"You're the one who said nothing is over yet, that nothing has been determined, so don't say we can't! We didn't write that prophecy with our hands; we didn't put down on paper what we will do! We have a choice!" ― Marie Montine (Mourning Grey: Part Three The Guardians of the Temple Saga)

* * * *

Two days had passed since the meeting, and the weight of that discussion still lingered in the air like the dense humidity before a storm. The members of Aegis hadn't spoken much of it since, not out of indifference but because of something much heavier: unspoken dread.

Today, all of Aegis had ventured into the sprawling underground city of Zalfari.

Though technically still part of Eldario, Zalfari operated under its own set of rules—or rather, the lack thereof.

It was a sanctuary built atop lawlessness, a haven for those who had been pushed to the margins: Gifted, outlaws, and people who no longer believed in the system. Zalfari's streets were carved from crumbling concrete, ancient red brick, and patches of steel plating—like scars from past battles. Colourful graffiti bloomed like weeds over rusted walls, some of them messages of rebellion, others names of the lost.

Once under the guardianship of Whirlwind before Leroy took it over, even forming his own crew, Blaze. It had since revived from when the hunters had attacked Whirlwind and sacked the town, with Leroy and Blaze fortifying it, that only someone with a death wish would attack Zalfari.

This was a place that breathed in chaos and exhaled survival.

The Forbidden Quarter, despite its ominous name, looked deceptively ordinary at first glance. It bustled with activity—vendors shouting deals, clinking metal, flickering signs offering everything from bootleg medications to illegal enchantments, and the scent of oil, old blood, and spice in the air.

What made the Forbidden Quarter different wasn't what you saw—it was what you didn't. Eyes in the shadows. Tense silences that followed certain names. The knowledge that more than one transaction here could get you executed elsewhere in Eldario.

Sera Kroix moved through the crowd with Raul and Laura beside her.

She walked with an unshakable calm that came from years of surviving not just countless battles, but the kind of grief that stains the soul. Her raven-black coat fluttered behind her in the stagnant wind, the faint sound of metal brushing against her boots.

Laura walked to her left, quiet but alert, her sharp eyes surveying every corner and every unfamiliar face. Raul, as always, moved with a casual grace that belied his tension, his scarf fluttering as he glanced behind them every so often.

"I still don't like this," Raul muttered, low enough so that only they could hear.

"We're not here to like it," Sera replied, her voice a murmur, her gaze steady ahead. "We're here to collect the package."

"And walk straight into a ghost story," Laura added, her voice barely audible, her fingers twitching faintly like she wanted to call water to her hands out of instinct. "I know you said we'd talk more on the way, but… I can feel it. This isn't just another mission."

Sera said nothing.

At the far end of a cracked cobblestone path, tucked behind two stalls—one selling weapons and the other selling syringes of black-market enhancers, was a nondescript, two-storey metal shack with rusted signage that read: Jorrik's Salvage and Supply.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The paint was chipped. The hinges creaked like the dead. But everyone in Zalfari knew what Jorrik Bael's shop really was: a black-market central hub that traded in things no other vendor would touch. Illicit supplies. Rare contraband. Forbidden texts. And sometimes… Secrets.

Inside the dim-lit interior, rows of crates and supplies stretched from wall to wall, shelves stacked with items that should not exist—ESA-grade weapons, syringes filled with bright violet liquids, antique maps labelled "RESTRICTED", and even boxes marked with warning seals in languages long dead.

Jorrik Bael stood behind a reinforced counter, scribbling on a checklist, thick goggles perched on his forehead. A scar ran from his left brow to the edge of his cheek, and his arms were covered in old burn marks. Though visibly aged, his grey eyes were as sharp as ever.

Leroy stood nearby, leaning against a crate, arms crossed, his demeanour calm, but his eyes narrowed in thought.

"About time," Jorrik muttered as the trio entered. "I was starting to think you got cold feet."

"You think we're the cold feet type?" Raul said with a dry smile.

Jorrik grunted. "Fair point."

He snapped the checklist shut and opened a latch on the floor with a loud metallic creak. A platform slowly rose from beneath—a reinforced freight lift containing five large steel containers.

Sera frowned. "Quite the package," she remarked.

"Zone 0," Jorrik said simply. "You don't make light deliveries to a place like that."

Leroy let out a low whistle. "I'm honestly surprised Zest isn't going with you."

"Nah," Sera replied, her arms crossed. "Last I heard, he said something about needing to do something. My guess? He's trying to track down Jamie… If Jamie's still alive and really behind those hunter murders."

Laura stiffened. Raul's brows furrowed.

Jorrik checked his clipboard again, muttering under his breath before ticking off a few final boxes. "Alright. That's everything. Double-checked and sealed tight."

He looked at the containers with a strange expression—something between pride and caution.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised Rex hired your lot to deliver it," he said, his eyes sliding to Sera. "Half of that stuff's contraband. The other half? Canned food. Medical supplies. Anti-rad kits. Enough to feed and treat a small settlement for months. All of it vacuum-sealed. And before you ask, no, it's not for sale."

Laura tilted her head. "Who would need all this in a dead zone?"

Jorrik didn't answer immediately. His eyes darkened. "Zone 0… I remember that incident. Supposed nuclear meltdown. That's the official story. But the underground—at least those of us who've been around long enough, we never bought it." He paused, scanning their faces. "Not a single report ever detailed the type of meltdown. No evac records. No cleanup effort. Nothing. Just a sudden blackout of the entire region… And then silence."

"The Abyss never speaks of it," Leroy added quietly. "Not even some of the old timers."

"There's a reason for that," Jorrik murmured. He looked at Sera. "So… Think they're ready?"

Raul looked at her. So did Laura.

Sera didn't flinch. "They have to be," she said. "Whether they're ready or not. I've been trying to keep them out of this mess for years, but… I think it's all connected. What happened in Zone 0. The recent rise in hunter aggression. The unchecked hate. Nicolosi's rise to power. Even the recent whispers. All of it."

Laura's lips parted slightly. Raul looked grim.

Jorrik folded his arms, leaning back. "You're heading back to that place, lass. You sure you're ready?"

Sera turned her gaze away, something shadowed flitting across her expression. "I have no choice."

Raul took a step forward, his voice more gentle than usual. "Sera… What happened out there? In Zone 0?"

But Sera didn't answer.

Leroy rubbed the back of his neck. "Just so you know… Zone 0 is only accessible by boat. There's no land route anymore. Not unless you want to be executed for stepping near it. Even the hunters avoid it. ESA agents don't go near it either. If that's where Rex wants you to go… It means he knew exactly who he was hiring. And how you'd get there."

Laura's head snapped toward Sera. "Wait. How would he know we have a boat?"

Even Raul looked startled.

Sera chuckled softly, but there was no humour in it. "Rex isn't a Gifted. Not part of the Abyss either. But he's not a supporter of the hunters or the ESA. And knowing him, he knew where to find us. He always does. I think I got an idea what he's doing all the way out there, and I can only say he got some damn guts. It's the last place anyone would look."

Leroy raised a brow. "You think he's hiding out there?"

Sera's eyes gleamed faintly, though her face remained unreadable. "I think he's doing what the rest of Eldario is too scared to do."

Jorrik nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Sera's. "You be careful out there, Sera Kroix. Whatever happened in Zone 0… Whatever they buried… It's not done with you yet."

Sera didn't reply right away. Her gaze swept over the containers again, then to the small brass insignia engraved on one corner—faint and almost unnoticeable. But her eyes lingered.

"I know," she whispered at last. "I'll arrange for some transport for the packages to be loaded on our boat," she told Jorrik, who nodded. Then she turned to Laura and Raul. "Come on. Let's go."

Laura hesitated, her eyes still wide. "It'll take at least a week, if we take the long route."

"Exactly," Sera said. "Which is why we leave now."

Raul looked once more at the crates, then at the old metal ceiling of Jorrik's shop, as if he could feel the weight of history pressing down on it.

And then they left.

The door creaked shut behind them, and the sounds of Zalfari's Forbidden Quarter returned—wild, chaotic, and blind to the truth being quietly unearthed.

Back in the shop, Jorrik stared at the closed door for a long moment.

"She's going back," he muttered to Leroy.

"To the place that broke her," Leroy whispered back. "I don't know everything that happened in there, but I can put the pieces together myself. And knowing Zest, he likely knew everything."

Outside, the wind picked up.

And far in the east, where the land was red and silent, and the wind carried no name, Zone 0 waited.

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