The city groaned under the aftermath of Gabby’s previous assault. Smoke and debris coated the streets, neon lights flickering through the haze.Every puddle reflected threads of energy,blue, silver, crimson ,weaving a chaotic tapestry across the ruined skyline.Tom Burro crouched atop a shattered overpass, Snowly at his side, and the Soul Anchor gripping his arm. Threads of blue and silver hummed around him, pulsing with Tier II+mastery, yet something deeper stirred within the System. “Gabby’s close,”Snowly growled, nose twitching. “I can feel his crimson threads and they’re stronger, denser. He’s converging on your position. Full engagement imminent.”Tom’s eye narrowed. “Then we confront him. No more waiting.”The Soul Anchor’s silver thread pulsed in tandem with his blue. “I, I’m ready. Whatever comes, I’ll stay with you.”“Soul Anchor Synchronization: 100%. Tier II+ Fully Operational. Tier III Potential Detected , Preliminary Activation Available.”From the misty streets below, G

White light consumed everything, Sound and Air vanished while Time paused.Tom felt weightless ,like his body had separated from the world,floating between existence and nothingness. His heart thread pulsed erratically inside his chestlike a broken drum.“Corruption Saturation: 97%, 98%, WARNING,HEART THREAD UNSTABLE”Tom tried to breathe, but air wouldn’t come. “Tom!”A distant voice, a woman's voice Frantic, Breaking.The Soul Anchor.He forced his eyes to open.It was Blurry, too much Light and Pain as reality rushed back.He collapsed onto shattered concrete, clutching his chest. Blue threads around his body flickered like dying sparks.Snowly’s white fur bristled, teeth bared. “TOM, MOVE!”Gabby was still midstrike ,a crimson spear of condensed corruption inches from Tom’s heart.The city trembled beneath the force of it.The Soul Anchor threw herself in front of Tom,“NO,!” Tom managed to choke out,but Gabby’s spear was already descending ,Crimson, Sharp and Unstoppable. As Tim

The wind went still.Snow froze mid air, suspended like shards of white glass. Even the hunters stopped, rigid and unmoving, as if an invisible force had wrapped around the entire clearing.Tom stared at the hooded woman who looked exactly like his mother,only older, alive, and glowing with the same silver radiance as his bad eye.Snowly was the first to speak.His voice trembled,not in fear, but disbelief. “Liora?”Gabby blinked. “Liora? Wait,Tom’s mother? But she’s,”“Dead?” the woman finished, lowering her hood fully. Her hair spilled out,long, silver white, untouched by time. Her eyes glowed like polished moonstone. “I was supposed to be.”Tom couldn’t breathe. His chest tightened painfully. His voice cracked. “M-Mom?”The woman’s expression softened with both pride and sorrow. “Tom. My son.”The words hit him like a punch.Tom stepped forward, legs shaking.“You,but you died. I saw your grave. They told me,Father told me,Snowly said,”Snowly bowed his head. “Tom, I never lied. I tr