Kairos slammed into the alley for the sixth time, the reset's nausea twisting his gut worse than before. Naked under mocking moons, blue scars now etched permanently along his veins—like circuit lines from a glitched game. *Vexar. Greed Archbishop. Hits early if Lirien shows.* No more tavern risks. Isolate variables. Mira's steps pattered near; accelerate harder.
He dragged her straight to sewer fungi glow, no words wasted. "Cult boss incoming. No market, no Lirien." Her knife hand twitched, but trust held—loops forged it ironclad.
Undercity first: surgical purge of Zorath's den, altar dagger claimed early. *Echo hum stronger gripping it—feels like extension now.* Flames hid tracks. Midday, they ghosted to derelict watchtower—high ground, no crowds. Mira brewed herb poultice for inevitable wounds, eyes sharp. "Visions? You see deaths like me?"
"Every one." Voice rough. Shared orphan tale deepened: her knife-hand from gutting a slaver at twelve. "You're my loop now, Vale."
Dusk ambush tweaked—mill skipped, Zorath lured to tower base via stolen scroll bait. He slunk in alone; Kairos dropped from above, tendrils crushed pre-seed. Mira finished with throat-slit precision. Clean kill. *Possession averted.*
Night deepened. Slums quieted, but Kairos sensed it—wrongness in the air, like static before lightning. Veins pulsed warning. "Vexar hunts solo first. Prep."
She nodded, oil flasks ready. Hooves—no, *slithering*—echoed. Vexar emerged from shadows alone: massive, hooded, gold runes pulsing on skin like stolen stars. "Echo ripens. No silver witch to meddle."
No Lirien variable. Good. Bad. Kairos charged first, dagger blaze-blue. Vexar laughed, palm out—greed wave hit, yanking gear, coins, even Mira's scarf airborne. "All mine!"
Kairos resisted, veins countering—*echo anchor holds.* He closed distance, slashing runes. Blood welled gold. Vexar roared, shadows coiling legs. Mira hurled flask—boom, flames licked robes.
They pressed: Kairos carving arms, her stabbing flanks. Vexar adapted, fist shattering tower stone. Debris rained; Mira dodged, but chunk clipped her shoulder—crack of bone.
Pain fueled Kairos. *Not her.* Leaped, dagger piercing eye. Vexar staggered, greed aura flaring wild—sucked nearby rats dry, husks crumbling. "Loops... taste..."
Mira flanked, knife plunging heart. Gold blood sprayed. Vexar wheezed, "More fingers come... your despair feeds." Imploded to ash.
Panting victory, they bandaged in tower ruins. Mira winced but grinned. "Boss down. We're legends now." Faint blue glow shared between them—echo bleeding over?
Dawn patrols buzzed rumors: "Greed Finger vanished in fire." Safe-ish. They scavenged gold runes—*tingle overload, veins burning brighter.* Black market run netted armor scraps, potions. Mira's laugh freer: "Throne's closer. Lirien might owe us."
But as they slipped into alleys, silver glint ahead. Lirien, unmounted, orb dim. "Echo-bearer. I foresaw flames, your pain. No guards—trust me."
Kairos tensed. *Last loop trap.* "Prove no cult tag."
She knelt, baring neck—no marks. Orb projected: true vision of cult horde massing east, Vexar's "death" rippling fates. "Ally. Heal your scars?"
Tempted. Mira nudged approval. Handshake—mana tingled, visions syncing: her throne trial, demon siege looming.
Bond forming. *Three-man cell?* They planned: warn capital, hit cult east flank.
Nightfall celebration—stolen feast in tower. Lirien's spirit arts knit Mira's shoulder flawless. Stories flowed: her half-elf exile, spirit bond at birth. Kairos hinted loops minimal—*protect them.*
Mid-laugh, ground quaked. Cult horns *everywhere*. Not east—here. Dozens swarmed tower, led by new horror: dual-wielded scythes, laughter mad. "Petelgeuse—Sloth Archbishop! Unseen hands for lazy deaths!"
Shadows lashed invisible. Scythes spun. Lirien's barrier cracked. Mira slashed air—hit nothing. Kairos' veins blazed max, revealing hands—smashed one ethereal grip.
But numbers crushed. Scythe gashed thigh. Lirien blasted light, buying Mira escape path. Petelgeuse cackled: "Love! Your loops sloth away!"
Kairos lunged heroic—scythe met chest, carving deep. Agony peaked, memories flashing: truck, Mira's grins, Lirien's eyes. Darkness.
Alley reset. Naked. Scars thicker. *Seventh. Petelgeuse. Sloth hands. Three's a curse?*
⚔️ To be continued!