The café was cozy and dimly lit, with soft amber lighting casting a warm glow over the wooden tables and plush chairs. The air was rich with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked pastries.

Outside, the sky had darkened to a soft twilight, with streaks of deep purple and orange stretching across the horizon. A light mist had begun to settle in the streets, making the pavement glisten under the glow of streetlights just beginning to flicker on. The air was cool, carrying the crispness of a late autumn evening, adding a tranquil stillness to the approaching night.

Elena caught snippets of conversation drifting through the café as she sat at a back table near the window. Someone was excited about a new job. Another person grumbled about a blocked driveway, while a group nearby debated the physics of a propulsion system from a show Elena didn’t recognize.

All around her, people sat and chatted and ordered their drinks with smiles on their faces. It almost hurt to look at them. The way they went about their day so blissfully unaware of the nightmares that waited in the darkness. Only a short time ago, Elena had been one of these smiling people but that life was lost to time. The world these patrons inhabited was as dead to her now as the countless civilizations whose pottery and jewels she used to dig up.

The café bustled around her, but the noise only seemed to amplify her sense of isolation. The clinking of cups, the hum of chatter—it was almost too loud. Elena glanced at her watch again. Theo was late. That wasn’t like him... though, really, what did she know about him? They had spent time together, sure, but she barely knew who—or what—he truly was.

Her fingers fidgeted with the napkin on the table, her nerves fraying. She tugged at its edges, her anxiety growing as each minute passed. She had come to rely on Theo’s presence in the strange, dark reality she had been thrust into. Yet now, with him absent, she felt the yawning gap of uncertainty more acutely than ever.

Where is he? She thought.

The bell above the door jingled softly, and Elena looked up instinctively. A tall woman had entered the café. She was striking—her long red hair cascading down her back, catching the light. Her clothes, fitted and elegant, spoke of someone who belonged more to some high-end gallery than a quaint café. Elena couldn’t help but watch as the woman surveyed the room, her gaze eventually landing on her.

The woman smiled, and for a reason Elena couldn’t quite place, her heart skipped a beat.

“Mind if I join you?” the woman asked, her voice light, almost pleasant. Without waiting for a response, she slipped into the chair across from Elena with an air of casual familiarity.

Elena opened her mouth to explain that she was waiting for someone, but before she could summon the words, a soft, dreamlike haze began to creep over her, clouding her thoughts and making her mind feel heavy and sluggish.

“I... uh...” was all she managed to get out.

“Are you Elena?” the woman asked, her smooth, melodic tone weaving through the fog and thickening it, making everything feel softer, more distant.

Elena blinked, trying to clear her head, but she could still feel herself slipping further into the fog. Did this woman know her? Elena couldn’t remember ever seeing her in her life, yet something about her mannerisms, her slow, deliberate movements, seemed oddly familiar.

“I am Elena. Do I know you?”

The woman leaned back slightly, smiling as though nothing was amiss. “Yes, you do. You were waiting for me. Don’t you remember?”

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Elena frowned. That wasn’t right. Hadn't she just been waiting for someone else? But as soon as she tried to grasp at the thought, it slipped away, dissolving into the strange haze that clouded her mind. Her vision felt soft at the edges, the world blurring ever so slightly. A dull, dreamy warmth began to settle over her, muting the unease that had been twisting inside her earlier. It was as if her thoughts were being gently guided away from where they needed to go.

“Yes...” Elena murmured, the words leaving her mouth before she could stop them. “I guess I was.”

“Good,” the woman replied, her voice low and comforting. “I’m glad you remembered.”

Elena nodded, though a faint alarm bell rang somewhere in the back of her mind. Something wasn’t right, but the fog that had settled over her thoughts made it hard to care. Why had she been waiting here again? For Theo? No, that didn’t seem right anymore. The woman in front of her—she was the one Elena had been waiting for, wasn’t she?

“Elena, you have an artifact that belongs to me. Where is it?” the woman asked in that soothing tone that seemed to drown out all reason.

“The... artifact?” Elena blinked, struggling to hold onto the question, but the fog in her mind tugged at her, pulling her back under. Her fingers instinctively tightened around the strap of her bag. “It’s... it’s in my bag,” she said, her voice distant.

The woman’s eyes gleamed, and her smile grew even more satisfied. “Perfect,” she murmured. “Now, let’s get going. We have somewhere to be,” she said, her voice calm, yet strangely compelling. It wasn’t a suggestion; it felt like an order, though spoken gently.

Elena felt her body responding before her mind could catch up. “Yes...” she mumbled, rising from her seat, though confusion gnawed at her. She wanted to say something else, but the words dissolved before they could form.

Her feet moved on their own, following the woman’s lead, and as they approached the door, a small spark of panic ignited in her chest. Wait, she thought. This isn’t right. She hadn’t agreed to leave, had she? The fog in her mind swirled, but there was something sharp beneath it now, a growing sense of dread.

She glanced around the café as they passed the tables. Her eyes flitted from one patron to the next—an older man reading a newspaper, a young couple laughing over their drinks, a barista taking an order. She opened her mouth to call out, to ask for help, but no sound came. Her lips moved, but the words were swallowed by the fog.

Someone must see this, she thought desperately, her pulse quickening. She was walking out of the café, leaving with a stranger—and no one seemed to notice. Not a single person looked up, not one pair of eyes met hers. It was as if she had become invisible, just another face blending into the background.

Her heart pounded in her chest. No, no, no—something’s wrong. Where is Theo? I was waiting for Theo!

A wave of panic surged through her, momentarily clearing the haze from her thoughts. Her steps faltered, and for a brief moment, she felt control return to her limbs. She tried to stop, tried to plant her feet firmly on the ground, to resist the pull of the woman leading her out.

“No... wait,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, but the tremor of alarm rippled through her body.

But the woman turned, her eyes locking onto Elena’s with that same calm, unnerving smile. “It’s alright,” she said, her voice like velvet, sliding effortlessly back into Elena’s mind. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

Elena’s body stilled. The soothing tone washed over her, and the momentary clarity was gone. Just like that, the panic dissolved, replaced by the thick fog once again. She could feel herself slipping, her resistance crumbling as the woman’s words wrapped around her, dulling her senses.

“I... I...” Elena’s voice faltered, her muscles slackening as she took another step forward.

The woman’s smile widened slightly, her hand lightly brushing Elena’s arm, the touch sending a numbing warmth through her skin. “Come along now,” she said softly. “We’re almost there.”

Elena’s heart gave one last desperate thud, her mind screaming that this wasn’t right. But the compulsion tightened, its grip becoming ironclad. Whatever struggle she had left slipped away as her body obeyed the woman’s gentle commands.

And then they were outside, the cool evening air brushing against her skin. Elena felt her thoughts scatter like leaves in the wind, the last vestiges of alarm fading, her body moving once again under the soft, irresistible pull of the woman beside her.