The footprints in the dust were fresh. They were the only things in the tunnel that hadn't been eaten by the Time-Eaters.
Arden stared at the message scratched into the concrete wall, her flashlight beam trembling slightly.
THE EMPRESS IS COMING. RUN.
It was a warning from a ghost. A version of herself who had seen the end of the road and sent a message back. The handwriting was unmistakable—sharp, jagged, frantic.
"Who is The Empress?" Kael asked, his voice echoing in the dead silence of the tunnel.
"Me," Arden whispered. "Or a version of me. The version who... won too much."
She turned away from the wall, her mind racing. "The Architect said the paradox was splitting the world. We just found the crack."
"So what do we do?" Jian asked, his soldier's pragmatism kicking in. "Do we hunt her? Or do we run?"
"We can't run," Arden said. "If she's coming here, it's because she wants something. And if she's anything like me... she won't stop until she gets it."
