The alleys of the Ashenhold slums were the deepest kind of dark. The Shadow Cloak was a barely-there defense, demanding constant, draining focus. I was running on instinct now, driven by the terrifying data points: Veilmarked means outcast. Ebonscar holds the truth. Kael is being hunted by the Void.
Forget a crash. My entire rig is on fire, and I'm using duct tape to hold the CPU in place.
I moved away from the outcast camp, choosing the most circuitous, filthiest routes. The fog was a cold blanket, tasting like ash and iron, and it muffled every sound, turning the slums into a silent, suffocating maze. I pressed my back against the perpetually wet cobblestone of a narrow alley, pausing to let my heart rate drop from emergency levels.
The Codex was silent, having settled into the background, but the chilling certainty of its presence was enough.
I focused on my senses. The damp. The mold. The distant, throbbing green glow of Ebonscar was barely visible now, a toxic star hanging over the chaos.
I need a hideout. A proper bolthole. Somewhere with sightlines and a single point of entry. A true hacker's den.
I was crossing a small, muddy yard—a graveyard for rusting barrels and broken glass—when the air behind me shifted. Not the supernatural cold of the Void, but the simple, brute force of a human predator.
[Threat Detected. Close Quarters Combat Imminent.]
The Codex didn't yell; it just displayed the alert.
I didn't turn. I had been scanned, but the attack was sloppy. I twisted my body, dropping low, letting the shadow I'd conjured with the Shadow Cloak confuse his targeting.
A fist—heavy, calloused, and smelling faintly of cheap alcohol—whipped past my ear, grazing the skin. The wind from the blow was enough to send a shockwave of pain through my skull. This wasn't a guard. This was a slum dog.
I immediately executed a sweep, using the momentum of his missed attack to drop him. My feet, encased in the flimsy, stolen boots, connected with his ankle.
He hit the muddy ground with a thud and a grunt of surprise.
I didn't let up. My mind, Kael's mind, was faster than Zayn's body. I was calculating angles, weight distribution, and leverage. The fight wasn't about strength; it was about efficiency.
The thug scrambled up, spitting mud. He was huge, wrapped in rough, oil-stained leather, and his face was scarred and cruel. He recognized the prison tunic instantly.
"Veilmarked rat!" he roared, drawing a rusty, chipped knife. "You don't escape my territory, boy. Hand over your cloak and anything you stole."
His voice was thick and gruff, like tearing canvas.
My heart hammered against my ribs, but the cold logic of the Codex kept me centered. Weapon drawn. Immediate threat level: High. Target the wrist.
"You're making a mistake," I said, my voice low and dry. "I don't have anything you want."
"I want your life, little ghost!" He lunged, the knife flashing low, aiming for the gut.
I used the Shadow Cloak desperately, forcing my focus to warp the light around me. It was a mental scream for the F-Tier power, and the darkness responded, blurring my outline enough to make his thrust graze my ribs instead of sinking deep. The tear in the sackcloth was a tiny, cold line of pain.
Close call. Too close.
He was strong. Zayn's body was noodle-thin. I couldn't trade blows. I needed a zero-day exploit.
When he pulled the knife back for a second slash, I lunged forward under his guard, slamming my entire weight—which wasn't much—into his chest. I followed up with the only move I knew: a brutal, focused elbow strike to his jaw.
Crack.
The sound was satisfyingly solid. He staggered back, shaking his head, his eyes momentarily glazed over.
Before he could recover, I kicked the knife out of his stunned hand. It clattered against the cobblestone, vanishing into the muck.
"My territory, now," I wheezed, sucking in a breath that smelled of dirt and the metallic, slightly sweet tang of blood—his or mine, I wasn't sure.
He recovered, rage overcoming the pain. He charged, a blind, desperate tackle.
"You're dead!"
I sidestepped, letting his momentum carry him into the wall. As he slammed into the wet stone, I was already on him, driving my forearm into his throat. He clawed at me, gargling. I held fast, pushing until the sheer desperation of a life being choked out flashed in his eyes.
"Tell me," I demanded, keeping my voice low and strained. "What's the best hole to hide in here? Name one. Now."
He wheezed, his eyes rolling. "The... the Rat's Nest. Near... near the Nightingale."
I loosened my grip just enough for him to gasp. "Nightingale? What's that?"
"Nightingale! Syl Night!" he coughed out. "She's the rogue. The one that cuts deals. You want to hide from the Swords, you go to her territory. She doesn't like the Black Swords in her territory."
Syl Night. A rogue element. A complication, but a potential resource. A human-driven system outside the rules of the Veilmarked hunt.
I slammed his head against the wall one last time, not hard enough to kill, but enough to ensure he wouldn't be following me for a while.
I grabbed the knife, wiping the mud off the chipped blade on his trousers, and plunged back into the dark. I didn't care about his money or his gear, only the data he provided.
I ran deeper into the maze-like slums, the new name Syl Night echoing in my mind. She sounded like an information broker, a dark-web administrator in this medieval hellscape. Exactly the kind of contact Kael needed.
Suddenly, the cold, psychic shock hit me again, vicious and unexpected. It wasn't the slow dread from the Void, but a searing mind sting—a sharp, quick intrusion that left a phantom itch behind my eye.
"...Kael."
The whisper was faint, intimate, and right on my heels, even as I ran. The Void wasn't just observing me in the prison; it was tracking me, adapting to my movements, treating me like a zero-day target.
I sped up, the Shadow Cloak flickering violently around my body. I had a knife, a name, and a safe direction—The Rat's Nest. Survival was a process, not a destination. I just had to outlast the script.
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Author's Note
Zero-Day Exploit: In Kael's old world (hacking), a "zero-day exploit" refers to a critical software vulnerability that is currently unknown to the developer and, therefore, has no patch or defense available.
Poll: Kael has fought off a thug, gained a crude knife, and learned of a powerful rogue named Syl Night who operates in a known safe zone, The Rat's Nest.
Should Kael immediately seek out Syl Night in the Rat's Nest for information and protection, or stay hidden in the deepest shadows to observe the Black Swords' movements before making a move?
A) Seek Outcasts/Syl Night (Risk contact to gain crucial intel on Zayn Vyrn and the local power structure.)
B) Stay Hidden and Observe (Prioritize stealth, using the shadows to map the Black Swords' patrol routes and conserve his draining Shadow Cloak energy.)