The crossbow bolt hovered inches from my face, unwavering. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at that sharp metal point, waiting for the inevitable. Then the girl shoved the person holding the weapon, hard. He stumbled backward, the crossbow swinging away from my head. "Get off him, you idiot!" she snapped. "You're going to scare him away with your ugliness." A burst of laughter erupted from somewhere to my left. I twisted my head to see another figure doubled over, clutching their sides. "His face!" the laughing one wheezed between gasps. "Did you see his face?" I lay on the ground, confusion replacing fear. What was happening? The girl extended her hand toward me, her expression softening slightly. "Don't worry. They aren't who you think they are." I stared at her outstretched hand, my mind struggling to process the sudden shift from mortal danger to... whatever this was. "Katseye!" A voice called from deeper in the shelter. "Don't ruin the party before it even starts

"Good work, citizen." One of the vigilantes clapped Riko on the shoulder, his voice warm with approval. "We've been searching for this one all night." Riko shifted his weight, his expression uncomfortable for a fleeting moment. Then he straightened, adopting a more confident posture. "I spotted him walking through the lower passages. Seemed suspicious, so I followed him. When I heard the announcement from your patrol, I knew I had to track him down." The vigilante who'd praised him tilted his head, studying Riko's face. Then he shook his head slowly. "You really think we'll fall for that bull-crap story?" Riko froze. His jaw tightened as panic flashed across his face. Then the vigilante's expression brightened, and he laughed. "We all know you did it for the reward." The tension in Riko's shoulders eased slightly. "You heard about the bounty and decided to cash in," the vigilante continued, leaning closer to Riko. His voice dropped to something more intimate, more dangerous.

The ground wouldn't stop shaking. Every step I took sent tremors up through my leg, as it keeps reverberating through my entire body. All around me were the horde moving through the tunnels. One wrong turn, one miscalculation, and I'd be nothing but a feast for the Blackvein swarm. I ran harder, my breath coming in ragged gasps that echoed off the narrow walls. No team this time. No Jabari with his impossible strength to pull me out of danger. No Raven to watch my back with his lightning reflexes. No Lyra to patch me up when things went wrong. And definitely no Vira who would have my back. Vira. Was she okay? Had the team managed to keep going without me? Was she worried? Did she think I was dead? The thought consumed me, pulling my focus away from the tunnel ahead. I could almost see her face, the way her brow furrowed when she was concerned, the way she— "Snap out of it, Kae." I scolded myself. "Now is definitely not a good time to think about her." The system puls

They came at me like a living wave, attacking in patterns. One would feint from the front while another struck from behind. I had to keep moving, never staying in one place long enough for them to surround me completely. Their attacks gave me no time to recover between assaults. I managed to take down a few, but some got through. One used it's leg raked across my chest, opening three deep gashes. The pain was distant now. My body had moved beyond pain into some state of numb determination. I wonder if this ritual was worth it? But my experience without my suit on the surface made me rethink. Even if I want to get back to the others, I will definitely not make it. A smaller one darted in, too fast to track properly. It caught my knife arm, its mandibles piercing through muscle. I screamed and smashed my elbow into its head repeatedly until it let go. My knife arm hung useless for a moment, the muscles too damaged to grip properly. I switched the weapon to my other hand. I

The sound of impact echoed up the tunnel like flesh striking flesh, then a heavy thud as a body hit the ground. I froze halfway, my hands leaning on the wall. Behind me, the vigilantes crumpled to the floor, unconscious. A figure stood among the fallen guards, completely covered in dark fabric from head to toe. The covering obscured their features entirely, making them look like a shadow given form. The shadow turned toward me. My hand went instinctively to my reaper edge sword, waiting for the inevitable. The figure reached up and pulled back their hood to reveal their identity. My eyes grew wider and my mouth agape. It was Katseye. "Come on," she hissed, her voice urgent. "We don't have much time." Relief flooded through me so intensely I nearly lost my grip on the tunnel wall. "Katseye—" "Let's get out of here first, alright, you can keep the gratitude for later." She gestured sharply as she went over to the edge of a wall and squatted down to pull out a stone