"We're being led."
The thought doesn't leave.
It sits there.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Karan walks beside me, slower than before, his breathing still uneven.
Neither of us says anything for a while.
The streets stretch ahead, broken and empty, but it doesn't feel random anymore.
Not after what we saw.
Not after how they moved.
"Did you notice it?" I finally say.
Karan glances at me. "Notice what?"
"The way they operated."
He frowns slightly. "You mean how they trade people like items?"
"No." I shake my head. "The structure. The movement. It's not chaos."
Karan looks back toward the direction we came from.
"…yeah," he mutters. "It felt organized."
"Because it is."
That realization settles between us.
Null Wing isn't surviving.
They're running something.
We move forward again, slower this time.
Watching everything.
Looking for signs.
Patterns.
And then we start seeing them.
Marks.
Same symbol as before.
Scratched into walls.
Burned into metal.
Sometimes small.
Sometimes obvious.
Always the same.
"They're mapping territory," Karan says.
"Or controlling it," I reply.
The marks aren't random.
They're spaced.
Deliberate.
Like a trail.
Like they want movement to flow a certain way.
I follow one with my eyes.
Then another.
Then another.
"They're guiding traffic," I say.
Karan looks at me. "You think so?"
I nod.
"They don't just take people. They move them."
"Where?"
I don't answer.
Because I don't know.
But we're about to find out.
We follow the markings.
Step by step.
Turn by turn.
The path isn't straight.
It loops.
Doubles back.
Forces us through narrow streets and broken alleys.
It's controlled.
Like whoever designed this—
wanted to limit visibility.
Karan walks ahead now.
Not behind me.
That's new.
"Left," he says.
I don't question it.
I just follow.
My thoughts feel… off.
Like something is slightly out of sync.
I blink.
The street shifts.
Not physically.
But mentally.
I frown.
"Why are we going this way?" I ask.
Karan doesn't slow. "You said to follow the marks."
I look at the wall beside us.
There's a mark.
Right there.
Clear.
"…yeah," I say slowly.
But something feels wrong.
Like I asked that question too late.
Or for the wrong reason.
I shake it off.
Focus.
We keep moving.
The city gets quieter the deeper we go.
Not empty.
Just… suppressed.
Less movement.
Less noise.
That's not a good sign.
Karan raises a hand.
Stops.
I stop too.
We both listen.
Voices.
Faint.
Ahead.
"…you hear that?" he whispers.
I nod.
We move closer.
Careful.
Low.
The street opens slightly.
A wider space.
Half-collapsed structures around it.
And in the center—
people.
A group.
Not moving.
Not free.
Captured.
Held.
My chest tightens instantly.
"Found something," Karan mutters.
I don't respond.
I'm already scanning.
Players around them.
Guarding.
Not many.
But enough.
And relaxed.
Too relaxed.
Like they're confident no one's coming.
"They're holding them here," Karan says.
"Temporary," I reply.
"Yeah."
Not a main base.
Not permanent.
Just a stop.
A holding zone.
My eyes move across the captives.
Faces.
Expressions.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Some barely conscious.
Some watching everything.
Waiting.
Hoping.
I search through them.
Fast.
Desperate.
Not showing it.
But feeling it.
"She's not here," Karan says quietly.
I don't answer.
Because I'm still looking.
Still searching.
Then—
I see it.
A jacket.
Familiar.
Dark.
Torn at the sleeve.
My breath catches.
"No way…" I whisper.
Karan follows my gaze.
"…is that—"
"I think it is."
The figure is turned slightly away.
Sitting.
Head lowered.
Hair partially covering the face.
But the jacket—
I know that jacket.
I've seen it.
Too many times.
"She's here," I say.
Karan tenses. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
Or at least—
I want to be.
He studies the scene.
Guards.
Positions.
Distance.
"We can't rush," he says.
I step forward.
"We don't have time."
"We do if we want to survive this."
I clench my fists.
My body still feels off.
But my focus sharpens.
"She's right there," I say.
"And there are at least five of them," Karan snaps back. "You think we can take that clean?"
"No."
"Then what's the plan?"
I hesitate.
Just for a second.
That gap again.
That missing piece.
Why—
Why did we come this way again?
I blink.
The thought slips.
Gone.
Replaced.
By urgency.
"She won't last if we wait," I say.
Karan grabs my arm.
"Arjun, think."
"I am thinking."
"No, you're reacting."
I pull free.
"She's right there."
"And if it's a trap?"
I freeze.
That word hits harder than it should.
Trap.
I look again.
At the figure.
Still sitting.
Still not moving.
The guards don't seem alarmed.
Don't seem tense.
Just bored.
Routine.
Not expecting anything.
It doesn't feel like a trap.
It feels—
real.
Karan exhales slowly.
"…we do this right," he says. "We take the closest two first. Quiet. Then we move."
I nod.
That makes sense.
We shift positions.
Closer.
Using the broken walls as cover.
Every step measured.
Every movement slow.
The voices from the guards drift closer.
"…shift change soon," one of them says.
"Good," another replies. "I'm done watching these."
"Don't get lazy."
"I'm not—"
Karan signals.
Now.
We move.
Fast.
Not loud.
But fast.
The first guard turns—
Too late.
Karan hits him.
Clean.
Drops him.
I move to the second.
Short strike.
Not perfect.
But enough.
He goes down.
The others react.
Shouting.
Confusion.
I don't stop.
I move forward.
Toward the captives.
Toward her.
"Arjun!" Karan calls.
I don't look back.
I don't slow.
My focus narrows.
Just her.
Just that jacket.
"She's here," I say under my breath.
"She's here."
The distance closes.
Step by step.
The guards behind us regroup.
I hear movement.
Shouting.
But it feels far.
Irrelevant.
Because she's right there.
I reach the group.
The captives look up.
Fear.
Hope.
Confusion.
I don't stop.
I push through them.
Closer.
Closer.
The figure lifts their head slightly.
Just enough.
I see the profile.
My chest tightens.
"Meera—"
I start running.
Karan behind me.
Faster now.
No hesitation.
No thinking.
Just movement.
Just that moment.
Because we found her.
We actually found her.
And nothing else matters.
Not the guards.
Not the risk.
Not the pain.
Just her.
I close the distance.
Heart pounding.
Vision locked.
And I run straight toward her.