The night wasn't quiet anymore.
Shattered windows glittered across the ground like broken ice as their footsteps pounded through the empty street. Old storefronts passed in a blur, smeared shadows against the pale wash of moonlight. Somewhere behind them, a building gave a low, groaning sound as if mourning its own collapse.
They didn't stop to look back.
Jin's lungs burned, but he didn't say anything. His grip was tight around the sheathed blade across his back, hand ready. He kept his eyes forward, flicking between rooftops and intersections, mapping escape paths in his head like second nature now.
"Still going," Echo muttered ahead of them, voice soft but urgent.
Jin glanced at him. Echo's head was tilted, like he was listening to something just beyond human hearing. Which, knowing him, he probably was.
"The monster?"
A small nod. "Far. But not far enough."
