The ridge didn't stop shaking.
Arlen pushed himself up on shaky arms, dust clinging to his clothes. Mira was already on her feet, jaw set, eyes locked on the widening fracture. The second crack beside it pulsed like a heartbeat out of rhythm.
Rowan helped Lysa back from the edge as loose stones tumbled down the slope.
"Tell me this isn't normal," Rowan said, voice tight.
"It's not," Mira said. "Fractures don't split. They don't multiply."
Arlen wiped blood from his lip. "They do now."
A low groan rolled through the ground, deep enough to make the trees sway. The air felt heavy, like the world was holding its breath.
Lysa stared at the second crack, her face pale. "This shouldn't be happening."
Arlen turned to her. "You know something."
She flinched. Just barely. But it was enough.
"I know enough to say we need to leave," she said. "Now."
Mira shook her head. "If we leave, the fracture spreads. Thornwick won't survive that."
Lysa's voice rose, sharper than before. "If you stay, you won't survive."
Rowan looked between them, confused and scared. "What does that mean?"
Lysa didn't answer.
Arlen stepped closer. "Lysa. Talk to us."
Her eyes flicked to him, then to the fracture. Her mark glowed faintly under her sleeve, a soft pulse she tried to hide.
"I've seen this before," she whispered.
The wind seemed to stop.
Mira's breath caught. "Where?"
Lysa swallowed hard. "A long time ago. Before Thornwick. Before any of this."
Arlen felt the weight of her words settle in his chest. "You were near a fracture?"
"No." Her voice cracked. "I was inside one."
Rowan stared at her like she'd spoken a curse. "Inside—? How?"
Lysa shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that when a fracture splits, it means the Echo inside is unstable. It's trying to escape."
Mira's eyes widened. "Escape into our world?"
"Yes."
Arlen felt cold all over. "What happens if it does?"
Lysa didn't answer right away. She looked at the fracture, at the light spilling out of it, at the cracks spreading through the ground.
Then she said, quietly:
"Everything breaks."
The ridge shook again, harder this time. A chunk of earth slid down the slope. Rowan grabbed Lysa's arm to steady her.
Arlen felt the resonance tug at him again — a pull in his chest, like the fracture was calling to him.
Mira noticed. "Arlen. Don't."
"I'm not doing anything," he said. "It's pulling on its own."
Lysa stepped forward, panic flashing across her face. "You can't anchor it now. Not like this. The Echo inside is too unstable."
Mira frowned. "Then what do we do?"
Lysa hesitated.
Arlen saw the fear in her eyes — not fear of the fracture, but fear of the memory behind it.
"There's only one way to stop a split fracture," she said. "You have to go inside."
Rowan's jaw dropped. "Inside? Are you out of your mind?"
Mira stared at Lysa. "You said you've done that."
Lysa looked away. "I survived. That's not the same thing."
Arlen stepped closer. "What's inside?"
Lysa's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Echoes. Memories. Things that don't belong to you. And something else. Something that watches you from the moment you enter."
The ground rumbled again. The second crack widened, spilling brighter light.
Arlen felt the pull grow stronger.
Mira grabbed his hand. "If we go in, we go together."
Lysa's eyes widened. "No. You don't understand. If you go in together, the fracture will merge your Echoes. You might not come out the same."
Arlen met Mira's eyes.
"We weren't the same before," he said softly.
Mira squeezed his hand. "We're stronger now."
Lysa stepped forward, voice breaking. "You don't know what's waiting in there."
Arlen looked at the fracture — the light, the pull, the danger — and felt something settle inside him.
"We'll find out."
The fracture roared.
Light exploded outward.