The rain didn't stop after the Grief-Singer fell. It just learned rhythm.
We cut east through streets that looked chewed. The asphalt had bubbled where mana fire had kissed it. Every second storefront was gone—just ribs of rebar jutting out like broken teeth. A bus lay upside-down in a crater, its wheels still spinning slow because physics didn't know when to quit.
Jax trudged ahead, armor bleeding rust into puddles. Hana's shawl kept trying to glow, but the mist ate color. I stayed between them, because if either of them fell, I was the idiot with the healing cheat now.
[ Quest — Retake Arcadia ]
[ Objective 3/3 Pending: Iron Warden — Gate District ]
[ Status: City Barrier Integrity 23% ]
Twenty-three percent. Same as our chances.
The closer we got to the Gate district, the heavier the air felt. Every breath came with iron filings. Smoke coiled from manholes; sewer steam smelled like burned hair and rain that didn't know when to die.
