The world came back slowly.
Rheon's vision was a smear of dust and white light. His chest ached from the Spiral backlash, every breath sharp, every nerve vibrating like static.
"Elara…"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Elara, please—wake up…"
Beside him, Kael was still unconscious, sprawled on his side, breathing shallow and erratic. Anchor burnout. It had scorched through him like internal lightning.
Rheon shook him gently.
"Kael, come on. You can't die. You don't get to die."
Kael didn't respond.
A flicker of panic cut through Rheon — sharp, wild.
That emotion rippled through the faint sync still lingering between them.
Then—
A soft inhale.
Elara.
Rheon whipped around.
She lay with her head turned toward him, lashes trembling, skin pale and ghostlit under the dust.
"Elara?" Rheon said softly, crawling closer. "Are you—can you hear me?"
Her eyes fluttered open.
Blue.
Brighter than before.
Unfocused and lost.
She stared at him like he was a stranger.
"Who…" her voice cracked, tiny and terrified, "who are you?"
The question stabbed Rheon in the ribs.
"I'm—" he swallowed hard, voice shaking, "Rheon. It's me."
She blinked, confusion deepening. "Rheon…?"
Her voice tasted the sound like an unfamiliar word.
Rheon's throat tightened.
"Yes. We—we fell. The Spiral tried to take you—Phase Four—we held you. You're safe now."
Elara shook her head weakly.
"I don't remember. I don't… know you."
Rheon felt something break inside him.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Worse than any Spiral blast.
"Elara," he whispered, voice hoarse, "please don't say that…"
Her fingers twitched as she tried to lift her hand toward him — instinctively searching for something familiar — but she recoiled mid-air, panic spiking.
"Why—why do my hands feel wrong?"
She looked down at them as if they didn't belong to her. "Why is everything—loud? Why does everything vibrate?"
Rheon realized she wasn't just missing memories.
Her emotional link, her resonance, her entire identity was fractured.
"Elara," he said gently, "your memories are there. I swear. They're not gone."
She looked up, hope flickering.
"Then why can't I reach them…?"
Rheon felt the answer before he knew how to say it.
Because something inside his mind had begun moving.
Something Spiral.
Lines of code flickered across his vision—
bright, glitching symbols overlaying reality for a fraction of a second.
Rheon staggered.
Pressed a hand to his temple.
"What—what the hell—"
Elara jolted. "Rheon?"
He forced a smile.
"It's nothing. Just… pain."
But it wasn't pain.
It was data.
Flowing.
Adjusting.
Rewriting.
The Spiral was inside him.
He looked at the air in front of him—and saw a translucent error message floating there like broken hologram code.
NODE: CATALYST
MEMORY PACKET: LOCKED
STATUS: COMPROMISED
Rheon's breath caught.
He tore his eyes away before Elara noticed.
But she did.
"Rheon… what's happening to you?"
Before he could answer—
A harsh cough shook the room.
Kael.
He pushed himself upright, face pale, sweat dripping down his jaw, every breath ragged like knives scraping inside him.
Elara gasped at the sight.
"Who—who is he?"
The knife twisted deeper.
Kael blinked at her, confusion then pain flooding his expression as he realized—
She didn't remember him either.
"Elara," Kael whispered, voice breaking, "it's me. Kael. I'm your—"
He stopped himself.
Anchor.
Protector.
One half of the emotional bond tethering her heart.
Too much to say.
Too much to mean.
Impossible to speak.
He tried again, softer:
"I'm Kael."
Elara's lip trembled. "I'm sorry. I—I don't know you."
Kael flinched like she'd stabbed him.
Rheon grabbed his arm quickly.
"Kael—hey—don't spiral."
Kael jerked away from his touch — too raw, too broken.
His breathing grew unsteady.
Anchor burnout was still ripping through him.
And Elara's panic was feeding his instability.
And Rheon's confusion was feeding hers.
A dangerous emotional loop spiraled between the three.
Elara clutched her head.
"Stop—stop—your feelings—they're too loud—"
Rheon moved close, gently cupping her face.
"Elara, look at me. Focus on me."
Kael crawled closer too, ignoring the pain tearing through his body.
"Elara," he said quietly, "you're not alone. Even if you don't remember us… we remember you."
Her breath shook.
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"And we're not losing you," Rheon whispered.
Her eyes flickered.
Something inside her recognized the way they said it —
not the words, but the emotion.
The Spiral synced weakly between them.
She gasped.
"What—what is that—?"
Rheon swallowed hard.
"That's us. All of us."
Kael nodded, jaw clenched.
"We're connected. Whether you remember or not."
For a moment, their pulses aligned.
Three heartbeats.
One rhythm.
Then—
A sharp crack split the bunker wall.
Not from collapse.
From something trying to break through.
Elara flinched violently, resonance spiking.
Kael pushed himself in front of her despite his body screaming in pain.
Rheon stood beside him, hands shaking but ready.
The glow-eyed woman stepped out of the shadows, horror etched on her face.
"You three need to leave. NOW."
Rheon snapped, "Why—what's out there?"
The woman whispered:
"The Spiral knows she resisted."
Her eyes locked onto Elara.
"And it has sent something to correct the failure."
Kael's fists clenched.
Elara's breath hitched.
Rheon saw the error message flicker in his vision again—
ENTITY: INBOUND
PURPOSE: RETRIEVAL
He paled.
"Elara…"
His voice cracked.
"It's coming for you."