Lukas's hands were still trembling as he followed Felix down the winding streets.
The morning fog was thinner than usual, but the town still felt off—like something was pressing down on it, smothering it beneath an unseen weight. The sky was dull gray, colorless, like an old photograph that had started to fade.
He tried to shake off the lingering nausea in his chest. His reflection had smiled at him.
That wasn't something he could just move past.
Felix walked ahead, moving with his usual unbothered ease, hands tucked into his coat pockets.
Lukas clenched his jaw. "Where are we going?"
Felix didn't look back. "To get you an anchor."
Lukas exhaled through his nose. "And you couldn't have told me what that is?"
Felix hummed thoughtfully. "Would you have understood?"
Lukas narrowed his eyes. "Try me."
Felix slowed slightly, glancing at him. "An anchor is something that roots you to this world. Something that can pull you back if you start slipping."
Lukas swallowed. "And what happens if I don't get one?"
Felix gave him a look. "Then we get to find out how long it takes before you disappear completely."
Lukas tensed.
Felix smirked slightly. "Not a fan of that option?"
Lukas muttered a curse under his breath, but kept walking.
---
They arrived at an old church.
Lukas hesitated at the base of the stone steps. The building loomed over them, its structure aged and weathered, the once-grand stained glass now dark and lifeless.
He turned to Felix. "A church?"
Felix shrugged. "It's not about faith. It's about memory."
Lukas frowned. "What does that mean?"
Felix didn't answer. He simply stepped forward, pushing open the heavy wooden doors.
The inside was cold and empty. Dust hung in the air, illuminated by the soft light filtering through the cracked windows. Wooden pews stretched in neat rows, and at the front, a simple altar stood beneath an enormous, arched window.
It should've felt sacred. Instead, it just felt… forgotten.
Felix walked to the center of the room, then turned. "This place has been here longer than anyone can remember. The town shifts, things disappear, but somehow, this church stays."
Lukas crossed his arms. "And that matters because?"
Felix raised an eyebrow. "Because memory is power here."
Lukas clenched his jaw. "I don't get it."
Felix sighed. "You're slipping because you've been seen. The Hollow, that thing in the alley—they recognized you. And this town is already unstable as it is."
Lukas swallowed. He already knew that. He felt it.
Felix stepped forward. "You need something stronger than them. Something that remembers you more than they do."
Lukas narrowed his eyes. "And what, I'm supposed to just… make something remember me?"
Felix smirked. "Exactly."
Lukas let out a short, humorless laugh. "That's insane."
Felix shrugged. "So is disappearing."
Lukas hated that he had a point.
---
They sat on the floor of the church's main hall, the dust settling around them.
Felix placed a small metal coin in front of Lukas. It was old, worn smooth by time, its engravings barely visible.
"This is how you start," Felix said simply.
Lukas stared at the coin, then at Felix. "A coin?"
Felix nodded. "A keepsake. Something real, something solid."
Lukas hesitated, then picked it up. The metal was cool against his skin, heavier than it should've been.
Felix watched him carefully. "Now, you need to tie yourself to it."
Lukas frowned. "How?"
Felix smirked. "Think about what makes you real."
Lukas's grip on the coin tightened.
He closed his eyes.
His name. Lukas Hartmann. His mother. Helena. His sister. Eliza. Their house, the feeling of the wooden floor beneath his feet, the sound of his mother humming while cooking.
The cold nights working late. The books he used to read, the curiosity that never let him stay in one place.
His mind reached, grasping at his existence, at the things that proved he was real.
Something shifted.
The coin grew warmer.
Lukas's eyes snapped open.
Felix was watching him. "There you go."
Lukas exhaled shakily. He felt different.
Like something inside him had just settled.
Felix leaned back. "That's an anchor."
Lukas stared at the coin in his palm. It was just a coin. And yet, it felt… solid. Stable. Like it couldn't be erased.
Felix smirked. "Good. Now we just have to make sure you don't fucking lose it."
Lukas scoffed, slipping the coin into his pocket. "No pressure."
Felix chuckled.
But then—
A loud knock echoed through the church doors.
Lukas and Felix both tensed.
Another knock. Harder this time.
Lukas's blood ran cold.
Felix muttered under his breath. "That's not good."
Lukas's pulse spiked. "Who—"
The doors creaked open.
And the faceless Hollow stood at the entrance.
Lukas's breath hitched. Its presence weighed on the air, warping the space around it. The room felt too small, too distorted, like reality was folding inward.
Felix moved first.
"Run."
Lukas didn't need to be told twice.
The Hollow lurched forward as they bolted toward the back exit. The heavy footfalls behind them were too fast, too unnatural, the sound of something moving through space in a way it shouldn't be able to.
Lukas nearly stumbled as Felix threw open a side door, shoving him forward.
They burst into the back courtyard, the cold air hitting Lukas like a slap.
Felix slammed the door behind them. "Move!"
Lukas ran.
The fog clawed at his ankles, the air warping behind them. The Hollow didn't follow immediately—but Lukas knew it wasn't gone.
Felix turned sharply. "That anchor better be fucking strong."
Lukas's fingers pressed against the coin in his pocket.
He hoped so too.