The footsteps continued.
Slow.
Steady.
Closer.
Everyone in the valley stayed silent.
Even the strange figure beside Feroz stopped moving completely.
The fog near the broken entrance shifted softly.
Then—
someone appeared.
A girl.
Maybe close to Feroz's age.
Wearing dark clothes covered lightly with dust from travel.
Her long hair moved softly in the cold wind as she stepped into the valley without fear.
Haroon frowned immediately.
"...how did she get in here?"
No one answered.
Because they were wondering the same thing.
The boundary around Feroz should have reacted.
Should have stopped her.
But it didn't.
Not even slightly.
The girl looked around calmly.
Her eyes passed over Haroon.
Then Younus.
Then Zarqaan.
But the moment she looked at Feroz—
the strange pressure in the valley shifted.
Not stronger.
Softer.
Feroz noticed it instantly.
So did Younus.
The girl stopped several steps away from the boundary.
Unlike the others—
she didn't seem confused by it.
She looked directly at Feroz for a few quiet seconds.
Then finally spoke.
"...so it's true."
Her voice was calm.
But tired.
Like someone who had been searching for a long time.
Haroon stepped forward carefully.
"Who are you?"
The girl didn't answer him.
Her attention remained on Feroz.
And strangely—
Feroz felt something unfamiliar inside him.
Not fear.
Not pressure.
Relief.
Small.
But real.
That alone confused him.
The figure beside him shifted slightly.
For the first time since appearing—
it reacted differently.
Its posture became tense.
Almost uncertain.
Younus noticed immediately.
"...interesting."
Zarqaan's eyes narrowed.
"She shouldn't be able to stand there."
The girl finally looked toward them.
"I've been able to stand near broken spaces since I was a child."
Silence.
Haroon frowned harder.
"What does that even mean?"
She looked back at Feroz.
"It means I know what he's becoming."
Those words hit the valley heavily.
Feroz stared at her.
"...you know this?"
The girl nodded slowly.
"My brother changed the same way."
The air became still again.
Even the strange figure beside Feroz stopped moving completely now.
Younus stepped forward slightly.
"What happened to him?"
The girl's expression changed quietly.
Sadness.
Old sadness.
"He disappeared."
No one spoke after that.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
Not death.
Something worse.
Feroz looked down briefly.
Then back at her.
"...did he survive?"
The girl stayed silent for several seconds.
"I don't know."
That answer felt honest.
And somehow—
that made it heavier.
Haroon studied her carefully.
"Who are you?"
This time—
she answered.
"...My name is Haya."
Feroz noticed something immediately after she said it.
The pressure around him weakened slightly.
Not gone.
But quieter.
The constant pulling feeling inside his chest eased for the first time in days.
Haya noticed his expression.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
Feroz looked at her carefully.
"...what?"
"The noise."
He froze slightly.
Because that was exactly what it felt like.
Noise.
Constant.
Invisible.
Pulling at him every second.
Haya looked toward the strange figure beside him.
Then back at Feroz.
"The more afraid you become, the louder it gets."
Younus watched her carefully now.
Not with suspicion anymore.
With interest.
"How do you know these things?"
Haya answered quietly.
"Because I spent years trying to follow my brother after he crossed the threshold."
The word immediately caught Haroon's attention.
"...crossed?"
Haya nodded once.
"He stopped belonging to normal space."
Silence again.
Feroz slowly looked around the valley.
Then at the others standing farther away.
For the first time—
he realized something painful.
Maybe they really couldn't follow him where this was leading.
The strange figure suddenly moved again.
One small step closer to Feroz.
But this time—
Haya stepped forward too.
Immediately—
the figure stopped.
The valley became completely silent.
Even Zarqaan looked surprised now.
Haya kept her eyes on the figure calmly.
"...you're moving too fast."
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Watching her now.
Not Feroz.
Her.
Haroon stared carefully.
"...it reacted to her."
Younus nodded slowly.
"Yes."
And for the first time since the separation began—
something had interrupted the process naturally.
Not with force.
Not with power.
Just presence.
Feroz looked at Haya again.
"...who are you really?"
Haya finally looked directly into his eyes.
And for the first time—
Feroz saw it.
She was scared too.
Not of him.
For him.
"I think..." she said quietly,
"...I'm someone who's late."