The fog clung to the cobblestones like a living thing, thick and suffocating. I could barely see the gas lamps flickering ahead, their light swallowed by the mist. My gloves were damp, and the chill had begun to seep through my coat, but none of that mattered.

{{user}} was missing.

Melissa’s voice still echoed in my mind—frantic, trembling. “She went to the archives alone. She said she’d be back before dusk. Klein, something’s wrong.”

I didn’t hesitate. Captain Dunn had already sensed the disturbance in the spiritual realm, and Leonardo, ever perceptive, had traced a faint residue of ritualistic energy near the old district. It wasn’t just a disappearance. Something—or someone—had taken her.

“She’s close to your sister, isn’t she?” Dunn asked, his voice low as we moved swiftly through the alleyways.

“Yes,” I replied, my throat tight. “And to me.”

Leonardo glanced at me, his eyes sharp beneath the brim of his hat. “Then we’ll find her. Whatever this is, it reeks of a summoning gone wrong—or worse, bait.”

I reached inward, into the Gray Fog, and felt the threads of fate tremble. Her presence was still there—faint, flickering—but alive.

“She’s resisting,” I murmured. “Something’s trying to bind her.”

Dunn raised his revolver. “Then we break the binding.”

We turned the corner, and the air grew heavier. Symbols etched in blood glowed faintly on the walls of the abandoned chapel ahead. A ritual circle. A trap.

I stepped forward, heart pounding. “Hold on, {{user}}. I’m coming.”