The crate of "weapons" groaned as the guard's boot sent it sliding across the dirt. It was a graveyard of metal—chips of iron, snapped blades, and rusted tools that looked more like scrap than salvation.
Not enough, Kaito thought, his "charcoal" vision struggling to define the jagged edges. I need to see the truth of the steel.
[Authority: Insight – Activated] [Remaining Duration: 10 minutes]
The world didn't brighten, but it became defined. Lines of structural integrity hummed in his mind. To the Crows, Elian looked like a man frantically rummaging through trash. To Kaito, he was a surgeon selecting his tools.
"Talin, take this," Kaito grunted, thrusting a heavy, unbalanced iron bar with a bulbous, weighted end at the big man. It was ugly, but the Insight showed no internal fractures. It wouldn't snap; it would crush.
"Baraq!" He tossed two serrated mining plates. They were curved like talons. "Fit them over your knuckles. Use your weight."
For Kaelen, he dug deep, pulling out two blackened daggers. They were thin, pitted with age, but the core steel glowed with a steady blue light in his mind. They were balanced for a killer. Finally, his hand closed around a short sword. The hilt was rough, the blade stained, but its "tang" was solid—straight and true.
[1 minute a sound chimed inside Kaito's head] [Authority: Insight-Deactivated]
Kaito blinked, the sharp lines fading back into a grey blur. "They aren't masterpieces," he whispered to his stunned crew. "But they are better than the junk the others are picking."
"Look at this," a familiar, grating voice cut through the tension. "The 'Elite' Vanguard is playing in the trash."
Kaito didn't need eyes to recognize who it was. Horgan, the bully from the barracks stood a few paces away, his own squad flanking him. They were geared in reinforced leather, holding spears that actually caught the light.
Horgan stepped closer, his shadow falling over Kaito's grey world. "Don't get cocky just because the Officers gave you a fancy title, boy. You aren't soldiers. You're bait. Your only job is to walk into that mist and scream loud enough so the monsters reveal themselves for us to kill. Nothing more, nothing less."
Talin growled, his grip tightening on the iron bar, but Kaito put a hand on his arm. Kaito didn't look at Horgan. He simply tested the edge of his rusted short sword against his thumb. The silence was more insulting than any comeback.
Horgan spat at Kaito's feet. "Enjoy your five minutes of life, boy."
The massive chains of the West Gate began to scream.
As the iron maw rose, the "Charcoal" world Elian had lived in since his awakening was suddenly violated. Without Insight, he could only see the thick, oppressive wall of fog. But as the first wisps touched his skin, they felt... electric.
The Violet Fog.
Kaito pushed his remaining vision to the limit. He didn't want to trigger the remaining Authority yet, but the White Tree in his soul seemed to shiver, feeding a drop of Aether into his strained eyes.
Suddenly, the grey smear of the horizon was pierced. The fog wasn't just gas; it was a swirling, toxic neon violet, pulsing with the heartbeat of the Lawless Zone. It was beautiful and lethal.
But it was what lay above the fog that stopped Elian's breath.
He tilted his head back, staring into the heavens. Through the violet haze, he saw them—Cracks.
Black, jagged fissures spider-webbed across the sky, as if the firmament were a pane of glass struck by a hammer. They weren't clouds. They were tears in reality itself. And behind those obsidian cracks, something moved.
The Lawless Zone wasn't just a frontier. It was a wound.
"Elian?" Talin's voice was trembling as he looked at the gate. "The mist... we have to go."
Kaito gripped his rusted blade, his "Climber" adrenaline finally reaching a boiling point. He didn't care about the bait, the bullies.
"The sky is falling," Kaito whispered, a sharp, dangerous smile tugging at his lips. "Let's see what's on the other side."