The two exited the church, looking around the decaying plaza.
"Hey, isn't it strange that everyone just… gone?" Eryndor asked, his arm glowing softly.
"Yeah…you're right…" Riven said quietly, looking intently into buildings, as if he were studying them. "Everyone must've taken shelter somewhere or be dead by now." His voice dropped to a low tone.
"Yeah, but there's not even a single person in sight? I mean, there has to be a reason for this, surely, right?" Eryndor said back, unaware of his surroundings.
The two walked deeper into the plaza, their boots crunching on the floor debris. Eventually, the two made their way to the center of the plaza.
"Let's not think about this right now; we have more important business at hand," Riven says, unslinging his harpoon, carrying it low in his hands.
"Hmm? What is it? Did you see something?"
"I have a feeling someone is following us," Riven replied, his voice becoming flat.
"And I have a feeling you're just seeing things," Eryndor said back.
For a brief moment, the noise of what sounded like a plate of armor came from near one of the many abandoned stalls around.
"Whatever, it'll be your funeral if you don't believe me."
"I mean, who would be this far out in the south sector, considering the situation?"
"Who knows? Just stay alert." Riven said, annoyed, shifting his head.
The two stand back to back, standing in the middle of the plaza, scanning each building and stall as thoroughly as they possibly could.
"So how do you just know we're being followed?" Eryndor said, sarcastically."You sure it's not you just hearing stuff?"
"No, because I just heard something," Riven said, narrowing his eyes, as if he locked on to something.
"Well, no shi-"
A sharp crack cut him off. Riven raised his speargun, firing it without a second thought.
The javelin flew through the sky, crashing into a nearby stall, splintering its wooden frame.
"...Tch. I missed."
Eryndor's heart sank for a moment, checking himself as if he were the one shot.
"Jeez, man, give me a warning next time! I mean, what the hell are you even shooting at-"
"Whoa! Hey! Calm down!" A man's voice shouted from around the stall.
Eryndor turned to face the stall, raising his fists. "Who the hell are you? And why are you following us!?" Saying in a panic.
The man appears from around the stall, his hands raised where they could see. He was tall and lean, the kind of build made from running a ton and surviving rather than training. The cloak he wore was torn and dusty like most in this region of the smolder.
His respirator was cracked; however, it was enough to get oxygen in without choking on all the ash outside. Under his hood, strands of white hair streaked with a mix of black hung down his face, being caught by the moonlight. His gear he carried looked thrown together in a hurry: armor with burn marks, a chest rig with some old pouches, and what looked like a makeshift rifle slung around his shoulder.
He moved with a quiet, steady confidence—like someone who'd seen far worse and learned to live through it.
"Relax, I'm not your enemy!" The man shouted, his voice slightly muffled from the filters of his mask.
Riven doesn't budge, keeping his weapon trained on the man.
"That's what someone who was following us would say." Riven said back.
The stranger sighed, lowering his hands a little. "Listen, I'll tell you why I'm following you in the first place."
Eyrndor and Riven turned to look at each other before looking back at the man. "Alright, go on, we're all ears," Eryndor says, still wary of the man.
The two listen, keeping their weapons trained on him.
The stranger smiles under his mask. "Does the name Liora ring any bells?"
"Liora?" Eryndor whispers to himself
"Yeah, what about her?" Eryndor shouts back to the man.
"Well, she sends her regards about how pissed she is, you two made quite the mess at the station. Half of the sector's crawling with Forgelings because of it."
Riven lowers his weapon slightly, dropping his voice.
"Then why didn't she come tell us herself?"
"Because she's trying to seal the gate before this whole place gets overrun by those metal monsters. But that's beside the point… she sent me to come and find you guys so we can regroup."
Eryndor exchanged a look over to Riven. "Guess that explains the part about being followed."
"Yeah, but it still doesn't explain why you were sneaking around in the first place rather than calling us out," Riven said, still unconvinced.
The man shrugged, "Last time I shouted someone's name, some big metal freak nearly took my leg off. The forgelings are crawling all over the streets now. You fire that thing again, and we'll be surrounded in no time."
Eryndor looked at the man with a determined expression. "He has a point, Riven, and considering our situation, we should probably believe him."
Riven lowered his weapon. "Fine. But if you're lying, I won't hesitate to kill you."
"As expected from the great Riven." The man walked closer to them. "The name's Shado, by the way."
"But just hold on, how can we know you're not just lying about knowing Liora?" Riven muttered, reloading his speargun and slinging it around his shoulders.
Shado raised his hand to tap the side of his mask, saying something inaudible beneath it, while looking at the two.
"I'm right here, you idiots. Shado there is one of my companions; if you follow him, he'll lead you straight to where I'm at." Liora's voice said, coming through the mask in a crackling tone.
Eryndor looks at Riven, shrugging. "That's definitely the Liora I remembered."
"Yeah, whatever, so it is the real Liora, let's just get a move on already."
Shado nodded, glancing towards the smoke-filled street just beyond the plaza. "Of course, but just so you know, we'll be moving fast but quietly–– the gate's condition is only getting worse by the second and we can't risk getting caught up in any more problems."
Riven adjusted his mask and nodded. "Well, like I said, let's get moving on."
Shado nodded as well, turning to move ahead, keeping low to the ground so as not to be seen.
Just up ahead, the plaza gave way to the desolate streets. The wind picked up some of the dust and ash that laid all over the streets, creating a small storm of debris. On top of all this, the distant clangs of forglings echoed off in the ruins.
Shado crouched near a collapsed stall, motioning over at the two to follow him.
Riven and Eryndor followed the same route Shado had taken, staying low to the ground just like he had.
"We keep moving like this and we'll reach the overlook in no time," Shado whispered.
"Hold on, I thought we were all meeting up at the gate," *Eryndor whispered back, tilting his head in confusion.
"We're having a change of plans, according to Liora. The gate area is compromised with too many forgelings." Shado said, scanning the street for any life forms.
"Just stay low and quiet and you'll be fine. Anything louder than a footstep and you'll be swarmed in seconds."
"I thought the forgelings had bad hearing? How come we have to be so quiet?" Eryndor said, his beginning to glow a slight blue now.
"You're a scavenger, aren't you? How do you not know the difference between forgeling's?" Shado said, adjusting his mask.
"I…I-its…Whatever, let's just hurry." Eryndor said back.
The three slipped out from their cover and into the streets, exiting the plaza. Their boots ringing slightly on the cracked stone beneath them. The air felt thicker here, a potent metallic scent mixed with ash and burnt oil. There were broken signs and transports all over the place—their hinges squealing softly in the calmness of it all.
Riven's eyes scanned each window and alleyway. "Are you sure this is the right way?"
"More than positive," Shado replied. "The Gate's in this direction, but we'll head up to where Liora set up."
Eryndor glanced over his shoulder, his prosthetic arm pulsing a faint blue. Something feels off… I… just can't put my finger on it… w-whatever, something always feels off anyway in this hell hole…right? chuckling to himself nervously.
The trio moved quietly between the ruined streets, slipping through alleyways where the light of the sky barely reached. At one point, a forgeling shadow swept across the wall ahead—its jagged figure and limbs scraping the cobblestone wall of the alley as it passed by.
"Hold on," Shado said in a low tone, raising his hand in the air. Making the group freeze, they listened to the metal screeches, holding their breath tightly as the sounds of the close forgeling slowly faded away into the distance.
Shado exhaled when the noise was gone. "We're getting close, just a bit further, and we'll have eyes on the gate from the lookout."
The three slipped out of the alley and onto the bend of the street that slanted upwards. From there, lay a half-collapsed building, its upper floor still holding together despite the cracked supports and hanging rebar.
Shado pointed towards it. " That's our vantage point, we'll be able to get a clear view of the gate from there," whispering as he looks over his shoulder.
Eryndor and Riven nodded, quickly moving across the open street now. The wind blew dust and ash into the street, creating a storm that obscured their movements as they made their way closer to the building.
In the area, a faint metallic roar screamed from the distance. Eryndor glanced towards the sound but said nothing, instead, following close behind Shado.
The group reached the front of the building, stepping through a broken doorway.
It looked like what remained of an office inside—papers scattered all over, furniture overturned, walls marked with claw scrapes.
Riven moved with haste inside, clearing corners before signaling the others to follow.
"This place looks like it's been through hell," Eryndor muttered.
"You can say that twice," Shado replied, "I heard shinori guards fighting what I assume forglings in this area just a few hours ago."
"Hold up, did you say shinori guards?" Eryndor said in a haste, his attention on Shado.
"That's right, Shinori," Shado replied, heading towards a half-intact staircase.
"Well, that's certainly something," Riven said, heading up the staircase, its railing all twisted and bent.
Eryndor followed behind the two, heading up the stairs where they reached the upper floor.
The orange sky gleamed inside through the hole in the wall in the final floor, giving the perfect view over the city gate.
A massive wall of steel that stretched across the southern perimeter, its doors wide open with sparks flickering and crackling from torn power lines. The huge locking mechanism that it contained was jammed mid-motion; it was as if the gate had tried to close but had frozen before it could.
Just beyond the gate, the wastelands stretched endlessly. Barely visible dark shapes moving through the haze and dusty sky. Forgelings poured through the gate, crawling over wreckage and slipping deeper into the city.
The three stared off into the distance in silence, as if they were in utter disbelief at the sight.
"So, we're going down there?" Eryndor said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," Shado replied quietly. "If we don't, god knows who will."
Riven said nothing, only staring off into the distant gate with his hands tightening around his weapon.
Shado walked towards a broken desk, clearing off the dust and debris with a quick sweep of his glove. From one of his pouches, he pulled out a circular metal device—rusted around the edges; however, its center was engraved with a faint marking. He set it down carefully, tapping the center of it twice.
"Echo, Contact Liora," Shado whispered.
The device hummed lowly from inside, as a faint blue light began to pulse from its core.
Eryndor walked over to Shado, leaning in close. "What's that supposed to be?"
"This? It's one of the many Dominion toys; its name is Echo. This particular object is a holo-transmitter. If you give it a sec, Liora will appear right in front of you."
The blue light rapidly swelled, spreading outward in a faint ring before condensing into a flickering projection. Static rippled through the air, and a small holographic figure began to form—Liora's outline first, then her face, glowing faintly in the darkened room.
"Liora, we made it to the meeting location and were standing by now," Shado says, backing up a bit.
"Good, I'll be there soon. I just got a little business to wrap up on my end." She replies with her voice sounding static and glitchy.
"Understood, we'll be waiting for your arrival, but will you be alright?"
"Don't worry about me, I can handle it, just worry about staying on the low, forgeling activity is growing more now that we're near the gate."
"Right," Shado says, giving an understanding nod, before ending the transmission between the two.
"Well, get comfortable," Riven says, heading over to a corner of the room.
"Comfortable? I gotta hand it to you, Riven, you somehow always find a way to not care about any situation you're faced with." Eryndor said, peeking out the hole in the wall.
"Of course not, why should I?"
"Because, well… uh…I don't really know."
"Exactly."
"Besides, it's better than being out there." Riven said, nodding towards the wall where the light shone through.
Eryndor stared out into the open distance. "Will she be alright? I mean, she sounded like she was in a hurry. I wonder what that's about."
Eryndor turned around, walking over to Riven, paying no mind to what may have been looking at him…