18th December (Thursday), close to midnight

It were moments of raw inevitability, those kinds of moments that only gravity can make. That quiet tension before the fall, when you know it will happen, and the only mystery left is when.

The same sensation filled the air before me, just a few feet away, as Equinox pulled its twin closer. At first, the movement was slow, deliberate, almost hesitant, but with every inch closed, the pull grew stronger. Soon, they were spinning around each other, two bodies caught in an invisible orbit, until like a collapsing star their paths converged.

A burst of shadowlight erupted between them, blazing upward through the broken ceiling like a solar flare. The light twisted in hues of blue, navy, silver, grey, white, and turquoise in a living, breathing, hissing energy.

Then came the contact.

For the briefest instant, both weapons touched, just long enough for the world to stop. An implosion of air followed, sucking everything inward before a wave of radiant force burst outward, light and sound and presence, sweeping across the entire Domain like a shadowed tsunami. Nothing was broken, though; no destruction followed. Instead, everything glowed with ethereal brilliance before the light retreated, drawn back to the single point where both guns had once met.

When the energy finally settled, only one object remained on the podium.

Light still fumed from it in the form of soft, smoky tendrils of silver and blue mist curling into the air.

It was still a pistol… but no longer just that.

I could feel it. Its Authority mingled with mine, resonating deep within my chest. It bore the same pulse as my magic. That of creation. But there was something else now, a sharp edge beneath the harmony. A quiet, restrained fury. A hunger to unmake what it painted.

"It looks so much different now," Sophie whispered beside me, awe softening her voice. "What was that about?"

"I think…" I exhaled slowly, still watching the faint shimmer dance across its surface, "it was what's called reclaiming. I didn't know it could happen with objects, though."

"What is that, exactly?"

"It's when someone or something as it turns out, from your world meets its counterpart from ours. They merge. Become one whole." I paused, lowering my voice. "I don't fully understand the results."

But the evidence sat before me, transformed.

The new Noxy was an amalgamation of dream and reality, familiar yet otherworldly. The trigger remained, the guard, the grip, but gone was the old slide. The barrel had elongated, its surface overlaid by a crystalline structure like a spider frozen mid-motion, encased in a silvery, mercury-like film. Metallic limbs arched from it, clutching the weapon's body in a delicate but unbreakable hold.

And at the very front, where the sight should have been, one alien eye stared facing forward. Its sclera black, its iris swirling like a nebula. It looked. It saw.

The rest of the barrel shimmered with faint magnetic coils, real and mechanical, and I couldn't help but wonder if it still fired bullets or something far stranger. Yet beneath those coils stretched a blank canvas, white and untouched, covering the weapon's frame like waiting skin.

It wanted to be painted.

It wanted to create.

And somewhere deep beneath that creative urge pulsed a quiet promise of destruction.

I called it into my hand, and it obeyed instantly. Fluid and seamless, like an extension of my will. My Authority still pulsed within it, woven into the weapon's very essence. It wasn't just mine anymore; it was part of me.

Liora came darting back in as soon as the light show began, his excitement tangible. He hovered above me, circling the gun and myself like an anxious guardian. I could feel his curiosity hum through the air. He wanted to touch it, to understand what I had just brought into being.

The bond was unmistakable. I tried, briefly, to pull my Authority back out from within the weapon, but it resisted me. It belonged there now, permanently anchored. That likely meant my homing rounds wouldn't work anymore, but that was something I'd have to test. And what better proving ground than the safety of my own universe?

I ejected the magazine and gave it a look. It was unchanged. Still the same mundane 9mm bullets, despite the weapon's new, alien shape that seemed far more suited for firing metallic rods. Shrugging, I slid the magazine back in and turned the gun slightly, studying its new form.

The eye, which had been open when the weapon first emerged from the light, was now sealed beneath a smooth layer of metallic membrane and crystalline shards. The entire upper portion—the one reminiscent of a spider's body—was dormant, glinting faintly with inner veins of shadowlight.

Curiosity got the better of me. I tapped the eyelid gently with my fingertip. Nothing. It stayed closed, unmoving and sleeping perhaps?

Yet I could feel it breathing in its own strange way, pulsing in time with my Domain and the rhythm of my heart.

I closed my eyes and reached inward, tracing the network of links woven through my aura. The bond was there. Strong, clear and one-way. It accepted me as its source, its maker. But beneath that, I sensed something distinct—a mind. Not quite human, not quite machine. Something animal. Alive. The kind of presence that reminded me of my Lóng.

"I'd like to test how it shoots," I said aloud, glancing over at Sophie. "Wanna join me, girl?"

She hesitated, smiling nervously. "I think so. Is it dangerous?"

"I sure as hell hope so," I replied with a grin, raising the pistol slightly. "But don't worry, I'll point it the other way."

"Okay, let's see it. It's interesting to see you work."

"Well, aren't you sweet," I said, smirking before turning to Liora. "Go outside, near the ground, snakey."

He darted off like a flash of lightning, phasing straight through the roof. A few seconds later, I felt him settle on the other side of the wall, a bright pulse in my senses. I reached for Sophie's shadowself, touched her, and in a breath, we were both standing under an open sky.

Her eyes went wide immediately. Above us stretched a night made of velvet and silver. Countless stars burning like distant souls, with a single, perfect moon hanging above. Its light washed over the barren ground of my Domain, painting everything in a pale, otherworldly glow.

"I don't remember ever seeing so many stars at once," she said softly. "And only one moon face too. What's up with that?"

"That's closer to how it looks in my world," I replied, weighing Noxy in my hand. It was a strange sensation, lighter and heavier all at once. The physical weight had eased, but its presence pressed against the world, demanding it bend to its will. I liked it. That quiet, restrained power humming beneath the surface.

"You think I could make a shot?" Sophie asked, half-teasing, half-serious.

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"Oh, Sophie," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not even sure I can handle it. The last version nearly shattered my arm when it fired."

She stepped back instantly, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Then do the honors. I'll just watch from a very safe distance. Do ambulances come in here?"

"Funny much, Soph?" I grinned, reminded for a brief moment of my banter with Nick, a ghost of a connection this version of her would never know.

I sighed, then began undressing until I was down to my underwear.

"What are you doing? You afraid your clothes will get destroyed?" she asked, watching with a mix of amusement and mild alarm.

"Not exactly," I said, straightening up. "I just need a little more strength."

With a flick of thought, my suit materialized, clinging tight, sleek and sharp, a perfect merge of magic and cloth. It clicked into place along my arms and spine, humming softly as its magic gave me a boost. The hood and mask stayed off; I didn't want to spook her too much.

"Wow," Sophie murmured. "That's the same suit I saw you in last time, right?"

"Upgraded version," I said, checking my grip on Noxy. "And no Usagi mask this time."

I leveled the weapon toward the edge of my Domain, focusing on the stabilizers attached to my arms and legs. The ones crafted by the artisans Sophie had found. I willed them to become real, and immediately felt a surge of power course through my limbs, anchoring me in place. "Ready or not," I said, feeling the tension coil through me like a storm waiting to break.

Then, with a breath steady enough to calm my nerves, I pulled the trigger—

—and what followed was a cascade of events that unfolded in an instant, yet stretched into eternity. Each moment fractured into smaller pieces of perception, as if the world itself wanted me to witness every single detail of what I had just unleashed.

First came the whisper.

"The night reigns, so do I."

The voice was rasped metal, ancient, hollow, and vibrating through the core of my being. It didn't pass through air or sound; it resonated directly within the fabric that made me me, carried along the link binding my soul to the weapon's will.

Then came the implosion—silent, yet all-consuming. The air shuddered inward as the darkness around the handgun was drawn in, sucked away until the world stood bare. And for the briefest moment, what remained wasn't absence, but something truer: light in its purest form. Not the light that shines through darkness, but the one that exists after it, when the veil of nothingness itself has been burned away.

That stolen night condensed, spiraling around the barrel's fused canvas. Equinox blackened completely, drinking in every trace of shadow. The coils along its spine began to hum, one after another, each pulse feeding into the next until the entire weapon trembled like a living heart preparing to strike. The spider-like limbs wrapped tighter, channeling magnetic power, and the bullet within was hurled forward—

—at impossible speed.

The recoil hit like a storm. The stabilizers on my arms and legs flared with white shadowlight, their enchantments straining to contain the shockwave. For a second, they held… then shattered. My Authority slipped, my body flung backward as raw force tore through me. I hit the ground hard, the breath punched out of my lungs.

But even before I landed, I saw it.

The world tore.

The shot screamed through the air, leaving behind a trail of black paint tore right off its canvas-covered barrel and a sonic boom that shook the bones of my Domain. Sophie dropped to her knees, hands clamped over her ears, eyes wide. When the projectile struck the invisible boundary of this place, space itself cracked. Thin, web-like fractures spreading across reality like shattered glass. From within, veins of shadowlight seeped out, writhing for a moment before my Universe, loyal as ever, stitched itself shut again.

Silence followed.

I lay there, sprawled on the cold ground, arms spread wide, the aftershock still thrumming through my bones. My arms ached; my legs were heavy; but nothing was broken. I was alive.

And I was grinning.

Noxy had evolved, become something far beyond its former self. It drew power not just from me, but from the night itself, feeding on the unseen to amplify its force. And as I stared at the weapon, still faintly glowing, I knew this wasn't all.

That shot was destruction made beautiful, but somewhere deep inside, beneath the hum of shadowlight, I felt it. A whisper of potential yet untouched.

Noxy could do more.

It simply wasn't time yet.

"That was much worse than I imagined!" Sophie shouted, clutching her head as she staggered to her feet.

There was a faint red line running down from her ear. My pulse spiked. I jumped up and rushed to her, catching her face gently in my hands as I tilted her head to inspect it.

"What are you doing!?" she barked, wincing as I turned her toward the light.

"You're bleeding, Soph! Are you okay?"

"I'm a little dizzy, but fine," she said, steadying herself on my arm. Her voice trembled slightly, but she tried to play it off with a shaky grin. "This thing is a cannon!"

She pointed at Noxy, lying half-buried in the dust where I'd dropped it. Even from here, the weapon pulsed faintly. Almost breathing like a beast that had just roared and now waited for its master's command.

I reached withing my aura, and Noxy blinked back into my hand, humming with energy. "Yeah," I said, running a thumb along the new metallic texture of its frame. "And I feel like that shot was only part of what he can do now. But…" I frowned. "He lost his ability to act like a normal gun, which sucks."

"What do you mean?"

"Before, I could tone it down, make him behave like an ordinary firearm when needed. Controlled power, no recoil that could shatter bones." I looked at her, then back at the weapon. "Now? It's impossible. He's… all in, all the time. I'll have to adapt."

Sophie's eyes flicked to the weapon, curiosity overtaking fear. "Did it open its eye during the shot?"

"I don't think so." I turned Noxy slightly, brushing the still-closed eyelid embedded in its frame. "But everything happened too fast. It might've blinked without me noticing. Still… I'm happy."

"Happy?"

"He became something more," I said, a small smile tugging at my lips. "Something touched by my art. Maybe even by me."

Sophie looked at the weapon thoughtfully, then at me. "Maybe this gun is the one dreaming of you."

I followed her gaze to the distant place where the Domain had cracked, the faint shimmer still visible like a scar in the air. "Maybe it is," I murmured.

Then, softer, "I need to prepare to infiltrate a fort tonight. I'm… excited. And terrified in equal parts."

"Why do you have to do this?"

I gave a half-laugh, half-sigh and reached out to her shoulder, teleporting us both back onto the couch within the Domain. The world folded and rebuilt itself around us in a blink.

"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" I said, leaning back, Noxy resting across my lap. "I think… it's just another challenge I've set for myself. My whole life's been about those. Every theft, every trick, it was never really for the money. It was about the thrill, the test. Seeing if I could."

I turned the weapon over, watching how the shadowlight rippled along its spine.

"It's the same now. I'm still testing myself, but the stakes changed. Instead of stealing, I'm breaking in, investigating, fighting. Measuring myself against what the worlds can throw at me. I keep saying it's for others, for Jason, to save him from whatever fate he's facing…"

My voice trailed off for a moment.

"…but maybe I'm also still chasing that same old thing, trying to prove that I can."

"Jason Smith?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"Yes," I said and the realization hit me like a train slamming into my chest. If there was a shadow version of Sophie and me… then there could be a shadow Jason too. "Is he okay, in your world?"

Sophie's expression darkened immediately. "No, actually. He disappeared a couple of days ago, taken by the Unreflected. It's big news."

My pulse quickened. "You know about the Unreflected? Big news how?" I moved closer to her, my voice dropping low.

"Yes. They're a major problem here. The Mirrored City still hangs above us, and people are sick of their kidnappings. Almost everyone they take… ends up gone for good."

"Almost?"

"Some people were released after the Solitary God was called before the Supreme Justice in the past," she explained. "Jason's case is big news because of that. His family's influential in the law and his father petitioned the Supreme Justice herself to summon the Solitary God for trial. It's ongoing right now, and until it's resolved, Jason's fate is in limbo. If the Solitary God loses, they'll have to release him."

Her words hammered through me, each one heavier than the last. That meant Jason's transformation hadn't begun yet. Joan's story that it was already happening was a lie.

"What's the status of this trial?" I asked sharply. "Do you know?"

"Only rumors," Sophie said. "Next hearing's supposed to be Tuesday next week. They're calling witnesses to counter the Solitary Twin's claim over him."

I frowned. "How can they even have a claim in the first place?"

"It's a god," she said simply. "If someone falls into their Domain, they can claim them through the usual divine channels. Jason's parents are arguing that he didn't fall, that he was even, balanced, and shouldn't have been taken."

That tracked. If the Alexa of this world was nothing like me, if she was good, kind, then Jason would've had no imbalance to tip him into the mirrored grasp. Which meant those self-righteous, reflective bastards probably needed both versions of him to complete whatever process they'd started.

And that meant I had a chance. A narrow, dangerous, beautiful chance to save him.

"Where's the Supreme Justice?" I asked.

"The court's at 60 Centre Street, the Country Supreme Court," she replied. Right near the Brooklyn Bridge. Not far from the crossing we took to the Mirrored City itself.

"And the Solitary Twin has to be there in person?"

"Of course," Sophie said, nodding. "When a god faces another, custom demands it."

I felt a grin forming, slow and sharp. "Good. Then I have my window."

"To do what?"

I looked past her, through the walls of my Domain, to the horizon that was no real horizon at all. "To make a plan," I said. "To bring Jason home."

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