Frantic knocks came to the door of Mayor Luscius Grime as he was getting ready for his mid-afternoon cup of tea.
"Sir," the disheveled woman greeted him as she closed the door. "There's something you should know."
"What is it, Alicia? I'm about to have my midday tea and you interrupt me."
"I apologize but our benefactor would like to have a word with you about the team that went down in the sewers…"
It was at that moment, the door opened, revealing a man in a suit with a broken crown pin. His hair up in a pony tail with a dissatisfied face.
"Leave us." The man told the woman.
She nodded, leaving and closing the door behind her.
Luscius shifted, standing and bowing to the man as soon as it was just the two of them.
"I'm sure you already know, but what are you going to do to fix it?" The man with the broken crown asked.
"Fix?" Luscius scoffed, turning to take a seat. He motioned for his benefactor to sit across from him as he took a sip of his freshly poured tea. "There's nothing to fix. It's a small error that can be fixed with the next step of my plan."
"And if your plan fails?"
"It will not fail." Luscius brushed off the broken crown's worry. "We've gotten all we needed from that place. The Mages have told me they didn't find anything of use down there. We can brush it off as an underground Dungeon that manifested. Nothing more, nothing less."
"You seem to not understand something, Luscius." The pony tail man stepped forward, pressure instantly filling the room and dissolving any bravado Luscius had into dust. "Your sloppy efforts to cover up your previous attempts has only gained more eyes… The eyes of someone who see's through your subtly."
He took another step forward, pure darkness swirling around his left arm.
"Fracti coronam is not happy with your sloppy measures…" The pony tail man let go of his pressure, leaving only the dark magic left as he reached Luscius. "Fracti coronam does not abandon its investments. We care little if you are fully ready, enact Marigold tonight."
He reached out with his dark magic and pressed his fingers into Luscius' head. The darkness pushed outwards, pouring into the Mayor's eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
"Marigold…" Luscius' voice quavered. "Yes… Marigold…. This won't… hurt the civilians, correct?"
"No, it won't." The man removed his hand, letting the dark magic disappear. "You'll be saving them from everything."
"Saving… Yes, I'm saving them." Luscius slowly stood up. He had not notice his tea had already gone untouched. It had already gone cold.
- - -
Everything was moving too fast. Ardyn was on the last leg of his day when he was suddenly called into the barracks for an 'emergency'. All of the guards seemed to be here, shoulder to shoulder, as none of his superiors were around. People whispered, wondering if they had somehow been attacked or there was something crazy about to happen.
The door burst open as Captain Lynx stepped into the room. He had his helmet to the side as his crew cut hair and blue eyes seemed darker than usual.
"Alright, everyone, you must be wondering why you were called so suddenly." Captain Lynx began. "Please forgive us for calling those off duty and those about to finish up so quickly. The Mayor has enacted a city wide alert. We are to man the city to the brim and evacuate district A, E and G!"
What? So suddenly? What's happening? Ardyn wondered.
Captain Lynx's words began to fade to the background as chaos erupted between the guards. Captain Lynx slammed his foot onto the ground, quieting the entire group.
"Protect our people and look out for two strange individuals: a mage from the West and Horus Typoxy. They are to be brought in immediately. The use of weapons and magic is allowed. Do not hesitate. The city will absorb the cost!"
Captain Lynx began to bark out groups, assigning Ardyn to District E — the Slums. He rushed out, fully in gear and weapon at the ready as he and the other guards assigned to the district rushed out.
The Slums was a place where Ardyn felt the most at home. Although he had the means to live a much lavisher life without struggle, he always felt like he needed to repay where he came from by being a constant figure in the Slums.
The streets began to change before anyone explained why.
At first, it was subtle. Lanterns flared brighter along the main roads, their flames shifting from warm gold to a sharp, sterile white. Runes etched into cornerstones—old civic wards most citizens ignored—lit up one by one, lines of authority threading through stone and air alike.
Then the bells rang. Not the evening toll. Not a warning chime. A continuous, low peal that vibrated through bone more than ear.
Ardyn slowed.
He stood at the mouth of an alley in District E, watching as people emerged from doorways, confused and tense. City runners sprinted past him, unfurling red-and-gold notices that burned themselves into walls the moment they were pressed flat.
CITY ORDER — MARIGOLD ENACTED
EVACUATION MANDATORY
NONCOMPLIANCE WILL BE MET WITH FORCE
Force. Ardyn clenched his jaw.
"Sir—!" A young guard jogged up beside him, breathless. "Orders say to sweep every block. Anyone still inside after the third bell is considered hostile."
Hostile. The word sat wrong.
"How many bells have rung?" Ardyn asked.
"Two already."
Ardyn nodded once. "You take the east stretch. I'll handle this section."
The guard hesitated. "Alone?"
"I won't be."
It was a lie—but a useful one.
The guard saluted and ran off.
Ardyn turned deeper into the alley. A hunched figure stood halfway down, struggling to drag a wooden cart piled with scrap and cloth. An old woman. Her hands shook as she pulled, breath coming in sharp wheezes.
"Ma'am," Ardyn called, keeping his voice level. "You need to evacuate. Now."
She looked up at him with clouded eyes. "Evacuate where?"
"To the upper districts. There are shelters—"
"My son's inside." She pointed shakily to a narrow door. "He can't walk today."
Ardyn's grip tightened on his spear.
"The order applies to everyone," he said, hating the sound of it even as it left his mouth.
The third bell rang.
Something in the air shifted.
The runes along the walls flared brighter, mana pressing down like an unseen hand. Ardyn felt it brush against his chestplate, testing, measuring.
The woman gasped, clutching at her heart. "What… what did they do?"
Ardyn stepped forward, blocking the rune's line of sight with his body.
"Go inside," he said quietly. "Bar the door. Don't answer if anyone knocks."
Her eyes widened. "But—"
"Now."
She didn't argue.
Ardyn waited until the door shut before stepping back, heart pounding. He had just violated a city order. No, worse. He had chosen.
A sharp crack echoed down the street. Magic.
Ardyn spun, raising his spear as a pulse of pale gold washed through the district, flowing from spire to spire like a net being cast. His vision blurred for half a second as the pulse passed through him.
A scan.
He felt it skim his mana, register his sigil, and pass on. Others wouldn't be so lucky.
"Ardyn!"
Captain Lynx's voice barked from the main road. "Report!"
Ardyn stepped back into the open, face carefully neutral.
"Evacuation in progress," he said. "Resistance minimal."
Lynx's eyes flicked past him, toward the alley.
"Good," the captain said. "We've got confirmation. The mage from the West is still inside the city."
Ardyn's stomach dropped.
"And Horus Typoxy?" Ardyn asked, keeping his tone steady.
"Confirmed with him," Lynx replied. "Alive. Active. Possibly aiding the target."
The captain leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"Orders have escalated. If you encounter either of them… you are authorized to neutralize."
Neutralize.
Ardyn nodded.
"Yes, sir."
- - -
Miles away, beneath the city's skin, Elias froze mid-step. The tunnel went quiet. Not the natural quiet of stone and distance—but the sudden, oppressive silence that followed something listening.
Runtime hummed in his grip.
Wrong.
The familiar rhythm faltered, stuttering like a broken line of code. The purple gem dimmed, then flared sharply, heat blooming against his palm.
"What is it?" Lian asked, glancing back.
Elias didn't answer.
Mana surged through him unbidden, rushing to his senses. He felt it then—a vast, layered structure unfolding above them, spellwork cascading across the city like a web snapping tight.
A scan.
Not searching for monsters.
Searching for people.
His vision flickered.
For a split second, his reflection shimmered against the tunnel wall—and purple lines bled through his skin, faint at first, then sharper. Glyphs, half-formed, tracing along his forearms like ink beneath flesh.
Runtime's weight vanished.
Not dropped.
Gone.
Elias staggered, gasping as the staff dissolved into motes of light that sank into his skin, the mana sinking deeper, binding tighter.
"Elias?" Horus said sharply. "What happened?"
"I…" Elias swallowed.
The silence above pressed harder.
He felt it touch him.
Not physically—but deliberately.
A cold awareness sliding over his mana signature, lingering just a fraction too long.
Recognition.
Someone had just marked him.
"They're not sealing the city," Elias whispered. "They're isolating it."
Horus stiffened. "For what?"
Elias lifted his hands, staring at the glowing veins beneath his skin as the last of Runtime vanished into nothing.
"For me."
Far above, the bells rang again. And this time, they sounded like a starting gun.