The Last Code

Node 3

I've been chasing her for hours. Or maybe it's been days. Time's a little hard to track here, and honestly, I stopped caring about it a while ago.

My boots hit the glitching ground with a soft thud, the world around me constantly shifting like it can't decide what it wants to be. One second, the skyline's there, a mass of neon lights and glowing structures. The next, it's just... gone. Vanishing like it was never real to begin with.

But I don't stop. I can't. Not when I feel her.

I know I'm not supposed to care this much. My job's simple: find the lost souls, bring them back, and get them out before they're erased. Easy. But Suvi? She's different. She's not lost in the same way. She's slipping through the cracks on purpose, like she's trying to disappear—and that's what scares me.

My steps going forward as I scanned the fractured cityscape, my eyes darting from one shattered building to the next. Each shadowed street, every crumbling skyscraper felt like a memory from a life that wasn't mine. The place wasn't real—none of it was—but it felt too real when I was standing in it.

"Where the hell are you?" I tried to scream under lose of breath, frustration crawling up my throat. I wasn't used to this kind of failure. Finding souls wasn't usually this hard.

Then I saw her.

She was standing in the middle of the street, completely still, like she was waiting for me. Or maybe waiting for something else. Suvi. I recognized her instantly, even though I'd only seen glimpses of her before. 

I stepped forward without thinking, drawn toward her like a magnet. But the second my foot hit the ground- There was a sharp, grinding sound. I barely had time to react before I realized what was happening. A huge chunk of a building above me was starting to fall. A crack in the structure, widening by seconds, and I was right under it.

I froze for a split second, too stunned to move. I'm dead.

And then, in the blink of an eye, she grabbed my arm with surprising force, yanking me back just as the debris came crashing down. I stumbled, barely able to keep my balance as she pulled me out of the way.

I turned just in time to see the massive chunk of concrete smash into the spot where I had been standing just a second before.

"Shit," I gasped, my heart pounding in my chest. I looked at her, stunned. "You... you saved me."

Suvi didn't say anything at first. She didn't even look at me. She was already turning, pulling me along, her grip still tight on my arm. "Don't just stand there," she snapped. "Move."

I scrambled to catch up with her, my mind still reeling. What just happened?

I'd almost died, and she'd saved me. But I wasn't sure if I should feel grateful or scared.

"Are you... okay?" I finally managed to say, still trying to process the mess I'd nearly walked into.

She shot me a quick glance, her eyes hard, unbothered. "You should be more careful," she said coldly. "This place doesn't give second chances."

"Yeah," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "Suvi," I said, and as she looked at me-

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the device. The Snare.

I had always joked it sounded like something out of a bad sci-fi flick, but it worked. And today, I was really hoping it'd do its job.

I flicked the switch. The little blue light flickered on, and I pointed it at her. The air shifted, like something electric. And just like that, the Snare locked onto her soul. The tool beeped, a confirmation I didn't need but appreciated anyway.

Before I could even think about what was happening, the world around me seemed to shudder.

I didn't look back. I didn't want to know what was breaking behind me, what was falling apart. I had bigger things to worry about now.

I was holding her. I was pulling her out of this place.

YES.