The ghost city never truly slept.
Not because it was awake.
But because it remembered.
Every broken street.
Every abandoned building.
Every soul that had passed through its endless gray landscape left behind fragments of itself.
And sometimes—
Those fragments refused to disappear.
---
A cold wind moved through the narrow streets.
Rive adjusted his coat as he walked beside Vikram and Lysara.
The events of the previous day still lingered in his mind.
The Reapers.
The warning.
Arin.
The possibility of returning home.
None of it felt real.
And yet all of it was.
"So..." Rive said.
"No monsters today, right?"
Vikram looked ahead.
"No."
"Great."
"Probably."
Rive sighed.
"There it is. The word that always ruins everything."
Lysara covered a small smile.
"You learn quickly."
"I've had a lot of practice recently."
---
They were heading toward a place called the District of Lost Memories.
According to Lysara, it was one of the oldest areas in the ghost city.
Most ghosts avoided it.
Which immediately made Rive nervous.
"If everyone avoids it," he said, "why are we going there?"
"Training."
"I knew I wouldn't like the answer."
Vikram crossed his arms.
"Your powers are growing."
"And?"
"And your control is terrible."
Rive pointed at himself.
"I survived multiple disasters."
"Accidentally."
"Still counts."
"It doesn't."
---
The city around them slowly changed.
The streets became quieter.
The buildings older.
Some structures appeared partially transparent, as if they existed in two places at once.
A school floated upside down in the sky.
A train station hung vertically from a cliff.
A giant clock tower stood in the distance.
Its hands moved backward.
Rive stared at it.
"...Nope."
"What?" Lysara asked.
"I'm officially done questioning architecture in this world."
"Wise decision."
---
As they entered the district, the atmosphere changed immediately.
The air became colder.
The silence became heavier.
And strange lights appeared in the distance.
Small floating orbs.
White.
Blue.
Silver.
They drifted through the streets like wandering stars.
Rive stopped.
"What are those?"
Lysara's expression softened slightly.
"Memories."
Rive blinked.
"Memories can fly?"
"In this place, yes."
He watched one of the glowing orbs drift past.
Inside it—
He saw a child laughing.
A family eating together.
A birthday celebration.
Then the vision vanished.
The orb continued floating away.
Rive stared after it.
"...That's actually beautiful."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
---
Then something screamed.
A distant, terrible sound echoed through the district.
Rive immediately jumped.
"Okay."
He pointed.
"That's definitely not beautiful."
Vikram sighed.
"There it is."
"There what is?"
"The reason everyone avoids this district."
---
The ground trembled.
The floating memories scattered.
The temperature dropped sharply.
From the darkness between two buildings—
Something emerged.
A creature made entirely of shadows.
Its body constantly shifted shape.
Faces appeared across its skin.
Hundreds of them.
Laughing.
Crying.
Screaming.
Remembering.
Rive froze.
"...I hate it."
The monster turned toward them.
One of the faces opened its eyes.
And spoke.
"Rive..."
His blood ran cold.
Because he recognized that voice.
It sounded exactly like Arin.
---
"What is that?" Rive whispered.
Lysara immediately drew several glowing cards.
"A Memory Devourer."
Vikram stepped forward.
"It feeds on memories."
The creature moved closer.
Its body expanding unnaturally.
The faces covering it became more numerous.
More distorted.
More human.
Then another voice emerged.
This time—
Rive's own.
"You couldn't save anyone."
Rive's eyes widened.
The monster laughed.
Dozens of voices laughing together.
---
The battle began instantly.
Vikram slammed his hand against the ground.
"World Root Authority."
Massive stone roots erupted from beneath the street.
They wrapped around the creature.
The monster screamed.
But instead of resisting—
It absorbed the memories trapped inside the roots.
Growing larger.
"That's cheating!" Rive shouted.
The creature seemed pleased by the comment.
Lysara moved next.
Purple energy exploded around her.
Dozens of glowing cards surrounded her body.
"Phantom Exchange."
The cards transformed into blades of light.
They shot forward like arrows.
The attacks struck the creature directly.
Several faces vanished.
But more appeared.
The monster kept growing.
---
Rive clenched his fists.
His Future Echo activated instinctively.
The world slowed.
He saw possible futures.
Attack paths.
Movement patterns.
Weak points.
Then—
Something else.
A glowing core.
Hidden inside the creature.
For a split second.
Then gone.
Rive's eyes widened.
"I found it."
Vikram looked back.
"What?"
"The core."
The monster charged.
The street shattered beneath its weight.
Rive ran forward.
Directly toward it.
Lysara stared.
"He's insane."
"Yes," Vikram replied.
"But continue."
---
The monster attacked.
A massive claw swung toward him.
Future Echo activated.
Rive moved.
The claw missed by inches.
He jumped.
Spun.
Dodged another attack.
The world around him felt strangely clear.
For once—
Everything made sense.
The monster opened its chest.
The glowing core appeared.
There.
Rive saw it.
Now.
---
He gathered his strength.
Every ounce of energy he could control.
Then punched forward.
The strike connected directly with the core.
For one second—
Nothing happened.
Then light exploded outward.
The creature screamed.
The faces covering its body began disappearing.
One after another.
Like shattered memories finally finding peace.
The monster collapsed.
Its shadow form breaking apart into thousands of glowing fragments.
The district became silent again.
---
Rive landed on the ground.
Breathing heavily.
"Did..."
He looked at the fading remains.
"Did I actually win?"
Lysara approached slowly.
"You helped."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
She smiled faintly.
"But it's progress."
Rive laughed.
"I'll take progress."
---
As the last memory fragments drifted into the sky—
One glowing orb floated toward Rive.
Unlike the others—
This one stopped directly in front of him.
Inside it—
He saw something.
A memory.
Not his.
Not Vikram's.
Not Lysara's.
A memory of a young girl standing beneath a silver tree.
And beside her—
A younger Lysara.
Smiling.
Happy.
Alive.
The vision vanished instantly.
Lysara froze.
For the first time since meeting her—
Her calm expression cracked.
Only for a moment.
But Rive noticed.
And suddenly realized—
Lysara was hiding far more than she had ever told them.
Far more.
And somewhere deep within the ghost city—
Someone else had noticed the memory awakening.
Someone who had been searching for Lysara for a very long time.
And they were finally getting closer.