The capital city of Aethelgard did not look like the industrial grit of Oakhaven or the rusted wasteland of the Graveyard. It was a nightmare of clinical perfection. Buildings made of self-cleaning white porcelain and reinforced glass spiraled into the clouds, connected by bridges of solid light.
Here, the air didn't smell like rain or ozone; it smelled like nothing. Total sterilization.
"Remember," Kenji whispered, his voice muffled by a high-collared coat. "The moment we step through the gate, the System-Net will try to ping our Ranks. If it sees a Rank 6 Master Scrapsmith, the orbital lasers will fire before we can blink."
The team stood in the shadows of a massive delivery port, miles from the main gates. Mateo was frantically working on a series of "Identity Scraps" recycled Rank-Readers he had harvested from the fallen Enforcers in the Depths.
"I've hard-coded these to show Rank 2: Civilian," Mateo said, handing out the small, flickering wristbands. "But it's a 'Ghost-Layer.' If you use any skill higher than a basic utility, the layer will shatter and your real Rank will bleed through."
[STATUS: UNDERCOVER]
[ACTIVE DISGUISE: RANK 2 - LABORER]
[WARNING: SYSTEM-NET OVERWATCH AT 100% CAPACITY]
Kenji took his band. The moment he snapped it on, the Scrap of Eternal Hunger in his chest let out a muffled growl. The disguise was like a tight cage for the monster within.
"Keep the Hunger suppressed, Kenji," Elara warned, her own hair dyed dark brown to hide her Volkov features. "If you start 'eating' the city's ambient mana, we're dead."
"I know," Kenji said, his eyes now a dull, faked brown. "Let's move."
They entered through the Logistics Gate, blending into a crowd of thousands of low-ranked laborers. The city was a hierarchy made manifest. Those with higher Ranks walked on the elevated light-bridges, looking down on the "Base-Rankers" who maintained the streets.
As they walked, a massive holographic screen flickered to life in the central plaza. It was the face of High Inquisitor Thorne, the leader of the Council's internal security.
"Citizens," Thorne's voice was smooth as silk and just as cold. "The Anomaly remains at large. He is a scavenger who seeks to steal the Ranks you have earned through your loyalty. Report any 'irregular' energy signatures immediately. The Architect watches. The System protects."
"He's talking about us like we're a plague," Zola hissed, her fist clenching.
"To them, we are," Kenji replied, keeping his head down.
They reached the outskirts of the Library of Silences. It wasn't a building; it was a massive, inverted pyramid that dipped deep into the ground. It was the archive of everything the System had deemed "Too True" for the public to know the history of the world before the Ranks.
"The Scrap of Blinding Truth is at the bottom," Kenji said, his Scrapsmith sense vibrating. "But it's guarded by the Silent Monks Rank 8 guardians who have had their tongues removed so they can't speak the truths they guard."
"Rank 8s?" Bjorn grunted. "And we have to fight them as Rank 2 civilians?"
"We don't fight them," Kenji said. "We use the city against itself. Mateo, the bypass."
Mateo nodded and pulled out a small, jagged device made of Recursive Iron. "In three minutes, I'm going to inject a 'Scrap-Loop' into the city's power grid. It'll trigger a false 'High-Rank Breach' on the other side of the capital. Every Enforcer and Monk will head for the North Gate."
"And we drop down the ventilation shafts," Kenji finished.
The timer hit zero.
Suddenly, sirens blared across Aethelgard. The sky turned a dark crimson as the "Breach Alert" echoed through the porcelain streets. Thousands of Enforcers on gravity-boards streaked across the sky, heading away from the Library.
"Now!" Kenji ordered.
They bypassed the Library's main gate and headed for an exhaust vent near the base of the pyramid. With a quick pulse of [Void Step] carefully limited to a micro-burst Kenji phased the team through the heavy iron grates.
They tumbled into a world of dust and paper.
The Library of Silences was a labyrinth of infinite shelves, holding books, scrolls, and data-slabs that hadn't been touched in centuries. The air was heavy with the smell of dry parchment and the weight of forgotten secrets.
[ZONE: THE LIBRARY OF SILENCES (RANK S)]
[STATUS: INFILTRATION SUCCESSFUL]
[OBJECTIVE: LOCATE THE STAR OF TRUTH]
"We're in," Elara whispered, looking at the towering shelves.
But as they stepped further into the dark, Kenji stopped. The Hunger in his chest wasn't growling anymore. It was... purring.
"Kenji?" Priya asked, her light-well glowing dimly.
"Something's wrong," Kenji said, his eyes flickering back to their violet hue. "The truth... it isn't a stone. It's a person."
From the shadows of the central aisle, a figure emerged. He was dressed in rags, his eyes stitched shut with golden thread. He held a single, glowing crystal in his hands.
[TARGET: THE BLIND ARCHIVIST (RANK ???)]
[MESSAGE: YOU ARE LATE, KENJI TANAKA.]
The Archivist raised the crystal, and the "Ghost-Layer" disguises on the team instantly shattered. The System-Net in the room didn't just ping it roared.
"The Truth," the Archivist said, his voice echoing in their minds. "Is that you were expected."