Ash didn't answer.
He studied the man standing at the head of the silent procession. Not a weapon drawn. Not a threat in posture. Just calm steps forward. Robes dragging dirt. Glyphs alive with something colder than magic.
The man's voice came again.
"You don't remember me. That's expected."
Still, Ash said nothing.
"But I remember you. Or, rather, I remember what you were supposed to be."
That earned a flicker in Ash's expression—barely a twitch. But the man caught it.
"I'm not your enemy," he said. "I'm your reflection. Broken, yes. But I broke first. You just haven't hit the wall yet."
Ash adjusted his grip on the spear. His stance changed. Subtle. Precise. Ready to throw.
The man stopped.
"No need for that. I didn't come to fight."
The raiders behind him didn't move. Not one.
"They're not soldiers," the man continued. "They're fragments. Programs, some. Others are just willing vessels. What you'd call corrupted data, if you knew what you were made of."
Ash's muscles tensed.
"You're insane."
The man grinned.
"Am I? Then how do I know your name? No one else here does. Not even the boy with the slingshot who thinks he's your apprentice."
He took one more step forward.
"They left you behind. That's the truth, you know. You're a ghost inside borrowed armor. A shadow given weight. Still running even after the war ended."
Silence hung heavy.
Ash's voice came low.
"What do you want?"
The smile faded.
"To see if you're like me. If your mind breaks when the world forgets how to pretend."
Ash launched the spear.
It flew straight. Fast. Unerring.
The man didn't dodge.
The glyphs across his chest flared, and the spear stopped in mid-air. It vibrated for a breath, then dropped. The tip was shattered.
Ash was already moving.
He closed the distance in four strides, blade drawn from his back.
This time the man retreated. Not fast, but deliberate. He raised a hand, and the ground around him shimmered like heat off glass.
"Not yet," he said. "The system is still watching. It won't let either of us break the rules. Not completely."
Ash stopped at the edge of the ripple. The barrier burned the dirt beneath his boots. Not magic. Not a ward. Something older. Something mechanical.
The man tilted his head.
"I'll see you again, Ghost. When the simulation fails and the sky glitches red."
Then he was gone.
Not in a blink. Not in a flash.
Just gone.
The raiders vanished a moment later. No trace. No tracks.
Ash stood alone in the clearing, holding a blade that had never missed before.
Behind him, the wind started ticking again.
Four seconds on. Two off.