Chapter 14 — It Speaks First
The thing stepped fully out of the wall.
Stone peeled away from its back like wet clay, then sealed shut again, leaving no trace. The figure dusted its hands as if it had just walked through a door instead of a wall.
It looked human.
Two arms. Two legs. A face that almost made sense.
Almost.
Its eyes were a little too still. Its smile stayed too long.
"Well," it said, voice calm and clear, "you didn't last where most do."
Lira stiffened. Kael didn't answer right away.
"You talk," Kael said.
The thing tilted its head. "That's usually how this part goes."
"What are you?" Lira asked.
It glanced at her, surprised. "Oh. You can see me too. Interesting."
Kael stepped slightly in front of her. "Answer the question."
The thing sighed, like someone tired of repeating themselves. "I'm a guide. A sorter. Depends on the day."
"Liar," Kael said.
The smile widened. "Fair."
It walked closer. Each step made a soft clicking sound, like stone tapping stone. The air felt tighter with every move.
"You passed the surface," it said. "That already puts you ahead."
"Ahead of what?" Lira asked.
The thing stopped a few steps away. "Of being erased."
Kael raised the blade. "Then talk faster."
The guide looked at the blade, then at Kael. Its smile faded just a little.
"The world is changing," it said. "You already know that. Most things don't survive change. They snap. Or sink. Or get forgotten."
"And us?" Kael asked.
"You're… inconvenient," it replied. "The system hasn't decided what to do with you yet."
Lira let out a short laugh. "So we're stuck?"
"For now." The guide's eyes flicked to the cracks in the hall. "And time is expensive here."
The floor trembled.
Not hard. Just enough.
The guide straightened. "Ah. It noticed you again."
Kael felt it too. That pressure. That attention.
"Last question," Kael said. "If we keep moving—do we live?"
The guide smiled again. This time it didn't look friendly at all.
"You live," it said. "For a while."
The cracks in the walls spread.
And something began knocking from the other side.