Running in Junk-Town was not about speed; it was about verticality.
Zeno leaped from a rusted balcony, his boots slamming onto a corrugated tin roof. He didn't stop. He rolled, absorbing the impact, and sprinted across a bridge made of old pipes.
Behind him, the sound of destruction was getting closer.
CRASH.
A wall of the building he just left exploded outward. The Vortex Knight charged through the brickwork like a rhino, ignoring the debris bouncing off his white armor.
"They don't get tired," Zeno gasped, his lungs burning. "And they don't use doors."
He needed to break the line of sight.
He spotted a fire escape ladder dangling from an old water tower three stories up.
"There."
Zeno scrambled up the rusty metal. His right arm throbbed with a dull ache, a reminder of the Void he used earlier.
He reached the top of the water tower, collapsing onto the metal grating to catch his breath. The smog here was thicker, a gray blanket hiding him from the streets below.
"Safe," Zeno wheezed. "For a minute."
"You're loud."
The voice was cool, sharp, and came from the shadows directly behind him.
Zeno flinched, spinning around. He raised his wrench, ready to fight.
Sitting on the edge of the water tower, legs dangling casually over the abyss, was a girl.
She looked about his age, maybe older. She wore a long, dark trench coat that looked too expensive for Ring 9, though it was stained with oil. Her hair was short and silver—a rare color usually seen only in the noble families of Ring 4.
But what caught Zeno's attention wasn't her hair. It was the weapon in her lap.
It was a Sniper Rifle, but it was massive—almost as tall as she was. The barrel was wrapped in blue glowing coils, and instead of a magazine, it had a revolving chamber like a cannon.
She didn't look at Zeno. She was looking through the scope of her rifle, scanning the streets below.
"Who are you?" Zeno asked, gripping his wrench.
"Someone who values silence," she replied, her voice flat. She finally turned her head.
Her eyes were striking. One was blue. The other—her right eye—was covered by a mechanical monocle with multiple zooming lenses.
She looked at Zeno, then at his bag.
"You're the one bringing the ants to the picnic."
"Ants?"
"The Knights," she pointed down. "They are tracking a signal in your bag. A rookie mistake."
Zeno cursed. The beacon. He had forgotten to smash it in the panic.
"I need to go," Zeno said, backing away.
"Wait."
The girl stood up. She wasn't tall, but she had a presence that made the air feel heavy. She walked toward him, not with aggression, but with curiosity.
"That signal... it's a Class-A frequency. You stole something big."
"I found it," Zeno corrected defensively.
"Does it matter?" She smirked. It wasn't a friendly smile. It was the smile of a predator seeing an opportunity. "If you go down there, they will kill you. The alleys are blocked."
"So what do I do?"
"Throw the bag off the roof," she suggested. "Let them chase the garbage. You live."
Zeno clutched the bag tighter. "No. This is my ticket out of here."
The girl shrugged. "Then you die. Simple math."
Suddenly, the water tower shook.
CLANG.
A metal hook shot up from the smog below and clamped onto the grating.
A Vortex Knight was climbing up.
"Found you, little rat," the synthetic voice boomed from below.
Zeno backed up, trapped. He looked at the girl.
She wasn't running. She was calm. She lifted her massive rifle and rested the barrel on her shoulder.
"Hey, Scavenger," she said. "If I save your skin... I get 50% of whatever is in that bag."
Zeno looked at the Knight climbing over the rail. He looked at the girl.
"Deal!"
"Good choice."
The girl didn't aim at the Knight.
She aimed at the air above the Knight.
She pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The sound was thunderous.
But the bullet didn't fly straight.
Zeno watched in shock as the bullet—glowing with bright blue light—curved in mid-air. It spiraled around the Knight's shield like a living bird and struck the connection joint of the water tower's support leg.
Aether Art: Ricochet.
The leg snapped.
The entire water tower tilted violently.
The Knight lost his footing, sliding off the wet metal. He flailed, grabbing for the rail, but the angle was too steep.
He fell, crashing down through three layers of rusted awnings before hitting the street with a massive CRASH.
Zeno held onto the railing for dear life as the tower groaned and settled at a crooked angle.
He looked at the girl. She was already packing her rifle.
"You missed," Zeno said, breathless.
"I never miss," she replied, adjusting her monocle. "I just moved the floor."
She looked at Zeno.
"Name's Kira. And you owe me, Scavenger."
"Zeno," he replied.
Kira grabbed his collar. "Charming. Now move, Zeno. That Knight isn't dead. He's just angry."
She pointed to a zip-line cable stretching from their roof to the next sector.
"We jump on three."
"We?" Zeno asked.
"You're my payday now," Kira winked. "I don't leave my money behind."
She grabbed a pulley from her belt and hooked it onto the wire.
Zeno grabbed his wrench and hooked it next to hers.
Below them, the Knight in the street stood up, dented but alive. He looked up and roared, revving his chainsaw spear.
More Knights were appearing from the smoke.
"One..." Kira counted.
"Two..."
"Three!"
They jumped.
Two figures—a boy with a black hand and a girl with a silver eye—flying over the rusted abyss of Junk-Town, while the army of the Vortex chased them from below.
The real game had just begun.