By dusk, the sirens started.
Not the shrill alarms of the arena — these were low, resonant chimes that vibrated through the entire district like a pulse.
The Guild was sweeping block by block.
Eren and Rynn stuck to the shadows of the lower market, passing shuttered stalls and flickering neon signs.
Posters fluttered on walls — "Unauthorized Mirra Manifestation: Report Immediately."
Most had Vessa's face printed half-visible behind the warning.
"She was fast," Rynn murmured. "Now she's a headline."
"Fame's faster," Eren said. "And it eats more."
---
They cut through a narrow alley that smelled of damp metal and cooked oil.
A pair of scavengers peeked out from a doorway, recognized them, and slammed it shut.
The chime pulsed again.
Eren froze mid-step. "They've triangulated."
"How?"
"Residual Mirra trail from your fight. You burn bright, kid."
"Sorry for glowing."
"Don't be sorry. Be gone."
But it was too late.
Armor clanked. From both ends of the alley, Guild Enforcers appeared — black suits threaded with glowing red channels.
Their helmets projected faint mirrored visors, reflections of Rynn and Eren staring back at them.
"Unregistered resonance detected," one barked. "Identify yourselves."
Eren muttered, "They always say that right before doing something stupid."
The lead Enforcer raised his baton. "Comply, or force will be—"
Rynn threw his empty hands up. "Fine. Force will be what?"
Then the cup he'd been holding since morning spun upward, frozen mid-air.
The Enforcer blinked. "What—"
The cup cracked.
The air bent.
Light refracted around Rynn's outstretched hand like a prism twisting itself inside out.
A heartbeat later, the Enforcer hit the far wall, armor warping inward.
The others lunged.
Eren was faster — his crimson Mirra rippled outward in rings, distorting space for a blink of time.
Weapons crumbled to powder before they struck.
Rynn stepped forward, pulse racing, Mirra flaring.
Every reflection around them — puddles, broken glass, metal walls — flashed his silhouette.
Then they moved with him.
Each punch landed twice — once real, once mirrored.
When silence finally fell, the alley looked like a funhouse after a bomb.
Walls warped, light fractured, red and blue leaking into the cracks.
Eren caught his breath, eyes scanning the ruins.
"You're learning control."
Rynn wiped blood from his lip. "I'm learning to make a mess."
"Same thing," Eren said. "Different tone."
Rynn looked down at his shaking hands. The glow pulsed faint, softer than before.
"Feels like the city's watching."
"It is," Eren said, already walking. "Varen doesn't blink."
---
They reached the freight district before midnight.
Rows of engines slept on the rails, humming quietly.
Eren pointed to a train half-loaded with relic containers.
"That one heads west. Gearline Station. After that — wilderness."
"Sounds safer than here."
"Everything's safer than here."
They climbed aboard and found a corner between crates.
Steam hissed. The train shuddered, then lurched forward.
As it pulled away, the lights of Varen stretched like a mirage behind them, shimmering and breaking apart.
---