Chapter 12 : Fireflies and Fissures

Night had settled like ash.

The world beyond the safe zone pulsed with danger — unseen, unspoken, and sharp as broken glass. But within the dim, flickering light of their temporary shelter, there was silence. Not peace. Just quiet.

Theo sat near the fire, if it could be called that — a cluster of chemical sticks burning low and cold. It gave off a dim, ghostly glow, enough to keep the creatures away for now.

Nova sat cross-legged across from him, sharpening her blade with rhythmic strokes. She didn't look up when she spoke. "You slowed down back there. Threadwork?"

"Too many frayed lines," he replied softly. "Like the past had been shredded and rewoven by someone without eyes or hands."

Nova's sharp gaze flicked up. "Someone? Not time itself?"

Theo hesitated. "Time breaks things. But this… this was intentional. Someone wanted the world to unravel here."

Nova let out a slow breath. "Another Resetter?"

"I don't know. But if they are… they're not like me."

There was a long pause. The firesticks hissed softly.

Outside, the darkness moved. Not wind. Not leaves. Just... movement.

Theo's hand slid to his sidearm. "They're watching."

"I know," Nova said calmly. "They've been circling us since dusk. But they're afraid of the light."

Theo studied her for a moment — the tension in her shoulders, the way she kept her back to the wall. Always alert. Always ready.

"Do you ever sleep?" he asked.

She gave a dry laugh. "Only when I trust who's watching my back."

He smiled faintly. "Then I guess I should offer to take the first watch."

"I already assumed you would."

The silence returned. But this time, it felt warmer. Less hollow.

From his pocket, Theo pulled a small device — a cracked glass orb with faint veins of light inside. It was humming now. A soft, melodic note that seemed to pull at the very air.

Nova tilted her head. "Is that—?"

"An Echo Beacon," he said. "It reacts to fixed points in time. Anchors."

Nova's eyes narrowed. "There's one nearby?"

He nodded. "Below us. Maybe a few floors down. Old tech or maybe... a memory trapped in the code of this place."

Nova stood instantly. "Then let's go."

They moved quietly, weapons ready. The building they'd chosen for shelter had once been a library — hollowed out, the shelves half-eaten by time. As they descended, each step groaned beneath them, like the structure itself was warning them to leave.

On the third sub-level, the air changed. Thicker. Heavier. And warmer.

Theo's breath caught as they entered the archive vault.

It was untouched.

Rows of pristine shelves, glowing faintly with residual power. Screens flickering. Machines sleeping.

In the center, encased in glass and humming softly, was the Echo Anchor.

A memory.

Nova approached slowly. "It's... pure. Untainted."

Theo reached out, palm hovering just above the glass. "We're lucky. It's rare to find one this intact."

He closed his eyes and tapped the interface.

Images exploded in his mind — children laughing, a woman in a lab coat singing softly as she calibrated a scanner. A name: Dr. Elen Vire. And a phrase, repeated like a mantra: "Origin is not just the start. It is the spine of everything."

Theo staggered back.

Nova caught him. "What did you see?"

He swallowed. "A scientist. Someone who knew about the Origin Core before the collapse. Before the Resets."

Nova's brows furrowed. "Then she might've known how to stop it."

"Or she helped start it," Theo muttered. "But either way, her memories are locked in here. This could lead us to the next thread point."

Above them, the walls groaned again — this time deeper. Closer. Something had felt the activation.

Nova's voice was steel. "We take what we can. Then we run."

Theo nodded and pressed a command to download the memory trace into his core. The fireflies of light swirled from the Echo Anchor into his chest.

Then the vault's lights snapped out.

The darkness screamed.