The air had no taste after we left the Danube.
Not clean.Not cold.Just empty, like someone refreshed the whole atmosphere and forgot to put anything back.
I could feel it—the source point in my chest was still active, pulsing in uneven beats,as if something far away was tapping lightly on my ribs.
Patch trotted beside me, tail stiff and raised.Every few steps she glanced back at me, making sure I was still… aligned?
Emilia walked in front, her shoulders tight, her breath too steady—the kind of steady that comes from forcing yourself not to think.
Alden followed last.He barely made footsteps.But the entire riverside felt thicker,as if the world around us compressed to accommodate his presence.
No one spoke.
Not until we reached the last stretch before the S-Bahn station.
Alden finally said:
"You shouldn't stay in the city tonight."
His voice didn't echo.It just appeared—clean, flat, absolute.
I frowned. "Because of the countdown?"
He shook his head.
"You didn't trigger it.Your signal drifted too close to theirs.That's why it resonated."
My stomach dropped.
"…I didn't do anything."
Alden didn't answer.He didn't need to.
Emilia exhaled, calming herself."Then let's move. The later it gets, the worse it feels."
The station ahead was wrong before we even reached it.
Leaves on the sidewalk drifted right.Tree shadows drifted left.Two rules overlapping—conflicting.
When the train arrived, the LED display glitched,a one-frame stutter like someone dragged the timeline a pixel too far.
Alden glanced at it.
"The closer we get, the more the resonance disrupts the environment."
Patch let out a low warning sound from deep in her throat.
Emilia muttered, "There she goes again… What is she reacting to?"
Alden didn't answer.His silence was sharper than any explanation.
I stepped into the train.
The whole carriage compressed for a split second—like the world held its breath.
My reflection lagged 0.1 seconds behind in the window.I almost swore out loud.
Emilia whispered, "Stronger than UFO Park."
"Expected."Alden's tone was calm."That place was only the entry layer."
I focused on the source point.The tapping inside my chest returned—this time clearer.
I pushed down on it.
The air snagged.Delay rose to 0.18 seconds.
And then—a flash.
A lake.Mist.A tower-shaped silhouette.A structure that wasn't a building or anything natural.
Patch stared at me, not the outside world.She saw the "flash."
Everyone in the carriage sensed it:
The lake was reaching out first.
The train stopped.
As soon as we stepped out onto the platform, the air thickened.
Wind went left.Shadows went right.City noise felt filtered—like someone put a soft mask over all frequencies.
Alden said quietly:
"From here on, don't touch your own shadow."
I blinked. "Why would I—"
"You will."
He said it with absolute certainty.
Emilia stared at the seemingly normal treeline beyond the station.Her expression twisted.
"Visible distortion. Space is tearing."
Patch looked up at me, eyes too sharp for an animal—as if asking:
Are you ready?
The lake was ahead.
And the line pulling my chest forwardwas no longer a hint.
It was a command.
Maybe I wasn't just following it.
Maybe I'd already been chosen by it.