The lower reaches of Emberfall were a different world.
Here, light struggled to reach the ground. Buildings leaned together like conspirators, their foundations choked with soot and creeping mold. The air carried a bite—coal dust, rot, and something sharp beneath it all. The city's heartbeat was slower here. Heavy. Careful.
Kael moved with his hood drawn low, Sarai at his side, her steps quiet but alert. The deeper they went, the less the city resembled itself. No Guild banners. No patrolling guards. Just the quiet murmur of survival and eyes peering from the cracks in boarded windows.
"Are you sure he's still alive?" Sarai asked.
Kael didn't answer right away. Instead, he stared at the rusted metal hatch wedged into the stone beneath an abandoned brewery. A faint glyph shimmered on its surface—dull and fading, a signature only someone who knew what to look for would see.
"He's alive," Kael finally said, voice low. "And this is the kind of place he'd crawl back to."
With a twist of his Core, Kael pressed his palm to the glyph. The hatch clicked and released, hissing open with a rush of stale air. The tunnel below was narrow, carved from old sewer routes and braced with rotting wood.
They descended in silence.
The tunnel ended at a small chamber lit by a single green crystal wedged into the ceiling. It pulsed faintly—like a heartbeat in a coffin. The room was cluttered with crates, weapon parts, papers scattered across the floor. And at the center, hunched over a table, was a wiry man with ash-grey hair and skin as pale as frost.
"Rell," Kael said.
The man didn't flinch. He turned slowly, one hand still near the pistol on the table. His eyes were sharp—too sharp for someone half-starved and alone. "Didn't think I'd see you again."
Kael stepped forward. "We need information. About the Cartel."
Rell laughed—a dry, humorless sound. "Of course you do. That's the only reason people come to me anymore."
"We're not asking for free," Sarai said.
Rell's gaze flicked to her, lingered for a heartbeat, then returned to Kael. "You saved my life once. You could've left me for the rats."
Kael nodded. "I need to cash that favor in."
Silence.
Then Rell stood, bones creaking with the effort. He limped slightly—an old wound Kael recognized. "They'll kill me if I talk. Torture me slow, make examples. You don't understand what they do to defectors."
"I understand enough," Kael said. "They already came for me. We fought them off. Now they'll strike harder."
"You have no idea how deep their teeth go." Rell walked to a stack of papers and pulled one out—a crude map, marked with lines Kael didn't recognize. "The Cartel isn't a gang. It's a machine. Emberfall's built on top of it, and the Guild lets it run because it's convenient."
He tossed the map onto the table.
"That's a shipment route. Used to run weapons and mana cores through it. Last I heard, it's still active. If you hit it, they'll bleed."
Kael picked up the map. "Where does it start?"
"Eastern tunnels. Near a collapsed reservoir. They're smart now—no more markings. You'll need to smell the dust and follow the mana residue."
Sarai leaned in. "And the mercenary?"
Rell's expression darkened. "Not Cartel-born. They hired him—The Shard. No one knows his real name. He's an Intent-user like you, but twisted. Doesn't use Chains. He bends his truths into blades. Once he marks you, you're hunted until your story ends."
Kael felt his stomach tighten. The Cartel was sending elite-level threats now. It wasn't just territory or pride. They feared what he could become.
"Why are they so desperate to get the Chains?" Kael asked.
Rell looked him dead in the eye. "Because they used to own them."
A cold silence settled over the chamber.
"They had a Chain of Intent once," Rell said, voice low. "Long ago. Lost it during a purge when the old Guild tried to take them down. But they never stopped hunting the remnants."
Kael's grip tightened around the map. "How many Chains are out there?"
"No one knows. Maybe four. Maybe forty. But if you've bonded with one… you're not just a target. You're the key to something they thought was buried."
Kael and Sarai exchanged a glance.
"We'll find their shipment line," Kael said. "Thanks for the map. If you want protection—"
Rell held up a hand. "Don't. If I'm seen near you, I'm dead anyway. Just finish what you started, kid. Tear the Cartel down."
As they turned to leave, Rell called after him.
"Kael."
He looked back.
"Chains respond to intent. But they feed off belief. Don't lie to yourself. That's how they break you."