The moment the seals broke, the city screamed.
Not aloud—but through fear itself.
Both circuits inside me flared in response. The upper layer tried to stabilize, the lower one absorbed the overflow. For the first time, they moved together instead of fighting.
Dangerous.
Perfect.
"Containment failed," one of the enforcers said calmly. "Begin erasure protocol."
Fear surged toward me in precise waves, sculpted to collapse circuits—not crush bodies.
I moved.
The floor shattered beneath my feet as I redirected the pressure sideways, releasing raw emotional spikes into the underground channels. Panic rippled through the city like a shockwave.
Above us, something ancient stirred.
The walls cracked—not from force, but recognition.
The city had been built over fear pathways carved during the Spirit Kings' era. And my circuit… matched them.
"This isn't possible," an enforcer muttered as the pressure slipped past me instead of crushing inward.
I didn't answer.
I ran.
Corridors twisted as I sprinted, fear bending space slightly around me. Lumo darted ahead, lighting escape paths that shouldn't exist.
Behind me, the enforcers advanced—not fast, but inevitable.
I reached the surface in a burst of fog and broken stone.
The skyline warped.
Streetlights flickered as fear circuits embedded in the city infrastructure activated spontaneously. Sirens wailed—human and spiritual alike.
Civilians screamed.
Spirits surged.
I froze.
This wasn't just my escape.
This was a chain reaction.
Kael emerged beside me, blood trickling from his temple.
"The city recognizes you," he said hoarsely. "As a node."
"A what?"
"A central circuit," he replied. "The Spirit Kings weren't rulers. They were anchors."
My heart pounded.
"If I stay," I said slowly, "it gets worse."
Kael nodded. "And if you leave—"
"The city destabilizes anyway," I finished.
Fear roared through the streets.
The enforcers burst onto the avenue, their presence warping the air.
I took a step back.
Then another.
"I'm sorry," I said to the city.
And jumped.