Ezra was running out of time. For what? No fucking clue. But his gut told him—whatever was happening, it was closing in. And that? That was enough to make his skin crawl. The night before duty call, Ezra tossed and turned.

  And then—The dream returned.

  The same angelic city. The same horrors. The same soul-star, hanging weakly in the sky. But this time—It spoke.

  Soft, like it was fading. "Please… hurry… I can't… -bzzt- much longer…"

  Ezra reached out—but the vision colpsed into darkness. And then— Something new. Something hidden in the void. A voice, low and warning. "Beware… beware of those who seek to bind your future. They are closer than you think."

  Ezra jerked awake, his breath ragged, sweat clinging to his skin. The words echoed in his skull. He stared at the ceiling, hands gripping the sheets, his pulse pounding. Running out of time.

  For what? Who the fuck knows at this point. But one thing was certain—Promises were meant to be broken.

  The next morning, Ezra didn’t talk about the dream. Didn’t tell Haru. Didn’t tell anyone. Instead—He made sure to bring the “Magic Wand.”

  Just in case. Call it a hunch. Because at this point? That’s close enough.

  He tucked it into his pocket, making sure it was concealed. If someone found it? "Oops," he’d say. "Forgot it was there." Pusible deniability. The Silent Legion had metal detectors, X-rays—they could scan for anything out of pce. To cover himself, he threw in a hot-stick voltage tester, something that looked just as technical as the wand itself.

  Because as any good wyer knows—if you’re gonna commit assault with a baseball bat, at least keep a baseball and a glove in the car.

  Ezra and Haru made their descent into the core. Neither of them rushed. Haru, for once, wasn’t being a little shit. He stuck closer to Ezra, quiet but watchful. Ezra handed him the checklist. "You do the recording, I’ll do the checkmarks." Haru nodded.

  For once, it felt like a normal day. Everything seemed to be going according to protocol. And that?

  That was the worst sign of all.

  The moment Ezra and Haru completed the punch list, the lights cut off. Everything—the overheads, the backup power, the hum of the generators—all of it died in an instant. Arms bred. A sharp, ear-piercing wail cut through the silence as red emergency lights flickered to life.

  Then—those too cut off.

  A metallic clunk echoed through the chamber. The doors locked.

  And just like that—they were trapped. Ezra exhaled slowly, blinking in the suffocating darkness. Haru was too quiet. He reached for his hotstick voltage tester, clicking on the built-in fshlight. "Haru!? Sound off!"

  The beam pierced the dark, searching. A shadow moved near the back wall. "I’m here!" Haru’s voice was tight, scared, but steady. Ezra’s fshlight caught his face—pale, wide-eyed, gripping the edge of a control panel. Good. Still alive.

  Ezra kept his breathing even. "Stick close." They reached the door controls, but the panel was unresponsive.

  Haru exhaled through his nose, visibly unsettled. "Maybe it’s part of the test?" he suggested, barely believing his own words.

  Ezra pressed a few more buttons, then let out a slow, unamused sigh. "Kid, this ain't a drill."

  They waited. Ten minutes. Then twenty. Then half an hour. Nothing. Haru shifted. "We… might need another way out."

  Ezra frowned. "Like what?"

  Haru hesitated. "…The vents?"

  Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose. "No."

  "Why not?"

  "Because," Ezra muttered, leaning against the dead console, "if we’re not already on a security watchlist, crawling through the damn air vents is a great way to get put on one."

  Haru huffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah? Well, so is getting locked in the dark."

  Another ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Then another half hour. Ezra sighed. "…Alright, fine. Your dumbass idea is starting to sound brilliant."

  The fshlight beam cut across the room, tracing along the ceiling until—There. A vent. Ezra climbed onto a metal crate and boosted Haru up. "Fit through?"

  Haru wriggled his way inside, grimacing. "Just barely."

  Ezra hoisted himself up next, squeezing into the metal passage. They crawled forward, the vents creaking under their weight. For what felt like forever, they inched through the darkness. Then—Haru stopped. Ezra frowned. "What’s wrong?"

  Haru pointed ahead. The vent split into a fork. "We have to go this way."

  Ezra raised a brow. "How do you know?" Then—A sound. A low, mechanical whirr. Boots echoed in the distance. And then—a saw. Ezra stiffened. Something was being cut. The Silent Legion was either trying to get in… or trying to get out.

  Neither was a good sign. They crawled forward, faster now. Haru found an opening ahead. A soft glow seeped through. They pushed the vent panel open—and dropped down into the unknown.

  Ezra nded first, gripping Haru’s arm to steady him. The glow was artificial. A generator spotlight. The Silent Legion was nowhere in sight. Just cold corridors, stretching out into the void. Ezra swept the fshlight across the walls, scanning for ndmarks, exits, anything.

  Then—a door. It was sealed tight, but not completely shut. A tiny crack of space at the edge. Ezra wedged his fingers into the gap—And with a grunt of effort—He pried it open.

  What y beyond made his stomach drop. A maintenance tunnel. Leading directly to the core. Ezra’s pulse quickened. And then—the headaches began. The core pulsed, waves of energy rippling outward—And suddenly, Ezra wasn’t there anymore.

  He was in a cockpit. Staring out of a visor into space. A massive rocket ship hovered ahead. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen—ornate, intricate, almost royal. A portal opened beyond it. And as the rocket ship drifted forward—It began to disintegrate.

  Metal peeled away in yers, dissolving into nothing. And when it was completely stripped—There it was. The star. The same one. The same weakened, desperate pulse.

  The ship vanished, and the star was sucked into the portal. Ezra’s own vehicle pulled up with impossible G-force, banking away at the st moment— And then—Darkness.

  Something smacked against his cheek. "Ezra! Wake up!"

  He gasped—eyes snapping open. Haru was leaning over him, his small hands patting his face. Ezra’s body was cold, his limbs heavy. They were back. Back at the core. The power was restored.

  There was no telling how much time had passed. They had to go. NOW.

  Ezra pulled himself up, breathing hard. Haru helped him steady himself. Together, they ran. Corridor after corridor, twisting through the underground maze, trying to navigate their way back up. Then—Ezra wrenched open a final door—And froze.

  Clover.

  Waiting.

  Ezra’s pulse spiked, instincts screaming. Her expression was unreadable, her golden eyes glinting in the dim emergency lighting. She lifted her hand—Ezra moved first.

  His fingers snapped around her wrist, stopping her mid-motion. Before she could react—His other hand darted to his pocket. The Magic Wand was out in a fsh—Pressed against her neck.

  The moment hung suspended in tension. His heart pounded, blood roaring in his ears. "Snap your fingers one more time," he growled, voice sharp, dangerous, "And I will sizzle you past well-done crispy."

  His grip tightened. Adrenaline surged through his veins, pure instinct driving him. For the first time—Clover hesitated.

  Clover did the unimaginable. She ughed. Not just a chuckle. Not a smirk. A low, amused, almost delighted ugh that made Ezra’s stomach drop. Her free hand wrapped around his, the one gripping the Magic Wand. She didn’t push it away.

  She pressed it harder against her own throat. Ezra’s breath hitched. Then—her fingers moved. They slid over the hidden power switch—And flipped it.

  To full power.

  "Oh, you even brought me a vibrator." Her voice was dry, unbothered. "How thoughtful." She pressed the button. Lightning burst through her body. Ezra’s eyes widened in horror. 20,000 watts of high-amperage electricity surged into her.

  The current arced to the surrounding metal, snapping and crackling with enough force to drop a man in one hit. But Clover—Clover didn’t flinch.

  She ughed.

  A slow, sultry, almost mocking ugh that sent ice-cold terror down Ezra’s spine. Ezra’s grip sckened. He stumbled back—nearly tripping over Haru. The kid was frozen, wide-eyed, barely breathing.

  Clover let the electricity dance over her skin, her head tilting slightly, watching Ezra’s face. It was like she was waiting for him to process what was happening. To truly understand. It didn’t hurt her. Not at all.

  The Magic Wand, their one ace in the hole, the device designed to stun or kill—It TICKLED HER.

  Ezra’s chest tightened with panic.

  Clover sighed, like she’d had her fun, and clicked the wand off. She tossed it back to Ezra casually, as if she were handing him a cheap dolr-store fshlight. Then—she turned to Haru. Her tone shifted instantly, cold and commanding. "Follow the emergency lights. They’ll take you back to the elevator."

  Haru didn’t hesitate. Didn’t argue. Didn’t even look at Ezra. He just turned and ran.

  Ezra, however, wasn’t dismissed. Clover stepped up to him, her golden eyes locking onto his. She extended a hand. "The report. Now."

  Ezra’s fingers shook as he clumsily reached for the safety report tucked into his coat. He could barely register his own movements. His brain was still stuck on what had just happened. Clover took the papers without even gncing at them. Then?

  She just dismissed him. Just like that. Like nothing had happened. Like he wasn’t standing there, shaking, his body locked in primal fear. He couldn’t move.

  Clover’s eyes flicked over him, unimpressed. She let out a small, exasperated sigh. "I’m aware you had no part in this… ‘malfunction,’" she said evenly. "You don’t even know where the backup power banks are, let alone how to short-circuit an entire facility."

  Ezra’s pulse hammered against his ribs. She knew. She knew he had nothing to do with this. Which meant—This was a test. A test he never signed up for. "You have until I’m pissed off to get the fuck out of here," Clover added.

  Ezra’s legs finally unlocked. He turned—And ran. He sprinted for the exit elevator like his life depended on it. Because he was pretty damn sure it did.

  Ezra caught up with Haru at the elevator, both of them breathing hard, still reeling from what had just happened. Neither of them spoke at first. They just stepped in, the doors hissing shut behind them, sealing them off from the horrors below. The elevator lurched upward, slow, painfully slow. It was running on backup power.

  Every second dragged.

  The only sound was the soft hum of the lift, the faint flicker of emergency lighting casting uneasy shadows against the walls. Haru shifted, gncing toward Ezra. "You spent time in construction, right?" he muttered, voice tight. "Maybe you have an answer."

  Ezra sighed, leaning back against the wall, rubbing his face.

  "Was this a test?" Haru asked, his tone cautious.

  Ezra let out a low, humorless chuckle. "I don’t know," he admitted.

  Haru waited, watching him. Ezra thought about it. Deep in his gut—something told him no. If it were just the main lights cutting out? Sure. That could be a test. But the emergency power going down, too? The saws? The sound of steel being ripped apart?

  Ezra shook his head. "No," he murmured. "Something bad was happening down there."

  Haru swallowed. Ezra could see it in his expression. The kid wasn't dumb. He knew. Knew this wasn’t just some Silent Legion game. Knew they had stumbled into something they weren’t meant to see. Ezra rolled his shoulders, exhaling. "Better let this one go, kid," he muttered.

  Haru didn’t argue. Didn’t even try. He just nodded. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the ride.

  The stato-jet home was quiet. Too quiet. Ezra stared out the window, watching the clouds stretch out beneath him, his mind a tangled mess of half-formed thoughts. Then—As soon as he nded at the airport, a package was waiting for him.

  No markings. No postage. No sender.

  It was delivered just for him. Ezra hesitated, heart pounding as he carefully peeled it open. Inside… A bottle of vintage wine. Dated to Roman Empire times. A handwritten note inside. His stomach turned cold. "I was wondering if you'd ever grow a spine. Congratutions. Don't make me rip it out. ? Clover"

  Ezra stared at the heart at the end.

  It shattered what little remained of his soul.