Chapter 17 · Rift Protocol - Chapter 17: The City That Remembers

"Wake up, Kess."

The voice comes from everywhere. From the walls, the air, the hum beneath my feet.

I open my eyes and I'm standing in the middle of a street I know. Cobblestones. Narrow brick buildings with wrought-iron balconies. A corner café with yellow awnings. The place where I used to get coffee before work.

Before everything.

"No," I say out loud. "This isn't real."

"It's as real as you are."

The voice is mine. Younger. Smoother. Like I sounded ten years ago, before I learned to swallow my words.

I spin around. The street is empty. No cars. No people. Just the buildings and the light—golden, late afternoon, the kind that makes you nostalgic for things you never actually had.

"Where's Dalen?" I demand.

"He's gone, Kess. You're inside now. Inside me."

My stomach drops.

Echidna.

"You said you'd let me go," I say. My voice cracks. I hate that it cracks. "You said if I came in, you'd give me what I need."

"I am giving you what you need. Your memories. Everything you lost. It's all here."

I take a step back. My heel hits the curb.