The market at night was a different creature.
By day, it barked and bargained, colors loud as voices. By night, the lamps flickered low, stalls shifted masks, and shadows thickened in every alley. Fried meat skewers gave way to paper-wrapped bundles. Trinkets turned into shards passed hand to hand. Money moved quieter, knives louder.
I walked slow, hood down just enough to blend. The Lexicon pulsed behind my ribs, its hum steady, a second heartbeat. Every so often it stirred, and a shimmer tugged at the edge of sight—threads of hunger, greed, fear, or trust. I was learning how to let it guide without letting it drown me.
A boy darted past, bread clutched to his chest. His shimmer burned fast with panic. A shopkeeper cursed after him, too tired to chase. The boy vanished into dark. The Lexicon warmed faintly. Approval.
I wasn't sure if I liked that.
---
The antique shop stood at the corner, patient under its layer of dust.
The crooked bell coughed when I opened the door. Inside, the air smelled of paper and rust. Broken clocks, faded books, relic shards dulled and safe for display. A room waiting for a lie to cover a truth.
The front would sell stories and scraps. The back would be locked. Plans would grow there, not trinkets.
"This'll do," I whispered.
The Lexicon hummed, a page turning.
---
I cleaned for days. Dust clung to my coat, spiders scurried, the floor complained with every step. By the third night, the front room almost passed as a store again. Shelves lined neat, books stacked, trinkets arranged in polite rows.
The back room I left bare but locked. It would hold the real weight. Ledgers, scriptures, secrets.
I dragged a table inside, set a candle on it. The flame cast long shadows that looked like they wanted names.
"This is the mask," I said. "The face comes later."
The Lexicon purred in answer.
---
At the pit that week, Jonas fought again. His patience held, fists heavy as iron, and the crowd screamed his name like prayer. Bastion.
Mara stood near the edge, arms folded. She didn't cheer. She measured.
When she left, I stepped in her path.
"Good form," I said.
Her eyes narrowed. "You don't fight. You watch."
"I fight when it matters."
"Convenient," she said.
"Alive," I corrected.
Her mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Then she walked on.
The Lexicon stirred. Her shimmer was sharp, but steady. Steel.
---
That night, I sat in the back room of the shop. Candle burning low. Ledger open.
A door.
A blade.
A shield.
The door was here. The shield I had seen. The blade had looked me in the eyes.
The first threads of Umbra had begun to weave.
---
Author's Note:
Location Established: Antique shop prepared as Umbra's front and hidden base.
Relic Use in Society: Night market trade (low-tier shards).
Character Foreshadow: Mara measured as potential blade, Jonas confirmed as shield.
Umbra Foundation: Adrian marks the mask of Umbra—a shop by day, shadow by night.