Darius and Ais ran.

  The streets of Vaelmoor were already changing.

  Not shifting.Not twisting.

  Colpsing.

  The buildings behind them didn't just vanish.

  They folded inward, crumpling like ink dissolving in water.

  The Recimer did not follow.

  It did not need to.

  Because the world itself was colpsing into it.

  Darius' lungs burned as they darted through narrowing streets.

  Ais gnced back—and swore.

  "It's not chasing us."

  Darius risked a look.

  The Recimer stood where they had left it.

  Unmoving.

  Watching.

  And yet—everything around it was breaking.

  A merchant's stall imploded into itself.

  A passerby—a man who had been just walking home—suddenly froze.

  His body flickered. Then his feet were gone. Then his hands. Then his face. No scream. No struggle.

  Just gone.

  Ais's breath hitched. "What the hell is it doing?"

  Darius clenched his fists.

  "It's not hunting us." His voice was tight. "It's hunting everything."

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The realization sent ice through his veins.

  The Thanatarchy was not just erasing them.

  It was consuming every remnant of where they had been.

  Not just to remove their existence.

  But to ensure there was nothing left to remember.

  Darius forced his legs to move faster.

  "How do we outrun something that isn't moving?" Ais growled.

  Darius didn't answer.

  Because he had no idea.

  The city continued to fold inward.

  Darius could feel it—the weight of reality being pulled toward the Recimer.

  Not a vacuum. Not an explosion. Something worse. Like gravity in reverse.

  Like the city itself was trying to unmake itself around them.

  Ais turned sharply. "We need higher ground."

  Darius followed without hesitation.

  They climbed.

  Vaulting over broken ledges.

  Scrambling up fractured rooftops.

  Because if the city was colpsing, then the only way out was above.

  They reached a high watchtower overlooking the marketpce.

  The Recimer was still visible below.

  It had not moved.

  It did not need to.

  Darius' heart pounded.

  "This isn't just an erasure."

  Ais nodded grimly. "No. It's a purge."

  Darius clenched his fists. "That means we have to find the next fracture."

  Ais turned toward him.

  "And what if we don't?"

  Darius exhaled.

  "Then we'll be swallowed with everything else."