Chapter 13: Echoes of the Trade

Silence fell like a blade, sharp and sudden, slicing through the chamber after the dome's collapse. Kai stood alone before the pure time stash, its white-hot light pulsing steady, casting long shadows across the cracked mosaic floor. The hum was gone, replaced by a quiet that pressed against his ears, heavy and unnatural. His paradox mark flickered, faint but alive, a dull ache under his skin, and Mara's voice came—not a scream, not a whisper, but a soft, intimate pull: "Kai… you're here."

He blinked, blood crusted on his face, his chest tight. The stash hovered above the pedestal, unguarded now, its light warm but piercing, like staring into a star. Lena leaned against the wall behind him, her leg a bloody mess, her breathing shallow. Markus sat slumped nearby, his cane across his lap, his face gray with exhaustion. Quiet woman stood guard by the door, her knife steady despite her aged frame, while Tali remained curled against the wall, frail and fading, her relic clutched tight.

"What now, Voss?" Lena rasped, her voice rough, breaking the silence. "We've got it—pure time, right there. What's the plan?"

Kai didn't answer, his eyes locked on the stash. The mark pulsed, syncing with it, and the air shifted—thicker, alive, pulling him closer. He took a step, boots scraping stone, and the light flared—Mara's face flickered in it, clearer than ever, her eyes wide and wet, her hand reaching out.

"Mara," he breathed, the word slipping out, raw and broken. His hand lifted, trembling, fingers inches from the stash.

"Careful, kid," Markus warned, his voice low, strained. "That's not just time—it's everything they traded, everything she gave up. Touch it, and you might not come back."

Kai's jaw tightened, the mark burning hotter. "I have to know," he said, voice steady despite the shake in his legs. "What she did—why I'm here."

Lena pushed off the wall, limping closer, her dagger still in hand. "You're bleeding out, Voss. You touch that, and it might finish you."

"Maybe," he said, meeting her gaze, then turning back to the stash. "But I've got to try."

He reached out, fingers brushing the edge, and the world cracked—light flooded his vision, swallowing the chamber. Time stopped, then rewound, and he was somewhere else—a memory, not his own. Mara stood before him, younger, her hair loose, her eyes fierce. She faced a Syndicate enforcer, a relic glowing in his hand, and Kai saw it—the trade. "My time for his," she said, her voice firm, and the enforcer nodded, pressing the relic to her chest. Light flared, and she aged—slowly at first, then fast, her skin wrinkling, her hair graying, until she crumpled, dust spilling from her hands.

"No," Kai choked, reaching for her, but the vision shifted—back to the checkpoint, him running, her voice fading: "Run, Kai." Then the mark burned into his hand, her last gift, her last breath.

The chamber snapped back, the stash pulsing before him, and Kai staggered, tears mixing with blood on his face. "She gave it all," he whispered, voice breaking. "For me."

Lena grabbed his arm, steadying him, her eyes hard but wet. "Voss, you're still here. Don't lose it now."

Markus forced himself up, his cane tapping as he approached. "That's what pure time is—trades locked in, unchangeable. She's gone, kid, but you're not."

Kai shook his head, the mark flaring brighter. "Maybe I can fix it—bring her back."

"You can't," Markus said, his tone sharp. "Undo her trade, and you unravel everything—us, this city, time itself."

Quiet woman stepped closer, her voice low. "We've lost enough. Use it—fight the Syndicate, end this."

Kai stared at the stash, Mara's pull stronger now, her voice soft: "Fix it, Kai—not me, them." His chest ached, the choice tearing at him—her life, or theirs.

Kai's hand hovered over the stash, the pure time pulsing beneath his fingers, its light warm and alive. His paradox mark glowed, syncing with it, and the chamber felt smaller, the walls pressing in as the weight of Mara's trade sank deeper. Blood dripped from his nose, splattering on the cracked mosaic, and his vision blurred—exhaustion, grief, or the mark, he couldn't tell anymore.

Lena stood beside him, her grip on his arm loosening, her voice rough but steady. "Voss, you're shaking. Step back—think this through."

"There's no time to think," he snapped, his tone sharper than he meant. "She's in there—her trade, her life. I can feel it."

Markus leaned on his cane, his breath a wet rattle, his eyes dark with warning. "You feel it 'cause the mark's tied to her, kid. But it's a trap—Syndicate don't leave gifts lying around."

Quiet woman shifted, her gray hair falling into her eyes, her knife still up. "He's right. That stash could be rigged—blow us all to dust."

Kai's jaw tightened, the mark burning hotter, and he glanced at Tali—slumped, frail, her relic clutched like a lifeline, her whispers fading to nothing. "We've lost too much already," he said, voice low. "I'm not leaving without something—her, or them."

He pressed his hand closer, the stash flaring again, and the chamber dissolved—another memory, sharper now. Mara knelt in a Syndicate cell, chains on her wrists, her face bruised but fierce. An enforcer loomed over her, relic glowing, and she spat blood, glaring up. "Take it—give it to him," she said, and the relic pulsed, light flooding her. She aged, her body breaking, dust spilling as the enforcer carved the mark into Kai's hand—miles away, him screaming, not knowing why.

The vision snapped back, Kai gasping, his knees buckling. Lena caught him, cursing under her breath. "What'd you see, Voss? Talk to me."

"She… she traded everything," he choked, tears streaking through blood. "Her whole life—for this mark, for me to fight."

Markus nodded, grim. "That's the Syndicate's game—trade one life to control another. She's gone, Kai. The stash can't change that."

"But it can change something," Kai said, forcing himself up, the mark sparking wildly. "If I use it—hit the Syndicate back, break their grip."

Quiet woman's eyes narrowed. "Or it breaks us. You saw what the failsafe did—time don't bend easy."

Lena let go of him, stepping back, her leg trembling. "Your call, Voss. But if you're wrong, we're all dust."

Kai stared at the stash, Mara's voice echoing—"Fix it, Kai"—and the choice clawed at him. Undo her trade, risk everything—or use the stash, fight on, let her go. His hand shook, the mark pulsing, and he knew—whatever he chose, there was no going back.

The pure time stash pulsed before Kai, its light steady now, a quiet heartbeat in the silence. His paradox mark flickered, weaker with every breath, but the pull—Mara's pull—kept him rooted, her voice soft and clear: "Fix it, Kai—not me, them." Blood crusted his face, his hands raw and trembling, and the chamber felt like a tomb, the weight of the choice crushing him.

Lena stood a step away, her dagger lowered, her gray-streaked hair falling into her eyes. "Voss, you're out of moves," she said, voice hoarse. "Pick one—her or us."

Markus sat against the wall, his cane across his knees, his breath shallow. "She's right, kid. That stash—it's power, but it's a blade with no handle. Grab it wrong, and we're gone."

Quiet woman stayed by the door, her knife steady, her aged frame tense. "We've bled for this," she said, low and firm. "Make it count."

Tali's whispers had stopped, her frail form still against the wall, her relic slipping from her hands—alive, but barely. Kai's chest tightened, the mark sparking faintly, and he stepped closer to the stash, its light washing over him.

"I can't bring her back," he said, voice breaking, the truth cutting deeper than any blade. "She's dust—has been since the checkpoint. But this…" He flexed his hand, the mark glowing. "This can end them."

Lena nodded, grim. "Syndicate's lifeline—take it, and they're crippled. But you've got to be sure, Voss."

"I'm sure," he said, meeting her gaze, then Markus's, then quiet woman's. "For her—for all of us."

He reached out, fingers brushing the stash, and time cracked—light flooding, the chamber dissolving. He saw Mara one last time—not a memory, but her, standing there, her eyes soft. "You're enough," she said, and faded, dust scattering in the glow.

The stash pulsed under his hand, warm and alive, and Kai pulled—time flooding into him, through the mark, a rush that burned and healed all at once. The chamber snapped back, the stash dimming, its light fading to a faint glow. Kai staggered, the mark steady now, stronger, but his body weaker, blood pooling under him.

Lena grabbed him, steadying him. "You alive?"

"Yeah," he rasped, the ache—Mara's ache—still there, but quieter. "It's ours now."

Markus forced himself up, his cane tapping. "You took it—Syndicate's power. What's next?"

Kai looked at the dim stash, then the door, shadows shifting beyond. "We fight," he said, voice low. "Take it to them—end this."

Quiet woman smirked, faint but real. "Good enough for me."

The chamber trembled, a distant rumble echoing, and Kai knew—the Syndicate wasn't done. But neither was he. The choice was made, the stash theirs, and the war was just starting.