Raizen lifted the dented kettle off the flame and poured tea, trying not to burn his fingers.
Hikari sat on the windowsill with her knees hugged close, watching the Underworks outside. On the table, a heavy purse sat where Obi had dropped it with ceremony an hour ago.
"Oh, oh, did I mention the roar?" Obi asked from the rug, still riding the high. "It started smooth, then BOOM! Cheering. I'm pretty sure someone proposed to me. I declined because I'm married to my craft."
"Married to your mouth" Raizen muttered.
"That too. Hey, I'm not saying I'm a local legend, but if someone draws my face on a wall I won't complain."
"Obi, you really shouldn't talk..." Hikari chuckled, not looking away from the window. "After that girl carried you to the anvil, I'm not sure how legendary you are…"
She was opening up more every day. Smiling easier. Teasing.
"First of all, I told her to lean me against the anvil," Obi corrected. "She stabbed me with a needle, injected me with something that tasted bitter, like regret, then I felt better and slept like a baby."
Across the room, Takeshi sat in his chair like always. The mechanical hand rested open on his knee, servos clicking softly. His flesh fingers fidgeted with a pin while his eyes tracked the web on the wall - new threads, new notes. He didn't speak, but the way his shoulders were set said he was listening.
"I had a visitor," Obi said, grin flickering. "After everything."
Raizen's eyebrows went up. "The big guy with the creative spelling?"
"Tempting, but no. Cinderette. Cloak, mask, dramatics... except no mask this time."
Hikari tilted her head. "What did she want? See if you were still breathing?"
"Probably, but she said she came to see the forge." Obi tried and failed to sound casual. "Pretended she was judging my tools. But she was obviously judging my face. We discussed vents and airflow. Very romantic, I know. She left before I could offer noodles." He added with a very tragic face.
Raizen smiled. "Would you look at that. The loud smith and the gas grenade. That's how history will remember you."
"Anyway," Obi stretched until his shoulders popped. "How was your day not being a champion?"
"Brutal," Raizen exhaled.
"Don't listen to him, he's getting way better," Hikari interrupted, eyes still pinned outside.
"Hey, you shouldn't be the one to judge. You get everything almost perfectly!" Raizen shot back, half smiling.
A knock. Two. The door swung in before anyone answered. Louissa stepped through with a basket on her arm and an expression that said the easy part of the evening was over.
"Evening, everyone" she said quietly.
Obi saluted with his cup. "Granny, tell them I'm magnificent."
"You're full of noise, that's for sure." The smile came as she set the basket down, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I brought something for you."
Then to Raizen and Hikari: "You two. Listen."
They straightened without thinking. Even Takeshi lifted his gaze from the board.
Louissa's voice went flat. "You want to kill Nyxes, right? Hunt them properly, not just survive?"
Raizen nodded. "More than anything. But being a Graver-"
"Then you'll need to enter the Lotus Academy." Granny interrupted him before he could say another word.
"The Academy trains Vanguards," Louissa continued. "The real ones. Not Gravers scraping by with chipped weapons and prayers. Vanguards get the best gear, the best training, access to fortitude missions that actually matter." She paused. "But entrance isn't free. You'll need more than luck."
"Luminite, right?" Raizen said quietly. He'd heard the word enough times - seen it glowing in cheap weapons, in the hands of wounded Gravers, in the shadier places of the Underworks. But he didn't understand it.
"Not just Luminite," Louissa corrected. "Quality Luminite. The cheap stuff Gravers use barely cuts. It enhances a fraction, gives you an edge against weak Nyxes, but it burns out fast and lets you down under real pressure." She leaned forward. "Good Luminite? That's different. It amplifies your strength, your speed, your endurance. Pair it with proper training and you become something that ends Nyxes instead of just lightly teasing them."
"So where do we get it?" Hikari asked.
"That's the problem," Louissa said. "You don't. Not down here. Pure Luminite is controlled - monitored by Neoshima, distributed to Vanguards and officials. The only people in the Underworks with access are criminals and traders working black markets."
"Great," Obi muttered. "So we're shopping in the worst neighborhoods."
"Or," Louissa's eyes sharpened, "you take it from someone who won't report the loss."
Raizen caught the shift in her tone. "You have someone in mind."
"I do. But first - the exam." Louissa pulled a small slip of paper from her coat and set it on the table. Neat handwriting, official seal at the bottom. "Last year, the Academy exam was written. Science, strategy, memory tests. They needed sharp minds to match Vanguards to the right missions."
"And this year?" Raizen asked.
"This year is different." Louissa's expression darkened. "Because Division One is gone."
The room went silent. Obi's grin vanished. Hikari's fingers tightened on her knees. Takeshi's head snapped up, mechanical hand clenching hard enough for the servos to whine.
"Gone?" Takeshi's voice came out rough. "What do you mean gone? Weren't they-"
"Wiped out." Louissa said flatly. "Three weeks ago. They deployed northeast, towards the mountains - standard procedure for Division One. Never came back. No bodies. No traces. Just silence."
Raizen's chest went cold. Division One. The propaganda posters plastered across the Underworks showed them as Neoshima's shield - four silhouettes with weapons raised, the best of the best, the ones who fought most.
Now they were just... gone.
"How?" Hikari whispered.
"Nobody knows," Louissa said. "The official report says "mission failure." No details. No investigation. Neoshima buried it fast." She looked at Takeshi. "You knew them, didn't you?"
Takeshi didn't answer immediately. His eye stayed fixed on the wall, jaw tight. "I knew one of them. Worked with her years ago." His voice went quieter. "She was even better than me."
Louissa let the silence sit for a moment, then continued. "Division One's loss leaves a gap. A big one. Neoshima needs replacements - fast. That's why the exam changed. They don't have time for written tests and strategic evaluations. They need fighters. Now."
"So... a combat exam," Raizen said, heart starting to pound.
"Likely," Louissa nodded. "But even if it's not pure combat, you won't even reach the door without Luminite. The Academy doesn't accept charity cases. You show up with nothing, they'll turn you away before you take three steps."
"Then-" Obi tried to join the conversation.
"Which brings us to the plan." Louissa's voice shifted back to business. "There's a man. Marcus Valerius. Neoshiman official - high-rank, Councelor. But he's too greedy. He came down to the Underworks to do business he can't do above."
"What kind of business?" Obi asked.
"The kind that involves selling high-grade Luminite to people who shouldn't have it." Louissa pulled another slip of paper - this one with a sketch. A man's face, sharp features, slicked-back hair. "He keeps a bodyguard glued to his side. Ex-military, experienced. And he's scheduled to meet someone tomorrow night."
"Where?" Takeshi was already looking at his map.
Louissa's eyes sharpened. "The Maw."
Everyone knew The Maw. It sat in the deeper sections of the Underworks where the tunnels widened into something almost grand - high vaulted ceiling held up by old steel beams, dim lights casting long shadows, good drinks served by people who knew not to ask any questions. The Maw was where deals happened, where dangerous men pretended to be bored while their hands stayed close to weapons.
"What's he selling?" Hikari asked quietly.
"Luminite samples," Louissa said. "Not a vault's worth, but enough. He'll carry high-quality pieces to prove his supply. Uses them as leverage in negotiations." She poured herself tea, movements calm. "He plans to sell to someone uglier than his own reflection. Black market dealer from the eastern districts."
"How do you even know-" Raizen started.
Obi shot him a look that meant don't ask.
Louissa just smiled. "I know people. People talk. Information moves faster than Nyxes down here if you know where to lean your head."
"So we take the samples" Raizen said, mind already working. "Scout first. Entrances, exits, roofline. If there's a vent-"
"Windows, crowd flow, where the bodyguard stands," Hikari added, turning from the window.
"Or," Obi lifted a finger, "and hear me out - we walk up and grab it."
Silence.
Both of them stared. Raizen raised an eyebrow. Takeshi made a sound that might have been the start of a laugh.
"Simple," Obi said, wounded and theatrical. "Elegant."
"Suicidal." Raizen corrected.
"Not if you add style. Style blinds people. They forget to hold their pockets shut."
Louissa smiled despite herself. "You three shouldn't be allowed in the same plan. And yet..."
"Come on, Granny! You know we work well together!" Obi threw his arm around Raizen's shoulders.
"Tomorrow night," Louissa said, voice going firm again. "Marcus moved the meeting forward. Word came late - you'll have one shot."
Obi tapped the purse on the table, then his chest. "Then tomorrow we go shopping for Luminite.
"The illegal way…" Raizen sighed.
"Brother, illegal is a word only where there are Wardens. No wardens, everything is legal!"
"Unnoticed, if possible," Takeshi muttered, already back at his map. He added a new thread, connecting The Maw to a name in the corner. The Moirai sat underlined twice. He didn't explain why.
They ate while the kettle kept the room warm. The jars Louissa brought were filled with citrus jam. Obi pretended not to like it just so he could sneak a second spoon while acting disgusted. Raizen tried to pay him back for something Obi bought with Obi's own coin and got cuffed on the ear. Hikari laughed at a face Obi swore was heroic, not funny.
Takeshi cleaned a screw that didn't need cleaning and listened to his makeshift family fill the space where the Underworks couldn't reach.
When the lamplight slid lower on the walls, the plan sat between them - completely insane, unfinished, unsafe, but there.
Obi hooked the winner's token on his belt, tested its weight like a smith checking work, and grinned at the window.
"Tomorrow," he said. "The Maw won't know what hit it."
Louissa didn't smile. She was watching Takeshi's board. A new thread ran from The Maw straight to a name she recognized - one she'd hoped wouldn't appear.
She said nothing. But her hand tightened around her cup until her knuckles went pale.