Sector D - 4:42 AM.
Kaien walked out of the catacombs with ash on his sleeves and fire in his veins.
His steps were slower now—not from exhaustion, but from change. Every movement felt sharper. Clearer. Like the world had tilted, and he was the only one who noticed.
The mask was wrapped in cloth and stuffed deep into his backpack. But he could feel it pulsing.
It wasn't just an item.
It was alive.
And it was watching him.
---
When Kaien reached the surface, dawn was just starting to bleed across the sky, painting the broken buildings in a soft orange haze.
He slipped past patrol drones, jumped a crumbled wall, and made his way back to the rooftop where Zaira had been waiting.
She wasn't asleep.
She was pacing.
The moment she saw him, she rushed over.
"You idiot—!"
Kaien blinked. "Good morning to you too."
"You were gone for three hours. You said five minutes!"
"I got... distracted."
Zaira looked him over. Dirt on his face. Blood on his knuckles. And his eyes—brighter than before. Focused. Hungry.
"What did you find down there?" she asked.
Kaien unzipped his bag halfway and let her peek inside.
She saw the mask.
Zaira froze.
"…That's not from this era."
"Nope."
"It's calling to something."
"I know."
They locked eyes.
Neither of them said the word—but both knew it.
Relic.
Zaira stepped back, tension running up her spine. "Kaien. This isn't street-level anymore. You're in deep."
He nodded.
"I think that was always the plan."
---
Elsewhere — The Hall of Glass
Far above the slums, in a tower that scraped the clouds, a figure knelt in front of a dozen translucent screens—each showing a different part of the city. His face was hidden behind a silver veil, and his fingers glided through the air like a conductor shaping a symphony of surveillance.
One screen flickered.
Paused.
Zoomed in.
Kaien.
The moment the boy touched the mask.
The figure tilted his head.
"Interesting."
Another voice echoed from the shadows. Sharp. Female. Dangerous.
"Is he one of ours?"
"No."
"Then should I erase him?"
The veiled man chuckled. "Not yet. He's the first to wake something in decades. Let's see what kind of fire he really has."
He reached toward the screen, tapped it once—
> TARGET FLAGGED: ASCENSION POTENTIAL
The game had begun.
---
Back in the Slums — Kaien's Hideout
Kaien and Zaira returned to their shared hideout, an old repurposed train car welded to a rooftop frame. Inside: maps, stolen tech, ration packs, and a makeshift bed.
Zaira shut the door behind them.
"I need answers," she said, folding her arms.
Kaien took a breath, then told her everything.
The mark.
The mask.
The voice.
The fire.
He even demonstrated Breath of Embers—lighting his fist for a moment before snuffing it out.
Zaira didn't blink once during the explanation.
Finally, she sat down and muttered, "You're turning into something real scary, Nox."
"I'm not the one we should be scared of."
"What do you mean?"
Kaien stood by the window, looking out at the city skyline—the towers that ruled over them, the gates that never opened for people like him.
"They'll feel it," he whispered. "Whoever they are. Whatever they're hiding up there."
"They're going to come looking?"
He nodded.
"Let them."
---
Underground — The Ember Vault
Back in the chamber Kaien left behind, the shattered body of the shadow-creature twitched.
Its screen face flickered once.
Then again.
The symbols on its surface rearranged into a shape.
Not random.
Not broken.
A single, burning eye.
Watching.
---