The separation

The duo did not reach the floating city as they wished because they were stopped.

The night broke not with silence, but with a heavy thunder that rolled across the city below the floating empire. The scent of ozone clung to the air as the storm approached from the east, a fitting curtain for what was about to unfold.

Gyan crouched by the side of a rusting train car, the last echoes of footsteps fading into the alley behind them. Beside him, Victoria's breathing came sharp and quick, her hand clenched around the silver chain of the necklace they had stolen—no, retrieved—from the ruins of the old consulate records. The charm was glowing faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Don't look back," Gyan whispered.

Victoria shook her head. "They're not far. I saw a light drone above the plaza."

Gyan's eyes narrowed. He had seen the shimmer of one too. More than drones were hunting them. The floating city had sent its agents. That meant only one thing—Howard's reach had found them again.

The two of them moved in silence for blocks, weaving through narrow alleys where laundry still hung despite the rain, past the clutter of forgotten markets and flickering streetlamps. At the edge of an abandoned clock factory, they paused. Gyan turned to her, his voice low.

"We can't stay together. Not now."

Victoria's eyes searched his. "You want to split up?"

"They're tracking movement patterns. Two people running together draw more attention than one."

She didn't argue. She knew he was right, and that scared her more than anything. They had worked too well together, moved in step too naturally. Splitting now felt like cutting a thread they both depended on.

"Here," she said, unclipping the necklace and holding it out. "You take it."

"No," Gyan said. "You're faster when you're alone. I'll draw them off."

Victoria hesitated—but then a noise snapped through the air: a sharp electric pop. One of the drones had landed nearby.

"We run," Gyan said. "South slope for you. I'll head north."

And just like that, they split—Victoria vanishing down the factory steps, her boots silent against the crumbling concrete, while Gyan vaulted through a side gate into the thick tangle of a closed railway line.

---

Victoria

Rain began to fall in slanted sheets as she dashed through the skeletal ruins of the textile district. Her heart thundered as her boots skidded on wet cobblestone, the necklace tight in her hand. Her breath formed clouds in the cold air as she darted between broken stalls and shattered windows.

A shout rang out behind her—one of the pursuers had spotted her. She ducked into a shattered storefront, heart hammering.

Then a shadow moved in the doorway. A tall figure stepped in, face obscured by a hood and goggles. A long baton slid into place from their sleeve, crackling with a faint electric hum.

"You're not going back to the city," the voice said. "Give it to me, girl."

Victoria didn't wait. She swung a metal bar from the shelf beside her, catching the agent's wrist. The baton sparked against the ground as the agent spun and kicked her backward, sending her crashing into the counter.

Pain lanced up her side, but she gritted her teeth, rose, and drove forward.

The fight was savage. Every time she swung, the agent blocked. Every blow she dodged brought her closer to exhaustion. But when the agent slipped on broken glass, Victoria lunged and brought her knee hard into their side. The agent collapsed, dazed.

She didn't wait to finish it. Victoria burst through the rear door and disappeared into the rain, blood trickling from her brow.

She didn't stop running until she reached the drainage tunnels.

---

Gyan

North led him into a forgotten part of the city, where the buildings leaned like old men and trees had burst through pavement. It was here, in a sunken courtyard filled with moss and broken signs, that he encountered them.

Three of them—agents in long grey coats, eyes hidden behind glass visors.

"You've run far enough, Gyan," one of them said.

He recognized the voice. Kol. The same man who had hunted him ten years ago.

"I won't go back," Gyan said.

"You always were the weak one."

He let them come. At the last second, he shifted left, grabbed a rusted pipe, and swung it across Kol's jaw. The man staggered. The other two circled. Gyan moved fast, ducked a blow, rolled between them, and swept one to the ground.

Pain exploded in his ribs as the last caught him with a fist, but Gyan didn't stop. He fought with the desperation of the forgotten, a boy who had escaped the sky once and would never wear chains again. In the end, he stood over the three of them, bleeding and breathless.

He limped through an overgrown tunnel, down into the cavernous storm drain where the water roared beneath the city's foundations.

They had planned a fallback point long ago, even though they never spoke of it as such. A place where neither floating city eyes nor street patrols ever went.

Deep beneath the East Wall, where the old aqueduct met the sewers, they met again—hours later.

Gyan was crouched by the water, nursing his side, when Victoria emerged from the tunnel opposite.

"You look like hell," she said softly.

He chuckled, then winced. "You should see the other guy."

She lowered herself beside him, the necklace in her hand. It was dull now, no longer glowing. The rainwater on her face could have been tears, but she didn't speak of it.

"We have to hide it," she said. "Not just from them. From everyone."

Gyan nodded. "No one can have it. Not until we know the full truth."

They found a hollow behind one of the ancient waterwheels—corroded and forgotten. With care, Victoria wrapped the necklace in an oilcloth, placed it inside the hollow, and sealed it with mortar and gravel.

Neither spoke for a while.

Above them, the storm began to pass. The city breathed again, unaware of the war beneath its feet.

"We'll find each other again," Gyan said quietly.

Victoria looked away. "Only when it's safe."

He nodded. They didn't touch. Didn't say goodbye. Just turned away into separate tunnels, leaving behind the last place they'd stood side by side.

And far above, in the sky where clouds churned against the floating city's shimmering lights, something old had begun to stir. The pursuit had failed—for now. But the necklace had been seen.

And the sky never forgets.