After some searching, i found it.
The Guild hall looked like a ribcage. A massive, arched structure built from the petrified remains of some colossal, long-dead creature. Spirits flowed in and out of its gaping entrance, a mix of shuffling E-Ranks and more focused, dangerous-looking types who must have been higher ranks.
I took a deep breath I didn't need and walked in.
The effect was immediate. The low hum of conversation inside the vast hall cut off like a severed wire. Dozens of pairs of eyes—glowing, empty, fearful—snapped to me. A hush fell, so deep I could hear the faint, mournful whistle of wind through the ancient bones of the building.
I kept my face neutral, a mask over the churning confusion inside. I didn't know what I was doing here. I just knew I had to be here.
I walked toward a central desk made of polished obsidian. The spirit behind it—a gaunt thing with too many eyes—visibly trembled as I approached.
"I'm looking for information,"
I said. My voice wasn't loud, but in the silence, it sounded like a thunderclap.
"O-of course, L-Lord Cinder,"
the clerk stammered, its multiple eyes blinking out of sync.
"C-connection permits? Soul-traffic manifests? B-bounty ledgers?"
"Me,"
I said, leaning on the desk. The clerk flinched back.
"I'm looking for information about me."
The clerk stared, its many eyes wide with pure bewilderment.
"My lord? Your files are classified to A-Rank and above. I... I couldn't possibly..."
A flicker of frustration ignited in my chest. This was getting me nowhere. I was about to say something else when a sound cut through the tension.
A giggle.
It was light, airy, and completely out of place. I turned.
A spirit was floating nearby, organizing some scrolls. She was... different. Less faded. She had a playful glint in her eyes and a smile that seemed genuinely amused, not fearful. And she was, in a spectral, ethereal way, kind of cute.
She caught me looking and winked.
"Having a bit of an identity crisis, big guy?"
The line should have sounded cheesy. But the way she said it, the sheer normalcy of it in this nightmare city, was like a splash of cold water. My carefully constructed, intimidating facade cracked. Just a little.
"I... uh..."
I faltered. A heat that had nothing to do with hellfire crept up my neck.
"Something like that."
She floated a little closer, ignoring the clerk's panicked look.
"Well, you're Cinder. A-Rank. Partnered with Zay. You fight with hellfire. You once incinerated a Nest of Lamentations because they were too loud and you were trying to nap."
She listed it off like she was reading a grocery list.
"Rumor also says you tried to peek into the Women's Blessed Springs once."
I stared at her, my mind reeling. I tried to... peek?
A sudden, unexpected laugh burst out of me. It was a rough, unfamiliar sound.
"I did what?"
She grinned.
"See? You're remembering already."
I wasn't. But the image was so absurd, so... human, that it felt true. The terrifying "Lord Cinder" the city feared was also a guy who got kicked out of the celestial equivalent of the women's locker room? The contradiction was so jarring it broke the spell of fear.
The tension in the room eased slightly. The other hunters went back to their business, though they still shot me wary glances.
I leaned against the desk, a real smile tugging at my lips for the first time.
"Okay. Let's say I believe you. This Zay guy. Where do I find him?"
Her smile faded slightly.
"That's the tricky part. Nobody's seen him since you two took that job in the Tanglewoods. Word is... it went bad. Really bad."
The Tanglewoods. The name sent a cold shiver through me, a ghost of a memory that wouldn't form.
"He's looking for you,"
she added softly.
"Tore half the district apart before he vanished. He's probably the only person in Purgatory who isn't scared of you. Might be the only one who can actually give you the answers you want."
A partner. A friend. Out there, looking for me.
The void inside me didn't feel so empty anymore. It felt... like a missing piece.
I pushed off the desk.
"Thanks..."
I realized I didn't know her name.
"Lyra," she supplied with another smile.
"Thanks, Lyra."
I nodded, a new purpose solidifying. The scary, quiet act wasn't getting me anywhere. Maybe it was time to try a different approach. The approach that felt a little more... natural.
I turned to leave, then paused, glancing back at her with a smirk that felt oddly comfortable on my face.
"For the record, the Blessed Springs thing? I'm sure I had a perfectly good reason."
Lyra let out another musical giggle.
"I'm sure you did, Lord Cinder. I'm sure you did."
As I walked out of the Guild hall, the spirits still parted for me. But the looks were different now. Less pure terror, more wary curiosity. The legend of Cinder had just gotten a lot more complicated.
And for the first time, I was kind of excited to find out who that guy was.