Chapter 7: Slipping Through the Cracks

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It started with the mirrors.

The first time, Riven barely noticed. A flicker in the glass. A momentary lag. The kind of thing your brain brushes off because it shouldn't be possible.

But then it happened again.

And again.

And by the time he realized something was truly wrong, the reflections weren't just lagging anymore.

They were watching.

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A City That Doesn't Remember You

Riven and Vex had taken refuge in an abandoned subway station beneath the city, the air thick with dust and the scent of rusted metal. The flickering fluorescent lights overhead buzzed like dying insects.

"How bad is it?" Vex asked, perched on a broken bench, scanning his wrist console.

Riven exhaled, pressing a hand against the cold tile wall. His fingers flickered, shifting in and out of sync. Sometimes his skin looked younger. Sometimes older.

"Bad," he muttered.

Vex frowned. "Your readings are still unstable. If this keeps up, your molecules are gonna be doing the tango with reality itself."

Riven rolled his shoulders, trying to shake the creeping sensation that he wasn't fully here.

It wasn't just his body. The world around him was different.

The street outside the subway entrance had changed since they arrived. Buildings that had stood tall earlier were shorter now. The graffiti on the walls was new, written in languages that hadn't been there before.

Like time itself was rewriting the details, smoothing over the cracks where Riven stood.

Like the city was trying to forget he existed.

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The Mirror That Lied

Riven turned toward a shattered mirror hanging on the tiled wall.

At first, his reflection moved normally.

Then, it didn't.

He took a step forward. The reflection hesitated.

He lifted a hand. It stayed at its side for half a second too long.

And then—it grinned.

Riven hadn't grinned.

He sucked in a sharp breath and staggered back, heart hammering. His reflection watched, head tilting slightly, like it was waiting.

Like it knew something he didn't.

Vex noticed his tension. "What's wrong?"

Riven didn't answer. He was too busy watching the mirror.

Because now, his reflection wasn't standing in a subway anymore.

It was somewhere else.

A darkened city. A skyline twisted into impossible shapes. A world where the Hollow Monarch's mark stretched across the sky like a wound.

And his reflection?

It was mouthing two words.

"Wake up."

Riven smashed the mirror.

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The Whispers Are Getting Louder

"Riven, talk to me," Vex pressed. "You're sweating like you just ran a marathon."

Riven clenched his fists, forcing himself to breathe. The glass shards on the floor still reflected him—dozens of him—each at slightly different moments in time.

This wasn't just paranoia. This was real.

And the whispering was back.

"Not real."

"You were never real."

"It's coming for you."

Riven squeezed his eyes shut. The voices weren't distant anymore. They were in his bones. His blood. They were inside him.

Vex grabbed his arm, jolting him back. "You're slipping, man. Stay with me."

Riven inhaled sharply. "Vex… if I disappear—"

"You won't."

"If I do—"

"You won't," Vex repeated, fiercer this time. "We're fixing this."

Riven wasn't so sure.

Because something was watching him.

And this time, it wasn't just his reflection.

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Something Is Wrong With the Shadows

They left the subway station an hour later.

But as they walked, Riven realized something.

The streetlights were flickering. But only around him.

And worse?

His shadow wasn't following him anymore.

It stayed still when he moved. Lagged behind when he turned.

Then—it twitched.

Riven froze.

The shadow… moved on its own.

Not in response to him. Not as an echo. Like it was trying to catch up.

Like it wasn't his anymore.

He took a shaky step forward. His shadow hesitated. Then it lunged toward him.

Riven stumbled back. His heart slammed into his ribs.

For a second, he swore he saw something inside it. A shape. A figure.

A man with no face.

Then the shadow snapped back into place, perfectly normal again.

Vex glanced over. "You good?"

Riven forced himself to nod. But the whispers were getting louder.

And deep down, he knew.

This wasn't just reality breaking.

Something was inside the cracks.

Watching. Waiting.

And soon?

It was going to reach through.