Kael stood in the living room of the house he had worked so hard to keep.Luxury cars filled the driveway outside. Strange men in black suits walked around like they owned the place. His heart was already heavy when he saw the message from Theo’s school.Two terms of school fees were unpaid.He had given Lila that money last month.“Lila?” he called.No answer.He checked the cardboard box under the stairs where they kept their savings. Empty. Five hundred and fifty thousand dollars he had saved for years — gone.An old voice came from upstairs.“Come up here, you useless man.”Kael climbed the stairs. His mother-in-law, Mrs. Voss, stood with her arms crossed. Next to her was Lila. And next to Lila was Marcus Hale, the rich man everyone in the city knew.Marcus had his arm around Lila’s waist.Before Kael could speak, Marcus pulled Lila close and kissed her right in front of him.Kael’s hands started shaking.“What is this?” he asked quietly.Lila wiped her mouth and looked at him lik

Kael rode through the rain with Theo sitting in front of him on the motorcycle. The boy held the handlebars tightly and kept looking back at his father’s face.“Daddy, why are we going this way? School is the other direction.”“I know,” Kael said. “We’re not going home tonight.”Theo stayed quiet after that. He trusted his father.Kael found a cheap motel on the edge of the city. He paid cash for two nights and carried Theo inside. The room smelled of old soap and rain. Kael locked the door, checked the windows, and pulled the curtains shut.Theo sat on the bed and hugged his backpack.“Is Mom coming?”Kael sat beside him. “Not tonight. Just you and me.”Theo nodded slowly. He did not ask more questions. That hurt Kael more than if the boy had cried.While Theo watched cartoons with the volume low, Kael opened the system in his mind.[Side mission complete.][Information skill active: Truth Echo – you will hear a soft ringing when someone lies near you.][New mission available.][Miss

Kael pushed the van door open and stepped out into the rain.Lila stood under the broken streetlight. The third ring on her finger glowed with a soft blue light. Her face looked the same, but her eyes did not. They were empty, like glass.Theo pressed against Kael’s side. “Mommy?”Kael put one hand on the boy’s shoulder and kept him behind his leg.“Stay back,” he said quietly.Seren and Rook got out of the van. Seren’s voice was low. “That is not the Lila you knew. Her system is different. It does not take memories. It only takes other people.”Lila smiled. The smile did not reach her eyes.“Hello, Kael. You look surprised. Did you really think you were the only one who came back?”Kael’s hands curled into fists. “What did they do to you?”“They gave me a better deal,” Lila said. “No more poverty. No more weak husband. No more useless child. In this life I get to keep everything I want.”The Truth Echo skill rang hard in Kael’s ears. Every word she spoke carried a false note, but the

The metal door shook under the first heavy blow.Kael stood in front of Theo with both hands free. The temporary shield felt like thin glass over his skin and the boy’s. He could still move, but he knew it would only last ten minutes.Seren pulled a short blade from her coat. Rook checked his gun and shook his head. “Too many on the other side. We cannot win a straight fight.”Kael looked at the old maps on the wall. One showed a second exit that led to the river tunnels.“There,” he said. “We go that way.”Another blow hit the door. The metal bent inward. A blue glow leaked through the cracks.Dariac’s voice came clear and cold. “Time is up, nephew.”The door exploded open. Three figures stepped through the smoke. Dariac stood in the middle. The two others had the same empty eyes as Lila. Hollow System hosts.Kael moved first.He grabbed Theo and ran toward the side tunnel. Seren and Rook covered them. Rook fired twice. One Hollow host staggered but did not fall. The blue light aroun

The van moved fast through the early morning streets. Rain still fell. Kael sat in the back with Theo against his side and the three rings in his pocket. The notebook from the vault lay open on his knee.Seren turned from the front seat. “We have less than three hours. The high-level host will find us before that if we stay in the open.”Kael turned a page in the notebook. His father’s handwriting listed names, places, and short notes. One line was underlined twice.“North bridge warehouse. Circle storage. Guarded by a Hollow named Veyra. Do not face her alone.”Kael looked up. “There is a name here. Veyra. My father marked her as dangerous.”Rook glanced in the mirror. “Never heard of her. But if your father wrote it twice, we should listen.”The system spoke.[High-level Hollow signature confirmed.][Name: Veyra.][Distance: Closing fast.][New mission available.][Mission: Reach the river safe house before Veyra arrives.][Reward: One short-range tracking block.][Cost: One memory