The awakening was abrupt and frustrating.
First, a muffled voice echoed in the distance, as if coming from another dimension. Gradually, it took shape, becoming the unmistakable whisper of Krev.
"Eiden, the train stopped... I think we're here," he murmured, stifling a grin.
It took Eiden a few seconds to process that it hadn't just been a blink. He had been asleep for hours. His body craved at least a full day of restorative rest.
And Krev waking him up with that annoyingly cheerful tone made him, for a moment, Eiden's number one enemy.
"Don't move too fast," Krev warned, subtly pointing to his right.
Eiden didn't get it—until he turned his head.
Shock tore the sleep right out of him in an instant.
Lyra was curled up against his chest, sound asleep.
He stared at Krev, wide-eyed and speechless. Then he noticed the compartment door was ajar. Pierre was gone. Some natural light leaked in from the corridor. It had probably been four hours or more.
"I'm heading out. You wake her," Krev whispered, gesturing dramatically with a mix of tactical hand signals and street mime antics.
"Wait... don't you dare!" Eiden whispered desperately, just as Krev was already slipping out the door.
From the hallway, Krev turned back with a mischievous grin.
"You're a real player," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"What the hell do I do now... you bastard..." Eiden muttered, just as Krev made a heart shape with his fingers and vanished down the corridor.
The situation was, at the very least, delicate. He'd been so exhausted, he hadn't even realized when Lyra got comfortable like that. Dozens of questions stormed through his head, each one more absurd than the last.
Should he wake her by speaking? Coughing? Moving? Should he pretend to still be asleep and hope she woke up on her own?
Had she leaned against him on purpose?
He had no idea. But what he did know was that Lyra was sleeping deeply, and her hair gave off a faint scent that made him dizzy.
His right arm and leg were pinned under her weight, and he didn't even want to think about where his hand was—wedged between the seat and her leather pants.
He took a deep breath. Gathering courage, he stretched his left hand toward her shoulder… but stopped when he saw the bracelet. A gentle pulse buzzed against his wrist in warning.
He sighed in defeat.
"Ly-Lyra... Lyra, wake up," he murmured nervously.
Nothing. Not even a twitch.
He cursed under his breath.
"We've arrived, Lyra," he said a bit louder, shifting slightly.
She groaned softly, frowning in irritation.
"Pierre and Krev are waiting for us outside," he added, staring ahead like the wall was the most captivating thing he'd ever seen.
She stirred, and for a moment, it seemed like she snuggled even closer. Eiden stretched his neck as if trying to distance his face from hers.
Then, she gently gripped the fabric of his jacket before slowly lifting herself a few inches… and stared him directly in the eyes.
He remained still, gazing stoically at the wall.
Only a few seconds passed, but they felt eternal. Lyra's face gradually turned red—until it reached volcanic levels.
Her reaction was instantaneous, almost feline. She sprang away from him with spring-loaded agility, flipped back over the seat, and landed on the opposite bench—plasma knife in hand.
"G-Good morning," Eiden greeted, swallowing hard.
She didn't answer. Her head was tilted downward, hair falling over her face like a curtain. He couldn't see her expression, but he felt the blade of her judgment as keenly as the weapon in her grip.
The silence turned unbearable.
Eiden didn't dare move, much less look her in the eye.
Lyra, meanwhile, stayed frozen a few seconds longer, seemingly processing what had happened.
Finally, she sighed. With a swift motion, she lowered the knife and sheathed it without looking. She flicked her hair out of her face, revealing flushed cheeks and an expression… unreadable.
"How long did we sleep?" she asked, not looking at him, voice raspy with sleep.
"About four hours, I think..." he answered, relieved to hear a question that didn't involve violence.
She nodded slightly and stepped off the bench gracefully, though her posture remained tense. As she walked past him, she avoided eye contact—but Eiden noticed her fingers trembled a little as she absentmindedly smoothed his jacket.
"I didn't notice when... I was so tired that..." he tried to say something, anything to clear the heavy air between them.
"Me neither," she cut him off curtly, not stopping. Grabbing her bag, she walked toward the compartment door and paused on the threshold. Her voice, however, came out a bit softer when she added:
"Thanks for... not saying anything."
Eiden blinked, confused.
"Not say what?"
Lyra didn't respond. She was already gone, down the corridor.
He ran a hand over his face, still numb from sleep and disbelief.
"What kind of mental spiral was that...?" he muttered to himself, dragging himself up with effort.
As he exited the compartment, he felt a strong pulse from the bracelet—like it was disapproving of what had just happened.
Eiden huffed.
"Don't you dare say a word..."
He was starting the day with more questions than answers. And, for once, that wasn't anything new.
************************************
They had disembarked at a rundown station, lost in the middle of nowhere.
As they stepped off the train, sunlight forced Eiden to squint. No more than a dozen people got off with them.
The small station connected, in the far distance, to an equally decrepit village.
They were truly on the edge of Ashveil Reach. The horizon held nothing but dry hills and arid plains.
How were they supposed to get to the Fractals from here? He had no idea.
"Hey, looks like you slept well, Ly," Krev teased as soon as they approached. "Real cozy, huh?"
Lyra didn't say a word. She just walked past him—and landed a sharp punch straight to his gut.
"Ough!" Krev groaned, doubling over in pain. "Totally worth it!"
Lyra scanned her surroundings.
"Where's Pierre?" she asked, turning to her chubby companion.
Still grimacing, he pointed off into the distance.
Pierre was approaching from a decrepit little shack, several meters away from the station, carrying a paper bag.
Krev, meanwhile, was still on his knees, coughing from the hit.
Eiden felt a wave of relief upon seeing that Pierre hadn't gone off on his own. Mostly because of what Lyra might've felt if he had.
When Pierre reached them, he started pulling wrapped sandwiches and The-ito cans from the bag, tossing them out with surprisingly accurate aim.
"Breakfast. There's more where that came from," he said, grabbing one for himself and sitting on one of the station's battered benches.
"A truly remarkable find!" Krev declared with his usual enthusiasm, though still sweating from the pain.
"What happened to you?" Pierre asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him curiously.
Krev opened his mouth, but Lyra cut in immediately:
"Nothing," she said flatly, then sat on the same bench beside Pierre. "Thanks for this."
"It's nothing," he replied, nodding.
Eiden quietly observed the scene, comforted by Pierre's calm tone. He was about to start eating when the conductor, lowering the sandwich just before taking a bite, spoke again.
"Okay... about what happened yesterday," he began, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry. I said things I shouldn't have."
"Don't worry, Pi," said Krev, brushing it off with a wave.
"No, I was wrong. I was upset about the drifter, but that had nothing to do with you guys," he admitted, glancing at Lyra, who was listening with her gaze cast downward.
"All right, I accept your apology. But only if you accept mine," Lyra said, her gaze cold but her voice sincere. "I shouldn't have insulted you. It wasn't your duty to come help me. In fact, you should've reported it the moment I asked."
"I haven't forgotten where my loyalty lies. But that doesn't mean I won't help someone who's saved my skin more than once," Pierre replied firmly.
"Then let's leave it all behind," Lyra concluded, offering her hand with a genuine smile.
Pierre shook it without hesitation. Then he turned to Eiden.
"Sorry for calling you a freak, kid. I didn't mean to drag you into my temper. We'd be splattered across some Subnet slum right now if it weren't for you."
"Don't worry, it's what I am," Eiden joked, nodding. "Besides, I could say the same. I've never met a better driver than you."
Pierre gave him a genuine smile.
"Wow, we're dripping honey all over the place," Krev remarked, taking a huge bite of his sandwich and then giving Lyra a gentle nudge with his elbow. "Only one missing is me… how about one of your special hugs?"
Another blow, even faster and more precise than the last, landed squarely in his stomach. Krev spat out a chunk of sandwich and dropped to his knees again, breathless.
"Still worth it!" he wheezed.
Lyra glared at him, making Pierre burst into genuine laughter while Eiden casually looked away, hiding a grin behind his drink.
They spent a few minutes eating, trading trivial remarks, letting the warm morning sun ease—if only slightly—the emotional and physical wear of the day before.
Finally, Lyra stood with purpose.
"It's time to move."
She slung her backpack over one shoulder and started walking without looking back. Krev and Pierre followed in silence, as if that gesture alone were enough of a command. Eiden, however, lingered a few more seconds, taking in the surroundings.
The station blurred behind them—worn down and abandoned. The nearby village looked just as dead. Beyond that, only cracked plains and lonely shrubs stretched out beneath a pale, washed-out sky. No sign of the Fractals. No sign of anything extraordinary.
"From here to where?" he asked with a tired voice, clearly not eager to march under the sun for hours.
The others stopped and turned. Krev answered with a mocking grin, while Pierre pointed to a distant hill, topped by a thin line of vegetation.
"Behind that hill."
Eiden squinted.
"That one over there...? The one that looks like it's in another damn country?"
"Exactly," Krev said, as if confirming the best news of the day.
Eiden seriously considered either collapsing on the spot or faking it. But then Lyra's voice reached him, that threatening tone disguised as a joke:
"Remember, you don't have a choice. Don't make me hit you too."
There was a glint of amusement in her eyes, and even though her tone was serious, Eiden could tell she'd already relaxed.
"You almost did..." he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for no one to hear, and started walking after them.
The trek stretched beneath the rising sun, the group crossing dry fields covered in brittle grass. Every now and then, a gust of wind kicked up dust and dead leaves, sweeping them through the air with a dry hiss. The hill never seemed to get any closer, as if mocking their efforts.
"This landscape is depressing," Pierre said, wiping sweat from his brow. "It's been years since I crossed this place on foot. It'll suck the hope right out of anyone."
"Says the guy who brought us free breakfast," Krev replied. "You're the spirit of hope, Pierre. A smoked chicken sandwich in the middle of a wasteland."
"And canned caffeine," Eiden added, lifting his The-ito. "I think I'm addicted to this stuff now."
"You two are idiots," Lyra muttered without turning, though her tone lacked real sharpness.
"Us? Idiots? After walking through nothingness just to follow you? Never!" Krev exclaimed theatrically, pretending to faint into Pierre's arms.
"Don't touch me," Pierre growled, shoving him away.
They kept walking, laughing occasionally, trading bad jokes and stopping for hydration. The sun was high now, and the heat was starting to feel oppressive, clinging to their skin like a warning.
Finally, after a couple more hours, they reached the base of the hill. From there, the landscape changed: an uneven line of stones stretched along the slope, as if someone had laid them deliberately.
Another twenty minutes of climbing.
And when they reached the top, the sight hit them with the force of a revelation.
There, at the base of the hill on the far side, began the unthinkable: a spiral of impossible architecture descending into the earth's core. The Fractals.
It wasn't a city. It was a living abyss.
From the mountainside, residential structures curled downward in concentric circles, as if someone had drilled the ground with a colossal bit and then lined the walls with balconies, walkways, and suspended platforms. Each level seemed to pulse with activity, crisscrossed by suspended trains, flickering cold lights, and shadows that moved as if they had minds of their own.
Seen from above, it looked like a bottomless pit: a blinding eye swallowing the earth. No visible center. Just more depth. More structures. More underground life.
The buildings, clinging to the void like insects on a web of steel and platforms, formed an endless mesh of alleyways, vertical stairs, floating bridges, and neon-lit nodes that buzzed faintly in the distance. Everything crossed with everything else, forming organized chaos—a city turned inside out, defying logic and gravity.
And in the middle of it all, like a metallic heartbeat coming from the depths, there was a constant vibration. Low. Deep. As if something far greater than the structure itself slept beneath it.
The Fractals weren't just a refuge.
They were an open wound in the earth. A titanic work. An urban monster breathing technology and darkness.
Eiden swallowed hard, overwhelmed.
"What is this place...?" he whispered.
"Our next step," Lyra replied, not taking her eyes off the view.
And they began their descent.