The explosion had ripped through the Lower District like a mad animal, ripping buildings to shreds and sending clouds of ash and smoke flying down the streets. The night sky was red, embers glowing like fireflies in the darkness.
Asher's ears still throbbed from the shockwave as he ran through the wreckage, his gasping breath. He couldn't even see through the smoke, but he didn't slow down. The Guild army would be re-organizing again soon—and if they were taken, they were dead.
"Seraphine! Revik!" he yelled, his voice barely audible over the far-off roar of burning buildings.
A shadow moved through the smoke. Then Seraphine emerged, coughing, a streak of soot across her cheek.
"That was—" she gasped, "—probably the stupidest thing we've ever done."
Asher smirked. "And yet, we're still alive."
Revik appeared next, shaking dust from his silver hair. His usual composure was gone—he looked exhausted, but there was a glint of admiration in his eyes.
I'll tell you," Revik replied. "I didn't think we'd make it out of that one."
Seraphine wiped the sweat from her brow, her fires burning weakly. "We won't survive the next fight if we don't take a break and catch our breath somewhere."
Asher agreed. "Yes. The Guild won't let us alone after this. We need to go underground.".
They marched quickly through the devastated quarter, employing chaos and devastation to move undetected by patrols. The Guild warriors kept running around trying to contain the fire, their efforts split between pursuing rebels and preventing the whole sector from burning.
It was a perfect diversion.
Revik guided them through a system of underground tunnels—ancient smuggling tunnels, now repurposed as Black Dawn escape tunnels.
Asher pushed through standing water, the air heavy with the odor of mold and iron. The further they went, the more still the city grew, the far-off uproar muffled to silence.
Not until they were sure they weren't being trailed did they pause to catch their breath.
Revik leaned back against the wall of the tunnel, arms folded. "We need a new headquarters. The Hollow Fang has been destroyed."
Seraphine snarled. "It took months to arrange that."
Asher breathed out. "We'll rebuild, but we have to know something first. That Architect wasn't looking for me alone. There's something bigger at stake."
Revik's face went dark. "I think I can figure out where to begin."
A couple of hours had passed, and they stood in a secret tavern in the Undermarket heart of the city—the lawless area where smugglers, mercenaries, and information brokers ruled.
The atmosphere was heavy with smoke and hidden promises. Hooded men stood in the shadows, trading gold for secrets, and armed men stood guard.
A scar-faced bartender eyed them up and down as they entered. "Back door," he muttered, nodding towards a secret doorway. "They're waiting for you."
Asher's stomach clenched. He hated going into secret meetings, but they had no other option at the moment.
They proceeded as instructed by the bartender, and they entered into a room with dim lighting through a sitting room full of masked men seated about a gigantic wooden table.
Sitting at the table's end was an individual who possessed a golden eye but a single mechanical arm.
Revik replied first. "Ardyn."
The man grinned. "Revik. Long time."
Seraphine crossed her arms. "No niceties. We need information."
Ardyn rocked back in his chair, his grin disappearing. "To business, eh? Okay. Ask me something."
Asher advanced. "The Architects. What are they up to?"
The room grew silent.
Ardyn's smile vanished. His golden eye twitched, considering Asher's value.
Then he shrugged. "You don't know, do you?"
Revik raised an eyebrow. "Know what?"
Ardyn exhaled, drumming his metal fingers against the table. "The Guild isn't merely growing its influence. The Architects are getting ready to do something. huge."
Asher's heart beat like a drum. "How huge?"
Ardyn didn't answer, instead unrolling a map of the city and spreading it flat on the table.
"The Architects have been constructing something known as The Nexus Gate."
Asher furrowed his brow. "What is it?"
Ardyn met his gaze. "A doorway. A direct path from this city. and whatever hell the Architects originated from."
The words seemed to hang in the air like a death sentence.
Seraphine's fists clenched. "They're going to attack?"
Ardyn nodded, his expression grim. "Not an attack. A wholesale conquest. The Guild wants to remake this world, and the Nexus Gate is how they will accomplish it."
Asher's head spun. The Architects weren't just manipulating the Guild—they were employing it as a means to alter reality itself.
If they succeeded, there would be no city to rescue.
Revik drew a cold breath. "Where is this Gate?"
Ardyn's cybernetic fingers tapped the map. "The center of the city. The Cathedral District."
Seraphine swore. "That's the most guarded place in the entire city."
Asher's teeth clenched. "Then we require an entry."
Ardyn grinned. "That's where things get complicated. The Gate isn't functional yet—but when it is, the city's defenses will break from the inside out."
Revik's gaze narrowed. "You're telling me that we don't just have to get in. We have to attack them before they can finish it."
Ardyn nodded.
Seraphine folded her arms. "We have a timeline, then."
Asher's mind was already racing. This changed everything.
Fighting the Guild was one thing. Stopping an Architect-level catastrophe was something else.
They needed help. They needed a plan.
And they needed it quickly.
Asher glanced at his men. Revik, battle-hardened from decades of rebellion. Seraphine, shattered but not broken.
This was no longer about survival.
This was war.
He turned to face Ardyn once more. "How much time do we have?"
Ardyn's golden eye flashed. A mere three weeks.
Asher drew a deep breath. "Then let's begin."