulder, where the burned chip’s ash lay sealed in a small vial. "The Return’s corrupted. It’s bleeding us out of order."

  She nodded, eyes distant. "But why you? Why me?"

  He hesitated. "Because we’re linked. Both anomalies: you came late, I should have come already, and yet we’re both here—alive."

  They paused beneath a flickering streetlamp. Rainwater glistened on cracked pavement. The lamp’s hum echoed like a broken heartbeat.

  Elian shivered. "I don’t know how much time we have before someone else notices. The GCA will be hunting, and Marrow’s warning means it’s only a matter of hours before they tie my face to every ghost anomaly in the city."

  Casen looked at her. "Next step: Dr. Ash Wynn. She defected from NOVUM and knows more about the Anchor than anyone. If we can find her—"

  Elian swallowed. "She’s in Sector 9. An underground bunker. But it’s crawling with static drones."

  "We’ll go at night," he said, determination firming his tone. "We’ll find Wynn, get answers on the Anchor. Then we fix the Return."

  A siren wailed in the distance—sharp, urgent. They both froze.

  "They’re onto us," Casen muttered, pulling Elian into an alcove.

  Minutes passed. The sound faded.

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  Elian exhaled. "First we need supplies. Weapons. Information. We can’t just walk into Sector 9 unprepared."

  Casen nodded. "Marrow has contacts in the black market. We can get what we need."

  Night fell fast behind overturned trams and graffiti-stained walls. They returned to the underbelly, slipping through the hidden entrance of the Ghost Market.

  Marrow’s stall was dark—only his neon-lit sign flickered. Casen tapped the rhythm on the panel.

  Marrow emerged, eyes sharp. "You two looked like ghosts of your own. What’s broken now?"

  Casen showed the vial of ash. "What else do you have on Elian?"

  Marrow studied her. "She’s more than a memory glitch. But I’ve heard rumors—Sector 9, Bunker XII. Former NOVUM research. They call it the Return Mirror."

  Elian’s breath caught. "Mirror?"

  "A device that maps anomalies to their origin points. Supposedly it shows you the wound in time. If you can find it… you might heal it." Marrow paused. "But it’s dangerous."

  Casen stepped forward. "We’ll take it."

  Marrow shook his head. "No. You need supplies first: electro-stunners, EMP grenades, comm scramblers. I can get you the lot—for a price."

  Casen counted credits. "Done. But I need more: data on the bunker’s layout."

  Marrow hesitated—then handed them a battered datapad. "Don’t get yourselves killed."

  They strode away, hearts racing.

  By midnight, they were miles east, walking a sequence of coded graffiti that led to a hidden elevator. Sector 9’s silo rose above them, its steel ribs glinting in moonlight.

  Casen disabled the door scanner with an EMP charge. Elian held her breath as the pump’s hum subsided.

  Inside, the shaft descended into cold granite. They emerged in a corridor lined with faded warning signs:

  "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY,"

  "TEMPORAL RESEARCH FACILITY: BUNKER XII."

  They moved silently, flashlights cutting through darkness.

  At the corridor’s end, a reinforced door read "Return Mirror Lab" with a cracked NOVUM emblem.

  Elian placed her palm on the reader—it glowed green. "Ready?"

  Casen nodded.

  She pressed the door release.

  Inside, the lab was a cathedral of broken mirrors and humming conduits. A massive apparatus stood at the center: the Return Mirror itself, half-dismantled, wires hanging like spent veins.

  Casen ran his fingers over the control panel—symbols pulsed under cracked glass.

  Elian stepped beside him. "This is it. The wound in time."

  He looked at her. "We fix it together."

  Outside, a distant alarm began to shriek.

  Casen grabbed her hand. "We’ve been discovered."

  She squared her shoulders. "Then let’s burn the mirror, and every echo with it."

  He raised the EMP stunner. "Agreed. On three."

  They exchanged a last look.

  "One… two… three."

  Casen fired.

  The Return Mirror shattered—light and sound fracturing the bunker into a million prisms.

  And for a moment, the world outside paused.