Chapter 10 — Frayed Edges
The shelf shuddered under Rei's boots.
Light washed the worked stone in thin white, then snapped back to dim. The carved lines underfoot pulsed out of rhythm—two quick beats, a pause, then a surge that raised gooseflesh along his arms. Behind him, treasure kept sliding into the widening seam with a harsh metallic rush. Coin on coin scraped in a steady grind, punctuated by heavier impacts when something large shifted and dropped out of sight.
Rei held his balance low, weight shifted off the worst side of his ribs. Ember Circulation stayed locked into a narrow loop that kept tremor from stealing his stance. His throat still felt tight from the pool's pressure, and every swallow caught on that tightness like a bruise.
At his boots, two fox-shapes trembled at the edges.
Jinx and Vesper held together for a blink, then broke into scattered fragments that hung for a heartbeat before snapping back. Their paws half-phased through the stone and found it again. Their tails flickered in short chopped segments that never lined up cleanly with the rest of their bodies. Each flare made their outlines jolt as if something had snagged their edges and tugged.
Another flare hit. One fox lurched sideways and smeared, outline thinning until there was almost nothing left but scattered light.
Rei's hand rose on reflex.
He moved slowly, palm open, careful the way you were careful with anything frightened. His glove hovered a breath above flickering fur.
"Hey," he murmured. The word came out low and rough. "Easy."
His fingers touched.
Warmth met his skin, threaded with static. The fox-shape held. The edges still stuttered, but the fragments snapped back faster. The body stayed together long enough for Rei to let a breath out.
He stroked once, slow, fingers following the line of its neck. The second fox pressed closer, head low, shaking at the edges. Rei shifted his hand to include it, palm flattening, fingers spreading to keep contact.
A pulse hit.
Both outlines jolted. Rei's hand stayed on them through the flare. When the light snapped back to dim, they remained whole for a fraction longer than they had a moment ago.
Rei's eyes narrowed.
He adjusted his stance to spare his ribs, and his hand lifted for an instant.
The change came fast. The fox beneath his palm smeared, fragments hanging too long before snapping back. A soft sound escaped it—more breath than voice—and the noise twisted Rei's stomach.
His hand dropped back down.
The shape steadied again, still trembling at the edges, still broken, but together.
Behind him, the metallic rush rose in volume as a larger section of treasure slid at once. A cascade of coin struck stone somewhere below with a sharp clatter, followed by a deeper, heavier drop that carried through the shelf as a dull vibration.
Rei crouched lower, bringing his other hand in. He formed a small pocket with his arms and body, something he could keep steady even when the pulses hit. His palms stayed open against fur that couldn't decide if it was solid or scattered.
"Stay," he said, quiet enough that it barely counted as sound.
Aetherclaw stirred at the edge of his awareness, tempting in the way sharp tools always were. Rei left it alone. The hollow pull behind his eyes from earlier still lingered, and he could feel how thin his reserves had become.
Another flare arrived with no warning.
Light washed the shelf. The carved lines surged in uneven timing. The foxes jolted in his hands.
Rei held contact through the flare. His fingers tightened. His breathing loop stayed narrow and steady, Ember Circulation doing its work, tempering shake into control.
The flare snapped off.
For half a heartbeat, both foxes stayed together.
Then the chamber shuddered again, and the sound behind him changed. The metallic rush broke into a harsher cascade as something big slid free. Coin hammered down. Stone groaned under it, and the air tightened against Rei's skin.
Rei lifted his gaze and scanned for a line out. The slopes beyond the shelf were a mess of shifting treasure and exposed ribs of worked stone. The seam below had widened enough to show jagged edges, and the bright pool churned beneath it, pressure ripples shivering across its surface.
Every route asked him to step onto moving metal.
He swallowed, pressure catching at the back of his throat. His ribs ached on the inhale that followed.
A passive shimmer crossed his HUD.
This time it held.
A box formed in clean text, overlaying the collapsing chamber.
INSTANCE UPDATE: GREY HOLLOW — DEPTHS
STATUS: CLEARED
STABILITY: CRITICAL
DESTABILIZATION: ACCELERATING
Rei stared at the words until the next tremor forced him to blink.
Another HUD layer unfolded beneath the first, crisp and clinical.
DUNGEON COMPLETION REWARDS
• EXP AWARDED
• GOLD AWARDED
• ITEM ACQUIRED: UNIDENTIFIED RELIC (1)
[ADDED TO INVENTORY]
A third line appeared under the rewards, colder than the rest.
FORCIBLE EJECTION: PENDING
REASON: INSTANCE FAILURE IMMINENT
Rei's mouth went dry.
The shelf trembled again. The foxes in his hands jolted as the next flare hit. Their outlines broke into fragments and snapped back. Rei kept his palms on them through the pulse, focusing on the only piece of the moment he could hold steady.
"Okay," he breathed. The word came out thin. "Okay."
The completion box stayed for another beat, then collapsed into a smaller corner display. The words STATUS: CLEARED remained. The stability line stayed with it, pulsing between CRITICAL and ACCELERATING as the chamber shuddered.
Behind Rei, treasure kept pouring toward the seam. The sound never fully stopped now. It rose, crashed, and returned to grinding flow.
Rei shifted his weight again, trying to keep his ribs from screaming, and the fox under his right hand smeared in response, fragments hanging too long before snapping back. His palm flattened, firm and steady. The outline held together a fraction longer.
His heart hammered.
The idea of lifting them hit him for an instant. Their paws already half-phased through stone. Their bodies stuttered between solid and scattered. A lift didn't feel like something the glitch would respect.
He kept them close to the shelf. He kept contact.
A flare hit—quick, quick—then the pause stretched long enough to feel wrong. The next surge washed the stone in thin white. Both foxes jolted, outlines thinning as if pulled through a narrow gap.
Rei's hands stayed.
The light snapped back to dim.
They steadied for half a second.
Rei dragged air in through aching ribs and forced his breathing back into its steady pattern. Ember Circulation held the tremor down. His fingers stroked once, slow, then again, small motions that kept contact without asking his body for more than it could give.
The HUD corner display flickered.
FORCIBLE EJECTION: PENDING
REASON: INSTANCE FAILURE IMMINENT
The words sat there like a countdown without numbers.
Another heavy impact hit below. The shelf vibrated. Rei's balance dipped and recovered. The foxes smeared and snapped back, edges fraying, then holding when his palms stayed firm.
Rei's eyes flicked to the seam. Treasure still slid. The flow looked thicker now, as if more of the hoard had broken loose at once. A jagged edge of worked stone near the seam cracked, shifted, and dropped out of sight.
The carved lines under Rei's boots flared out of rhythm again. Jinx and Vesper pressed into his hands, bodies low, trembling at the edges. A flare hit, and both outlines jolted.
Rei's throat tightened.
He kept stroking, slow and careful, hands following whichever shape was slipping more. His fingers adjusted without thought, steady pressure to keep them anchored through each surge.
The chamber pulsed—quick, quick—then paused.
In that pause, the air went strange. The hoard still slid. Stone still ground. The space between pulses held a tightness like a held breath, and Rei's skin prickled with it.
A faint shimmer crossed his HUD.
Rei's gaze snapped up.
Jinx and Vesper would like to initiate a soul bond with you
YES / NO