The air shimmered.
Not with heat—but with memory. As if every molecule around them remembered being something else—someone else—at a different time. The moment Leon stepped forward into Floor 303, the ground beneath him sang softly, responding not to his footsteps… but to his presence.
The forge behind them sealed itself shut.
Gone was the arena.
Gone was the sky of Floor 302.
Now they stood in a half-broken cathedral built into a floating gear the size of a mountain. Above, fragmented domes of glass reflected not light—but fractured seconds. Timepieces hovered midair, ticking with no rhythm.
And ahead…
A shattered bridge led deeper into the Fracture Gateworks.
"This place feels…" Liliana murmured, trailing off as her voice echoed in reverse for a moment—like the floor didn't agree with the way sound worked here.
"Unstable," Roselia finished. Her eyes scanned the horizon. "And yet… perfectly still. Like time's holding its breath."
