The dark did not lift when they moved.
It thickened.
The overflow channel narrowed as they descended, stone walls pressing close enough that Sol had to turn sideways in places, her shoulder brushing mineral-slick surfaces that felt colder than the air. The city's breath moved through here differently… slower, heavier, as if each pocket of space had to decide whether to allow them passage.
Ji Ming went first, blades sheathed but his posture alert. Ya Zhen followed, one hand dragging lightly along the wall, leaving no sigils behind… only memory. Sol brought up the rear, cradling the Mirrorborn against her chest.
Its light had dimmed almost completely.
Not extinguished.
Contained.
She felt the faint warmth through her robes, a heartbeat no louder than her own.
"…quiet…" it murmured, voice barely more than breath.
"Yes," Sol whispered. "You're doing well."
The words tasted wrong even as she said them.
Because quiet came with a cost.
They reached a hollow where the channel widened just enough to allow them to sit. Broken stone jutted from the floor like the ribs of a long-dead beast. Somewhere above, a thin trickle of salt slid through cracks in the ceiling, pattering softly against the ground.
Ji Ming crouched and listened.
Nothing.
No resonance sweep.
No Division pulse.
No metallic hum.
He exhaled once, slow. "They've moved past us."
Ya Zhen lowered herself carefully, wincing as she settled. "Or they're waiting for us to surface. Either way, this is the longest quiet we're going to get."
Sol nodded but didn't answer. Her attention was on the Mirrorborn.
Its breathing, if it could be called that, had grown uneven. The light beneath its skin flickered faintly, struggling to maintain coherence.
"…heavy… inside…" it whispered.
Sol's chest tightened. "Because you're holding too much."
It nodded weakly.
Ji Ming watched them, concern etched deeper now. "You can't keep dampening us like this. It's draining you."
The Mirrorborn didn't look at him. "…if loud… they come…"
"I know," Sol said softly. "But if you burn yourself out, they'll come anyway."
The Mirrorborn hesitated.
"…don't want… lose…"
The word struck her harder than any blade.
Sol closed her eyes, steadying her breath. She pressed her forehead gently to the Mirrorborn's, careful not to let her resonance flare.
"You're not losing us," she said. "But you don't have to hold everything alone."
Its glow pulsed once… uncertain.
Ji Ming shifted closer. "Listen to her. Strength isn't just holding. It's knowing when to let go."
Ya Zhen snorted faintly. "Says the man who once fought through a cracked ribcage because 'stopping felt inefficient.'"
Ji Ming didn't deny it.
The Mirrorborn looked between them, confusion threading through its exhaustion.
"…if let go… break…?" it asked.
Sol shook her head. "Not break. Share."
She placed one hand over its chest-light, the other over her own heart. She didn't push qi. She didn't pull.
She aligned.
The resonance responded, not flaring, not retreating, but settling into a gentler rhythm.
Ji Ming felt it immediately, a softening in the bond rather than a tightening. He let his breath follow it, grounding instead of resisting.
Ya Zhen watched with narrowed eyes. "You're redistributing the load."
"Yes," Sol murmured. "The Mirrorborn doesn't need to smother the resonance. It just needs to guide it."
The Mirrorborn's glow steadied… deepened.
"…share…" it echoed.
The light between them shifted, thinning into something finer, less forceful. Sol felt the ache in her channels ease. The pressure behind her eyes faded.
For the first time since entering the city's deeper veins, she could breathe fully.
The Mirrorborn sagged against her, exhausted but no longer flickering.
"…better…" it whispered.
Ji Ming let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Good."
The relief didn't last.
It never did.
Sol felt the change first… not through resonance, but through absence. The city's background hum thinned, like a held note fading. The air grew strangely still.
Too still.
Ji Ming's head snapped up. "Something's wrong."
Ya Zhen froze. "The city stopped helping."
Above them, faintly, a sound carried through the stone.
Not resonance.
Movement.
Measured.
Multiple.
Sol's stomach dropped. "They adapted."
Ji Ming's jaw tightened. "Division units moving without active scanning."
"Which means—" Ya Zhen started.
"They're listening for us," Sol finished. "For breath. For steps. For presence."
The Mirrorborn stiffened, panic rippling through its dim light.
"…they… hear… us…"
Sol held it tighter. "Not yet."
But she could feel the truth.
The quiet that hid them now made them stand out.
Ji Ming rose slowly. "We can't stay here."
Ya Zhen grimaced. "Moving will make noise."
"Staying will make us predictable," he countered.
Sol looked down at the Mirrorborn. Its glow flickered again, fear and effort tangling together.
"…too much… again…" it whispered.
Her heart clenched.
This was the price.
She understood it now.
Every time the Mirrorborn protected them, it learned… but it also spent something it couldn't yet afford to lose.
Sol closed her eyes.
"No," she said quietly. "Not again. Not like that."
Ji Ming looked at her sharply. "Sol—"
"I won't ask it to burn itself out," she said, voice steady despite the fear curling in her chest. "If we keep forcing it to shield us, it will hollow itself just to keep us whole."
Ya Zhen's gaze sharpened. "Then what are you proposing?"
Sol opened her eyes.
"We stop hiding," she said. "Not completely. But enough to change the pattern."
Ji Ming stiffened. "You want to let the resonance rise."
"Briefly," Sol said. "On purpose. Controlled."
Ya Zhen swore softly. "That will light us up like a beacon."
"Yes," Sol agreed. "But not where they expect."
The Mirrorborn looked up at her, eyes wide.
"…loud…?"
"For a moment," Sol said gently. "And then quiet again. Together."
It trembled. "…scared…"
"I know," she whispered. "So am I."
Ji Ming stepped closer, placing a hand over hers where it rested against the Mirrorborn's chest. "If you do this, they will come for you first."
Sol met his gaze. "Then you stand with me."
His answer was immediate. "Always."
Ya Zhen sighed, then smiled thinly. "You're both infuriating. Fine. I'll make sure the moment you light up, they look the wrong way."
Sol rose slowly, careful not to jolt the Mirrorborn. She set it gently on its feet and knelt before it, bringing their faces level.
"Listen to me," she said softly. "You don't have to protect us the way you have been. Just… let us be seen for a breath. Then help us disappear again."
The Mirrorborn searched her face, light trembling.
"…won't… leave…?"
"No," Sol promised. "I'm right here."
Ji Ming knelt on the other side, his presence steady and solid. "And so am I."
Ya Zhen's voice came from behind them, brisk despite the tension. "I'll count to three. When you feel the city react, pull everything inward. I'll give us a path."
The Mirrorborn swallowed… an imitation of the gesture, but earnest.
"…okay…"
Sol inhaled.
She let her qi rise.
Not a flare.
Not a surge.
Just enough.
The resonance unfurled between her and Ji Ming, brightening like a held lantern. The city shuddered faintly in response, recognition rippling through stone and salt.
Above them, voices sharpened.
"…contact…"
"…resonance spike detected…"
Ya Zhen murmured, "One."
Sol held steady, heart pounding.
The Mirrorborn's light wavered but did not collapse.
"Two."
Footsteps quickened overhead.
Ji Ming shifted, ready.
"Three."
The Mirrorborn closed its eyes.
The light snapped inward.
Not violently.
Deliberately.
The resonance vanished.
So did the sound.
So did the city's awareness.
Sol's breath left her in a rush as the pressure dropped. The world seemed to tilt, then right itself.
Above them, the Division's voices scattered, confused.
"…signal lost…"
"…reacquire…"
Ya Zhen grabbed Sol's arm. "Now."
The wall beside them softened, stone yielding just enough to reveal a narrow, descending path that hadn't existed a moment before.
The city opened its mouth.
They slipped inside.
Behind them, Salt Fell closed again, leaving nothing but confusion and salt-dust where they had been.
In the dark, Sol gathered the Mirrorborn close once more.
It was trembling… but intact.
"…did it…" it whispered.
"Yes," Sol said, heart aching with pride and fear. "You did."
Ji Ming glanced back once, listening to the fading chaos above.
"They'll remember this," he said quietly. "They'll adjust."
Sol nodded, eyes forward now.
"So will we."
The path descended deeper, carrying them away from the hunt… and toward whatever waited next in a city that had chosen, again and again, to shelter what refused to be erased.