[The cabin was gone.]
[Or rather—]
[Abaksa had left it hours ago.]
[Following the direction Naja's note had pointed him toward.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Stay alive, huh?"
[He turned the crimson shuriken over in his hand.]
[Light.]
[Perfectly balanced.]
[Expensive.]
[Definitely not the weapon of an ordinary traveler.]
[And she knew about the Eleventh.]
[Which meant she knew about regressors.]
[Which meant things were becoming complicated.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...I hate mysteries."
[The Poison Valley stretched endlessly around him.]
[Twisted trees.]
[Poison rivers.]
[Strange skies.]
[Hours passed.]
[Then he saw it.]
[A city.]
[Massive walls.]
[Ancient towers.]
[Stone streets.]
[His eyes widened.]
"...A city?"
[Hope appeared.]
[For the first time since entering the valley.]
[A settlement meant people.]
[People meant answers.]
[Or at least directions.]
[The gates stood open.]
[No guards.]
[No movement.]
[Still—]
[It looked intact.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Maybe I finally found a way out."
[He entered.]
[The city felt wrong immediately.]
[Silent.]
[Too silent.]
[No merchants.]
[No voices.]
[No footsteps.]
[Only wind.]
[Abaksa moved slowly.]
[His hand rested on his sword.]
[Every instinct warned him.]
[Danger.]
[Then he saw them.]
[A man sitting beside a fountain.]
[Motionless.]
[Another woman standing beside a market stall.]
[Motionless.]
[A child in the middle of the street.]
[Motionless.]
[Relief appeared.]
"Finally."
[He approached.]
[Then stopped.]
[The child wasn't moving.]
[At all.]
[Not breathing.]
[Not blinking.]
[Dead.]
[Abaksa's eyes narrowed.]
[He looked around.]
[The man.]
[Dead.]
[The woman.]
[Dead.]
[Everyone.]
[Dead.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...What happened here?"
[The corpses looked fresh.]
[Yet old.]
[Like time itself couldn't decide.]
[Then the System appeared.]
[Unknown Disaster Zone Detected]
[Classification: Temporal Echo City]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Temporal what?"
[Recommendation: Leave Immediately]
Abaksa Einsro— "For once we agree."
[He turned.]
[The city gates were gone.]
[Silence.]
"...What?"
[Only walls remained.]
[Solid stone.]
[No exit.]
[The city had changed.]
[Without him noticing.]
[The wind stopped.]
[The corpses moved.]
[Slowly.]
[One head turned.]
[Then another.]
[Then all of them.]
[Hundreds.]
[Every dead citizen stared at him.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...That's new."
[The child smiled.]
[Its jaw cracked open.]
[Too far.]
[Much too far.]
[The thing that emerged wasn't a smile.]
[It was a split.]
[A tear in reality.]
[Dark mist leaked from its mouth.]
Child — "Alive."
[The voice wasn't human.]
[The woman spoke next.]
Woman — "Alive."
[Then the man.]
Man — "Alive."
[Then everyone.]
Everyone — "ALIVE."
[The city shook.]
[Thousands of voices echoed together.]
[The corpses began walking.]
[Toward him.]
[Slow.]
[At first.]
[Then faster.]
[Much faster.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Of course."
[He ran.]
[The streets twisted.]
[Buildings shifted.]
[Reality bent.]
[The city wasn't normal.]
[It wasn't even real.]
[Temporal Distortion Detected]
[The System flickered.]
[Searching Exit Path...]
Abaksa Einsro— "Please find one."
[The dead sprinted after him.]
[Hundreds.]
[Their bodies breaking apart as they ran.]
[Yet never slowing.]
[One leapt.]
[Abaksa cut it down.]
[Its body dissolved into black smoke.]
[Three more replaced it.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Not helping."
[The city changed again.]
[A street became an alley.]
[An alley became a plaza.]
[A plaza became a dead end.]
[The city wanted him trapped.]
[The System pulsed.]
[Exit Located]
[Abaksa nearly smiled.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Finally."
[Probability of Survival: 17%]
[The smile vanished.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Never mind."
[An arrow appeared.]
[Pointing toward a bell tower.]
[At the center of the city.]
[Unfortunately—]
[The entire horde stood between him and it.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Great."
[The dead surged.]
[Like a wave.]
[Abaksa charged.]
[Forward.]
[Because there was nowhere else to go.]
[His sword flashed.]
[One fell.]
[Then another.]
[Then another.]
[But they kept coming.]
[The bell tower grew closer.]
[The horde grew larger.]
[The city screamed.]
[And somewhere deep beneath its streets—]
[Something awakened.]
[Something far worse than the dead.]
[A Disaster.]
[One of the ancient calamities trapped within the Poison Valley.]
[And it had just noticed him.]