The door opened and cold air woke Eve.
Soren quickly closed it behind him, but not before she caught him. She was curious about where he'd been, but she didn't ask. Some silences were better left alone.
As Soren settled back into his spot, morning began its slow arrival. Even though Eve didn't know what time it was, her body decided for her.
Sleep had gone into hiding.
Light filled the room differently now. The ending of night. The beginning of day.
Eve woke Naomi without speaking. Naomi knew without being told today was the day. Today they would finally accept Somi's request.
But Naomi's mind was elsewhere.
She kept thinking about the girl from yesterday. How the girl had faith in her. How she couldn't do anything to help. How the mother died anyway.
And now people were depending on them.
If she couldn't save one girl, how was she supposed to save a sanctuary?
The fear sat in her chest like something alive.
Soren stood up. Naomi pushed the fear down and nodded. They were ready.
They stepped out into cold air.
It woke what little sleep remained in them as they walked toward the palace.
Eve felt something unfamiliar. Not fear exactly. More like resistance.
Being depended on felt wrong. These people didn't know her. She didn't care about them. Not really.
She had a thought about that. Something sharp and cold about how easy it would be to leave.
She pushed it down before it could draw a sad expression onto her face.
Soren was lost in his own thoughts.
He was wondering if they saw him as useful or as a liability they'd eventually abandon. He had other thoughts too — about what happened in the storage, about the ghosts, about what he almost heard.
He didn't want to acknowledge any of it.
As they got closer to the palace, it seemed to grow. Or they seemed to shrink. The closer they walked, the smaller everything felt.
The type of feeling that could put fear in most people.
They knocked on the doors, trying not to intrude.
A minute of silence followed.
Then the huge doors opened, and the sound echoed like a warning.
They walked inside.
Every step felt heavier than before. Louder. Thoughts rushed in about failure, about the girl, about what Somi would ask of them, about whether they could actually do this.
They made their way toward the dining area.
Then Somi emerged from a room they'd never seen before.
Naomi caught a glimpse inside before she could stop herself the room was painted like a child's bedroom. Toys scattered across the floor. A life interrupted.
Somi's expression shifted immediately.
From concerned. From sad. To serious.
It happened so fast only the ghosts around her caught it. A normal eye would have missed it entirely.
But it happened.
And the three of them felt the shift in the air itself. The temperature changed. Everything became more tense. More unapologetic.
Somi came closer.
Are you here to accept the request or not.
Her voice set the tone for everything that followed.
The room went hot.
Eve responded without fear in her voice.
Yes. We are. She paused. But this needs to stay quiet. Not shared with anyone. And we'll need resources. Information. Everything you know so we have somewhere to start.
She dropped her voice lower for the rest.
Also we're not heroes. We're not experts. I don't want you keeping your hopes up. She looked directly at Somi. And if anything happens to any of us, we stop. We quit. We won't continue. That's not negotiable.
Somi took a deep breath.
For a moment she didn't speak. Like she was calculating something. Like she was realizing something.
Let's hope you don't fail, she said finally.
Not reassuring. Not kind. Just honest.
She walked away, then stopped and turned back.
You start tomorrow. Meet me tomorrow when you're free. I'll introduce someone to you. Someone who might help.
Siah appeared and led them back out as Somi walked further into the palace, further away from them
As they reached the huge doors, silence filled everything
No one spoke. No one responded. Everyone was stunned.
Stunned by Somi's reaction. By her acceptance of their boundaries without pushback. By the possibility of failure hanging in the air.
By what tomorrow held.
They walked in silence for a while. The only sound was their footsteps.
Then Naomi spoke.
The waste water. That's where the girl said they disposed of things. She looked at Eve and Soren. That's where we should start. Check the water disposal system. See what's there.
Eve and Soren nodded. It was the only lead they had.
Tomorrow, Eve said. We start tomorrow.
They decided to rest first. To prepare.
But tomorrow came faster than expected.
They arrived at the disposal site — the river where waste was dumped, where the sanctuary's unwanted things went to disappear.
Soren walked ahead of them, observing.
Then he stopped.
His body went rigid.
Soren, Naomi called. What is it.
He didn't answer.
His mouth opened like he was about to scream but the scream got stuck somewhere inside him.
Then it came out a sound that wasn't entirely human.
He dropped to the ground and started rolling. His body convulsing like he was hearing something so loud it was tearing him apart from the inside.
Blood ran from his nose.
Soren! Eve moved toward him but couldn't get close. His pain was radiating outward. Visible. Undeniable.
He was hearing something. Everything. The whole universe speaking at once.
The ghosts. All of them. No filter. No control. Just — all of them, screaming.
They didn't hesitate.
Eve scooped him up. Naomi ran alongside them as they rushed back toward the palace.
This time the air felt different. Tenser. More unapologetic. Like the palace itself was angry they were bringing this chaos back inside.
Siah appeared the moment they burst through the doors. He took one look at Soren and understood something. Without asking questions, he took Soren quickly to a private room.
Naomi watched him disappear down a corridor. She wanted to follow but something in Siah's face told her not to.
Eve stood in the hallway, breathing hard, trying to understand what just happened.
Hours passed.
They waited. In silence. In uncertainty. In fear.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
They fell asleep sitting against the wall, not knowing if Soren would wake up. Not knowing what was happening to him.
Not knowing anything except that everything had changed.