iora stayed on edge all evening, the vision of her sister still burned behind her eyelids. Even the faintest sounds the hum of traffic, the drip of a leaky pipe made her flinch. Seren had gone ahead to scout the streets, promising to return with answers. Now, Liora waited, notebook open but empty, fingers tapping impatiently against the cover.
Aiden arrived just as the last orange glow of sunset faded from the city skyline. He moved silently, like a predator observing its surroundings, yet when he stopped beside her, he offered a small nod, a rare acknowledgment of presence rather than threat.
"You saw it," he said, reading her expression.
"Yes," Liora admitted. "A fragment… of my sister."
Aiden's jaw tightened. "That's a dangerous sign. The Veiled Circle leaves traces deliberately, but only to lure someone. They know you're watching now. They've always been careful but you've made yourself visible."
"I don't care," Liora said suddenly, surprising even herself. "I need to know what happened to her."
Aiden's eyes softened ever so slightly. "Good. That drive will keep you alive. But you'll need guidance."
From the shadows, Seren reappeared, her wet coat sticking to her in patches. "Guidance?" she teased. "Don't sound like a parent, Aiden. We're better than that. And if she wants to see her sister, she'll have to step into the streets where the memories linger. That's the only way to track the fragments."
Liora's stomach tightened. "The streets? At night?"
Seren grinned. "Of course. What did you think? This is a city that forgets. You don't find what's hidden in daylight."
Aiden didn't comment. Instead, he motioned for them to follow. "We start here. There's a building on the east side, abandoned for years. It's one of their nodes places where memory has been concentrated and then erased. The fragments gather there. If your sister's trail exists, that's where it will be strongest."
The three of them moved quickly through the twisting alleys, each step bringing them closer to the unknown. Liora could feel the city watching, pressing against her from all sides, as though it were aware of the hunt beginning.
When they reached the building, a low hum seemed to vibrate through the air. Shadows pooled unnaturally around the entrance, refusing to obey the streetlights. Liora stepped forward, heartbeat thundering.
Inside, dust danced in the shafts of moonlight. Broken furniture and shattered glass littered the floor. And then she saw it: the first real fragment, not just a flicker a memory echo suspended in the air, faint but unmistakable. A girl's laughter, soft and terrified, spinning in the emptiness.
"It's her," Liora whispered. "I… I can feel it."
Aiden's gaze hardened. "Good. Stay focused. Don't get lost in the echoes. They'll try to confuse you. And watch out for the watchers."
Seren smirked, pulling a small flashlight from her coat. "Don't worry. We've got you. For now."
But even as they stepped further into the building, Liora couldn't shake the sense that they weren't alone. Someone or something was waiting, and the shadows of the forgotten were just the beginning.