I turned slowly, the motion sending a dull throb through my skull.
We weren't in the chamber anymore.
The realization crept in piece by piece—the walls were narrower here, the carvings less deliberate, more fragmented, as if this section of the tunnel had been scratched out in a hurry or forgotten mid-prayer. The air felt different too. Thicker. Stale in a way that pressed against the back of my throat. No golden pulse. No rhythmic heartbeat echoing through the stone.
Just silence.
"…We're not in the chamber," I muttered, my voice rough. I swallowed, throat painfully dry. "How did—" I choked on my own breath and had to stop, bracing a hand against the wall. The stone was cold. Real. "How did we get here? And—" Panic flared, sharp and immediate. "Where's Theo?"
Mira was already crouched nearby, one hand on her knee, the other pressed to the ground as if she expected it to answer her. She looked exhausted—dust in her hair, jaw tight, eyes darting with restless focus.
"I was trying to wake both of you up," she said finally, straightening with a quiet grunt. "You were… responsive. Not awake, but moving. Theo wasn't." Her mouth pressed into a thin line. "He was frozen in place. No matter what I did."
My chest tightened.
"So was I," I said quietly.
She nodded. "Yeah. At first. Then you started wandering." She rubbed at her temple, exhaling slowly. "I stayed with Theo, thought he was the priority. But when I realized you were gone…" Her gaze flicked down the tunnel behind us. "I followed. I didn't exactly have the luxury of being careful."
[An understandable lapse,] Aetherion remarked mildly.
[Though abandoning the unconscious one does tend to end poorly in most narratives.]
'Now is not the time,' I shot back weakly.
Mira rolled her shoulders, wincing slightly as she rose fully to her feet. "I grabbed your talisman. And Theo's. I couldn't place all three on the core alone, but—" She looked at me, eyes sharp despite the fatigue. "—I wasn't going to leave them behind."
My grip tightened around the paper talisman still tucked safely in my jacket.
"…Now with my help, you can," I said, forcing the words steady. "And if we seal the core, Theo should be pulled out of his illusion too. Right?"
She hesitated—just a fraction of a second too long—but then nodded. "That's how it's supposed to work."
[Ah, yes,] Aetherion mused.
["Supposed to." A phrase steeped in optimism and doomed assumptions.]
We moved.
The tunnel sloped subtly downward as we followed the familiar carvings back toward where the chamber should be. The air grew warmer with each step, the faint scent of incense returning, mixing with something briny and sharp. My pulse picked up, each heartbeat echoing uncomfortably loud in my ears.
Then we reached the chamber.
Or rather—
The space where it had been.
The golden light was gone. The pulsing warmth vanished. The carved stone floor lay empty and scarred, talisman marks still faintly visible where we'd last stood.
And Theo—
Was nowhere to be seen.
The world tilted.
Mira froze beside me, breath catching hard. "No. No, no, no—" Her voice cracked as she turned in a slow circle, eyes scanning desperately. "This can't be—he was right here. He didn't move."
Cold sweat slicked down my spine.
Even Aetherion was silent.
I forced myself to breathe. Think. Panic would get us nowhere.
"Where could he have gone—" Mira started.
"I know," I cut in sharply, the words tumbling out as a memory slammed into place. "The urban legend. The one the old folks mentioned."
She stilled.
"The mermaid," I continued. "Or whatever it really is."
Understanding flickered behind her eyes, dread settling in its wake. "She lured them," Mira whispered. "To the cliffside. Near the deepest parts of the water."
[Ah, yes,] Aetherion finally said, voice low and thoughtful.
[The second act. I was wondering when she'd make her entrance.]
I clenched my fists.
"If Theo followed the illusion," I said quietly, "then he didn't disappear."
I met Mira's gaze.
"He was taken."
The chamber didn't feel empty.
It felt angry.
Mira didn't hesitate though.
"Now," she snapped. "Before it adapts."
I pulled the talisman from my jacket, fingers trembling despite myself. The paper felt heavier than it had any right to. Warm, humming faintly against my skin, as if aware of what it was meant to bind.
The core wasn't visible anymore, not in the way it had been before. No glowing heart, no rhythmic pulse. Instead, there was a space — a distortion at the center of the chamber where light bent wrong, where the air seemed to fold in on itself.
[Ah, the void-between,] Aetherion murmured.
[How nostalgic.]
'Wait, what— You've seen something like this?'
[Several times. Though thats a secret I might tell you some other time]
Mira slammed her talisman down first, pressing it into the stone with both hands. The paper ignited instantly, not burning, but unraveling into glowing script that carved itself into the floor.
I followed, stepping into the distortion despite the nausea it sent spiraling through me. My vision swam. My ears rang.
"Don't think," Mira barked. "Just place it."
I dropped to one knee and slapped my talisman beside hers.
The reaction was immediate.
The chamber screamed.
Not audibly, but inside my skull, a shrill, pleading pressure that made my teeth ache and my vision flare white. The carvings lit up all at once, symbols twisting and overlapping, the tunnel walls groaning as if something enormous had just been pinned in place.
[Containment in progress,] Aetherion said, far too calmly.
[She's unhappy. How delightful.]
Mira gritted her teeth and pulled Theo's talisman free from her pocket. For half a second, she hesitated, her eyes flicking to the empty space where he should've been.
Then she slammed it down.
The third seal completed the circuit.
Light surged outward, then collapsed inward with a thunderous thrum, like a massive bell struck deep underground. The pressure vanished all at once, leaving behind silence so sudden it made my ears ring.
The chamber went dark.
Then — still.
I sucked in a sharp breath, nearly collapsing forward as the nausea hit me full force. Mira caught my arm, hauling me upright.
"Containment successful," she said, already pulling me toward the tunnel. "The First core is sealed. We have to find Theo."
My stomach dropped.
"we have to do it fast. He might still be bound to the illusion," I said.
"Or worse," she replied grimly. "Move."
We ran.
The tunnel no longer tried to stop us, no whispers, no tugging hands, no warped symbols dragging our thoughts sideways. But the silence was worse. Empty. Expectant.
By the time we burst out into the alley, my lungs were already screaming.
"Cliffside," Mira said, already sprinting. "If the legend's consistent—"
"—deep water," I finished, forcing my legs to keep pace. "Luring song."
[She's accelerating her timetable,] Aetherion noted.
[You've inconvenienced her. A dangerous thing to do to a creature of devotion.]
We tore through the city streets, boots slamming against stone, weaving past startled townsfolk who barely had time to shout before we were gone. My breath came in ragged gasps, throat burning, vision tunneling at the edges.
Mira fumbled for her Phone mid-run.
"Silva," she said between breaths. "We sealed the first core— but Theo's gone. Taken toward the cliffside. The mermaid legend is active. We're pursuing."
Static crackled.
Then Silva's voice cut through, sharp and immediate.
"Understood. Agent Vern and I are on our way. Do not engage alone if you can avoid it."
"Too late for that," Mira snapped, vaulting over a low stone wall without breaking stride. "She's already moved him."
"Keep him alive," Silva said. "That's an order."
The call cut.
The city blurred past us. Markets, plazas, streets we'd walked calmly just days ago now reduced to obstacles to clear or dodge. My legs felt like lead, each step heavier than the last.
"You good?" Mira shouted over her shoulder.
"No," I panted. "But I'm not stopping."
[Excellent attitude,] Aetherion approved.
[Your mortality is truly inspirational.]
The smell of salt hit us first.
Then the sound.
Waves crashing hard against stone, wind whipping sharp and cold as we burst onto the cliffside path. The sea stretched out below, dark and endless, moonlight glinting off restless water.
And somewhere beneath the roar of the ocean
A song. It wasn't here— not really, but I could still hear it inside my head.
Soft. Beautiful. Familiar in a way that made my chest ache.
My blood ran cold.
"That's it," Mira said, breathless but focused. "And if Theo's hearing that…"
I clenched my fists and forced my shaking legs forward.
"Then we're not late," I said. "Not yet."
[Run faster,] Aetherion whispered, suddenly serious.
[Once he reaches the water… even I may not be able to pull him back.]
And so we ran.