The Shadow Market was left behind, but its noise lingered in my ears, like a distant echo that wouldn't let me be. Kharos walked beside me, yet his steps were silent, almost as if he didn't want to be detected.
—You need to understand something, he said in a deep voice. This world is not a place for the naive or the dreamers. Here, every decision carries weight, and every silence can be a sentence.
I had no time to respond before a figure emerged from the purple mist that shrouded the streets, so sudden and silent that only the tension in my body alerted me.
It was a tall, humanoid shadow, but its movements were unnatural. Its eyes, two black abysses, seemed to devour the light.
—What is that? I asked, frozen.
Kharos clenched his teeth.—A Reaper. Hunters who serve the Archive, and from whom nothing escapes. They come for those who alter the thread too much.
The air grew heavy. The Reaper advanced with terrifying calm, its steps silent, yet each one seemed to vibrate inside my chest.
Without hesitation, I opened the book, and the pages began to write frantically. I felt my mind tearing as I tried to control every word, searching for a way out.
Kharos drew a rusted dagger and held it before him, fearless.—You can't always run, but I can help you buy time.
The Reaper attacked. Kharos' dagger glowed with a spectral blue fire that seemed to absorb the darkness itself. The clash between the dagger and the Reaper produced a muffled boom that made the streets tremble.
I took the moment to write:"A barrier of light emerges, stopping the Reaper for a moment."
The book vibrated in my hands, and a trembling, translucent barrier appeared before me, halting the enemy's advance.
—Good, Kharos said, but it won't last long. Every word you write consumes time, and the Reaper is not the only hunter.
We ran through winding alleys, the mist swirling around us, hiding presences moving among the shadows. I felt the weight of the clock in the book, marking the relentless passage of hours.
Finally, Kharos stopped before a door covered in arcane symbols.—We're safe here… for now.
My heart pounded as I tried to process everything: the power, the threat, the cost. It was not just a game of writing or erasing. It was a minefield where every step could be the last.
—How much time do you think I have left? I asked, looking at the counter in the book.
—That depends on you, Kharos replied. But remember: in this world, the truth always finds a way out. And when it does… there's no turning back.
The door slammed shut behind us with a sharp thud, and the mist remained trapped outside.
Inside, the shadow of danger lingered, but for the first time, I felt that I was not completely alone.