They moved again, vanishing into the dark.
The city around them was barely holding itself together. Collapsed signs leaned against broken windows, storefronts gaping open with dust-choked silence. Each step echoed too loudly, and each breath felt borrowed.
No one said a word as they pushed forward, weaving around the hollowed-out skeletons of the street, cracked pavement, and walls freckled with spores. The rot thickened with every step. Jin's hand never left his blade.
Echo's head tilted suddenly, his body still. A low hum echoed around them, barely audible; it was like the pressure in the air had shifted. "It's circling closer again," he said, voice low. "We've got maybe five minutes."
Jin nodded, eyes flicking around for anything they could use. "Alright, split up."
No one hesitated. They peeled off, smooth and silent. They'd done this enough to move without second-guessing now, not perfectly, unlike professionals, but with enough trust to make it work.
