[Location: The Melting Pot Inn – Exterior]
Evening had fallen over Argentum.
Or at least, the Abyss's version of evening.
The overhead mana-lamps of the chrome city dimmed to a low, throbbing amber, and the smog from the Slag Heap factories turned a deep, bruised purple.
Damien stood on the metal balcony outside the inn, the cold, oily wind ruffling his silver hair.
He couldn't stay in the room.
Every time he looked at the bed, at the grey, cracked skin of Isabelle's sleeping face, he felt a phantom pain in his chest.
It was a suffocating weight, heavier than any gravity magic she could cast.
'100,000 DP,' Damien thought, gripping the rusted railing until the metal groaned.
'I will get it. I will burn this city to the ground if I have to.'
He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of sulfur and ozone.
For a moment, the noise of the alien city faded.
His mind drifted back to his old house back on the blue star, the silence of Apartment Block 404.
