They walked for hours, the sky bleeding into dusk, the scent of pine giving way to something more bitter—ash.
Chris's boots crunched over the brittle remains of a dead orchard, blackened stumps clawing up from cracked soil like the fingers of buried giants. Mira walked behind him, silent for once, her flame dim and low in her palm, offering just enough light to guide them but not enough to be seen from a distance.
The Dominion had scoured this place. Years ago. But its scars remained.
Mira finally spoke. "You think she'll come back?"
Chris didn't answer immediately. He looked over his shoulder at the trail they'd left—half footprints, half guesses—then faced forward.
"She'll come," he said. "She has orders."
"Would you have killed her?" Mira asked.
Chris frowned. "No."
"Why not?"
He didn't know. That bothered him. "She hesitated," he said. "That makes her different from the others."
Mira studied him. "You're hoping she'll change sides?"
He didn't respond.
They passed beneath a half-collapsed archway—once a part of a temple, now a broken rib of stone. Inscribed across the arch in faded silver script were the words: THE GODS SEE BUT DO NOT SAVE.
Chris paused, letting his fingers brush the stone.
"What is this place?" Mira asked.
"Old Emberborn territory," he said. "Before the Purge."
"You've been here before?"
"Once." He glanced at her. "With someone I trusted."
Mira tilted her head. "A friend?"
Chris's jaw clenched. "A boss. Maya. She—" He stopped himself. "She's gone."
Mira looked at him, something unreadable in her expression, but didn't press further.
They moved on.
By the time the stars bled through the clouds, they found shelter in the ruins of a barn half-swallowed by vines. Mira started a small fire in the stone hearth, the flames licking low and blue, controlled. Chris sat across from her, unwrapping a dried ration and chewing silently.
He could feel the ache in his limbs. Not just from the fight—but from the weight of it all.
The Dominion was hunting them. The Seeker was stalking them. And the world felt like it was dying, one godless acre at a time.
Mira broke the silence. "You ever wonder why they hate us?"
Chris looked up. "The Dominion?"
She nodded.
He leaned back against the stone. "Because we remind them of what they destroyed. Emberborn like us? We're sparks in the ashes. They're afraid one of us will relight the flame."
"And what if they're right?"
Chris met her eyes. "Then maybe it's time someone did."
The wind picked up outside, howling through the cracks in the wall.
Suddenly Mira stiffened. "Did you hear that?"
Chris was already standing, reaching for the iron rod he'd sharpened into a makeshift spear. He moved toward the barn doors, eyes narrowing. The fire flickered behind him, casting his silhouette in long, sharp lines.
Then—
A knock.
Not a crash. Not a bang.
A knock. Soft. Deliberate.
Chris froze.
The barn door creaked open—just slightly.
And a voice whispered: "Chris. If you're in there... don't move."
Chris knew that voice.
He stepped forward. "Maya?"
The door swung wide, and there she was.
Maya. Older. Sharper. Wrapped in weather-worn leathers, dark braids pulled back into a tight bun, a curved blade at her hip and a grin on her face like nothing had ever changed.
"You look like shit," she said, stepping into the barn.
Chris stared at her.
"You're dead," he said.
Maya laughed. "Well, not today."
He didn't move. Couldn't move.
Then she stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Took you long enough to get to the rendezvous," she whispered.
Chris just stood there, still stunned. Mira watched from the hearth, her eyes narrowing at this strange new arrival.
Maya finally pulled back and looked at Mira, eyes twinkling.
"And who's the firecracker?"
Chris blinked. "Mira. She saved my life."
Maya raised a brow. "She always like this pretty?"
Chris sighed, half annoyed, half relieved.
Mira rolled her eyes. "She always like this full of herself?"
Maya grinned. "You have no idea."
Then she turned serious. "Pack up. We're leaving. The Dominion is closer than you think."
Chris swallowed. "Where?"
Maya stepped into the firelight, eyes dark and steady.
"To the Rebellion. And you've got a job, Chris. You're going to steal something very valuable. Something the Dominion is desperate to hide."
He hesitated. "What?"
Maya smiled again—but this time, it didn't reach her eyes.
"A map," she said. "To a place no one's supposed to remember."
Outside, thunder rolled low in the distance.
And in the forest miles away, beneath a starless sky, the Seeker stood alone at the edge of a cliff, watching the world burn on the horizon.
She held her cracked mask in her hand.
And for the first time in her life, she didn't know what she believed in.