The breach in the wall had become routine.
Every morning before dawn, Kaelen would store Fenrir in the Storage Void, slip through the gap in the metal, and venture into the wasteland. Sometimes Ryker and Lira came with him. Sometimes he went alone.
Today was an alone day.
He needed to think. To process everything that had happened. The Hunter Unit. Voss's message. The growing certainty that Avalon Prime was closing in on him.
"You're brooding again," Crust observed.
"I'm thinking."
"Same thing with you."
Kaelen didn't respond. He moved through the ruins silently, his Divine Sense active, tracking nearby creatures. Nothing dangerous. A few Level 2 rats. Some scavenger birds mutated beyond recognition.
He was about five kilometers from the city when he heard it.
A scream.
High-pitched. Terrified. Human.
Kaelen's head snapped toward the sound. His Divine Sense pushed outward, searching—
There. Two hundred meters northwest. One human signature—young, female. And surrounding her, four mutated wolves. Level 4s.
"Not your problem," Crust said immediately.
But Kaelen was already running.
He burst through a collapsed archway and into a small clearing. The girl was backed against a wall, wielding a broken piece of rebar like a club. She was maybe five or six years old, with long dark hair and clothes that were far too clean for The Undercroft.
Upper city, Kaelen realized immediately.
The wolves circled her, snarling, their eyes glowing yellow with hunger.
Kaelen didn't announce himself. He just acted.
[Summon: Fenrir]
Golden light flared, and the Thunder Wolf materialized beside him—now the size of a horse, electricity crackling across his silver fur.
The mutated wolves turned at the sudden appearance, confused—
"Divine Burst!"
Kaelen's blast caught the nearest wolf in the side, sending it tumbling. Fenrir didn't wait for orders. He charged, his jaws wreathed in blue lightning, and clamped down on the second wolf's throat.
[Thunder Fang - Critical Hit!]
The creature convulsed and went limp.
The remaining two wolves hesitated, clearly recognizing they were outmatched. One turned to flee—
Kaelen raised his hand. "Divine Burst!"
The blast struck the wolf mid-stride, breaking its spine. It collapsed, twitching.
The final wolf snarled and lunged at the girl—
Fenrir was faster.
The Thunder Wolf slammed into it from the side, bearing it to the ground. His jaws closed around its skull.
Crunch.
[You have slain: Mutated Wolf - Level 4]
[You have slain: Mutated Wolf - Level 4]
[You have slain: Mutated Wolf - Level 4]
[You have slain: Mutated Wolf - Level 4]
[Experience Gained: 160 XP]
[Level 10: 840 / 2000 XP]
Silence fell over the clearing.
Kaelen dismissed the notifications and turned to the girl. She was staring at him with wide, dark eyes—terrified, but also... fascinated.
"Are you hurt?" Kaelen asked, approaching slowly.
She shook her head mutely.
"Good. What are you doing out here? You're from the upper city, aren't you?"
She nodded, still not speaking.
Kaelen sighed. "You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. The wasteland isn't a playground."
"I know," she said quietly. Her voice was soft, refined—the accent of someone who'd never struggled for anything. "I just... I wanted to see. Everyone up there talks about the lower city like it's another world. I wanted to know if it was real."
"It's real," Kaelen said flatly. "And it'll kill you if you're not careful."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—" She looked at Fenrir, who was licking blood from his muzzle. "Is that your... pet?"
"He's my companion. His name is Fenrir."
"He's beautiful." She took a tentative step forward. "Can I... can I touch him?"
Kaelen glanced at Fenrir. The wolf tilted his head, then walked over to the girl and sat down, offering his head.
"Small human smells like flowers. Fenrir likes flowers."
The girl's face lit up. She reached out slowly and ran her fingers through Fenrir's fur. "He's so soft. And warm. We don't have animals like this in Avalon Prime. Everything's synthetic."
"You should go back," Kaelen said. "Before your family notices you're missing."
"They won't notice," she said quietly. "They never do."
Something in her tone made Kaelen pause. "What do you mean?"
"My father is always working. My mother is always... I don't know. At parties. Social events. They have people who take care of me. Tutors. Guards. But nobody actually..." She trailed off. "Nobody sees me."
Kaelen felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. "What's your name?"
"Aria." She looked up at him. "What's yours?"
"Kaelen."
"Kaelen," she repeated, as if testing the sound. "You're from the lower city?"
"The Undercroft. Yeah."
"And you fight monsters? All the time?"
"Most days."
"That's amazing." Her eyes were shining now. "You're so brave. I could never do something like that."
"You could if you had to," Kaelen said. "People are stronger than they think when survival is on the line."
She smiled—a genuine, bright smile that seemed out of place in the wasteland. "Can I come with you? Just for a little while? I promise I won't get in the way."
"Absolutely not," Crust said immediately. "She's a liability. And upper city. If her family finds out she's been with you, they'll use it against you."
"It's not safe," Kaelen said aloud. "You should—"
A sound cut him off.
The whir of engines.
Kaelen's head snapped up. In the distance, approaching fast, were three drones—sleek, white, with the emblem of Avalon Prime emblazoned on their hulls.
Search drones.
"They're looking for you," Kaelen said.
Aria's face fell. "They always find me. They always bring me back."
"Do you want to go back?"
She hesitated. Then, quietly: "No."
"Don't do this," Crust warned. "You're already on their radar. Harboring an upper city child will make things worse."
But Kaelen was already making the decision.
"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand. "If you don't want to be found, we need to move. Now."
Her face lit up again. "Really?"
"Really. But we need to go. Fenrir!"
The wolf bounded over. Kaelen scooped Aria onto Fenrir's back, then climbed up behind her.
"Hold on tight."
The drones crested the ridge, their sensors sweeping the area—
Fenrir ran.
The wolf moved like lightning, his legs eating up ground, electricity crackling in his wake. Aria screamed—not in fear, but in exhilaration.
Behind them, the drones gave chase, their speakers blaring.
"HALT. UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL WITH STOLEN PROPERTY. HALT IMMEDIATELY."
"Stolen property?" Aria shouted over the wind. "They mean me!"
"I figured!" Kaelen glanced back. The drones were fast, but Fenrir was faster. And more maneuverable.
"Fenrir! Sharp left! Into those ruins!"
The wolf obeyed instantly, darting between collapsed buildings. The drones tried to follow, but their larger frames struggled with the tight spaces.
One clipped a wall and spiraled into the ground, exploding in a shower of sparks.
"Target evading. Requesting backup."
"They're calling for help," Kaelen muttered. "We need to lose them. Fast."
He guided Fenrir deeper into the ruins, through a maze of collapsed structures and twisted metal. Finally, they ducked into the entrance of an underground parking garage—a massive concrete structure that had somehow survived mostly intact.
"Store Fenrir," Kaelen whispered.
[Storage Void]
The wolf vanished. Aria gasped but didn't scream. Kaelen grabbed her hand and pulled her deeper into the darkness, moving silently.
Above, the drones circled, their searchlights sweeping through the gloom.
"Target lost. Scanning for bio-signatures."
Kaelen pulled Aria behind a pillar and placed a finger to his lips.
She nodded, barely breathing.
They waited.
The lights swept closer. Closer.
Kaelen's hand moved to his side, ready to summon Fenrir if needed—
And then the lights moved away.
"No bio-signatures detected. Target may have moved beyond scan range. Returning to base."
The drones lifted off and flew away.
Kaelen counted to one hundred before finally exhaling.
"Okay," he whispered. "I think we're safe."
Aria slumped against the pillar, her legs shaking. "That was... that was incredible."
"That was reckless," Kaelen corrected. "You could've been caught."
"But I wasn't. Because of you." She looked at him, and even in the darkness, he could see the wonder in her eyes. "Thank you, Kaelen."
He didn't know what to say to that.
"You just made everything more complicated," Crust said with a sigh. "I hope you realize that."
"Yeah. I know."
They waited in the garage for another hour before Kaelen deemed it safe to move.
Summoning Fenrir again, they made their way back toward The Undercroft, moving slowly and carefully, avoiding open areas.
"So," Aria said as they walked. "Where do you live?"
"A shelter. In the lower city. It's not much."
"Can I see it?"
"Aria—"
"Please? Just for a little while. I promise I'll go back after. I just... I want to see how people really live down there."
Kaelen sighed. "Fine. But only for a bit. And you stay close to me. The Undercroft isn't like the upper city. It's dangerous. And people won't be nice just because you're a kid."
"I understand."
"This is a mistake," Crust said.
"Probably."
"She's going to complicate everything."
"Probably."
"And you're going to help her anyway."
"...Probably."
Crust laughed. "You're too soft, little god. But I suppose that's what makes you different from me."
When they reached the shelter, Ryker's jaw dropped.
"Who is that?" he hissed, staring at Aria.
"Her name is Aria. She's from the upper city. She got lost in the wasteland, and I helped her."
"She's from—" Ryker grabbed Kaelen's arm and pulled him aside. "Are you insane? Do you know what they'll do if they find out you're harboring an upper city kid?"
"I know. But she doesn't want to go back. Not yet."
"That's not our problem!"
"She's a kid, Ryker. Alone. Scared." Kaelen met his friend's eyes. "Would you have turned me away when I needed help?"
Ryker opened his mouth. Closed it. Sighed. "You're impossible."
"I know."
"Fine. But she stays hidden. And if anyone asks, we found her wandering and we're trying to find her family. Got it?"
"Got it."
They brought Aria inside. Mira took one look at the girl's clean clothes and expensive shoes and went pale.
"Kaelen. A word. Now."
She pulled him into the other room.
"Do you have any idea how much danger you've just brought to this family?" she whispered urgently.
"I know. I'm sorry. But I couldn't just leave her—"
"I'm not saying you should have!" Mira interrupted. "I'm saying we need to be smart about this. If the upper city is looking for her, and they find her here..." She trailed off, her expression pained. "We could all be arrested. Or worse."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen."
"How?"
"I don't know yet. But I will."
Mira looked at him for a long moment. Then she shook her head. "You're a good kid, Kaelen. Too good for your own good sometimes."
"Is that a yes?"
"It's a 'she can stay for tonight, but tomorrow we figure out a real plan.' Understand?"
"Yes. Thank you."
That evening, Aria sat with Kaelen, Ryker, and Lira in the cramped apartment, eating gray porridge and stale bread.
She ate without complaint, even seemed to enjoy it.
"This is so different," she said quietly. "Up in the city, everything is... perfect. Clean. Ordered. But it's also cold. Empty. This feels..." She looked around at the cracked walls, the threadbare furniture, the people who'd welcomed her despite everything. "This feels like home."
"You've been in the upper city your whole life?" Lira asked.
Aria nodded. "My father is Magnus Vael's chief financial advisor. We live in the Central District. The highest towers."
Everyone froze.
"Your father works for Magnus?" Kaelen said slowly.
"Yes. Why?"
Kaelen exchanged glances with Ryker and Lira.
"This just got infinitely more complicated," Crust observed.
"Because," Kaelen said carefully, "Magnus Vael is the most powerful man in the world. If your father works for him, that makes you..."
"Important?" Aria laughed bitterly. "No. That makes me a tool. A chess piece. My father keeps me around because it looks good. But he doesn't care about me. Not really."
"I'm sure that's not—"
"It is." Her voice was quiet but firm. "When I was six, I got sick. Really sick. And my father was in a meeting with Magnus. I was in the hospital for three days before he visited. And even then, he only stayed for ten minutes."
Silence fell.
"I'm sorry," Kaelen said.
"Don't be. I'm used to it." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "That's why I wanted to come down here. To see if there was something real. Something that mattered."
"And?" Ryker asked. "Did you find it?"
Aria looked at Kaelen. "Yeah. I think I did."
That night, Kaelen couldn't sleep.
He stood on the roof, staring up at Avalon Prime, knowing that somewhere up there, people were looking for Aria.
Knowing that by helping her, he'd just made himself a target.
"You could still return her," Crust said. "Send her back. Claim you found her and were bringing her home. They might even reward you."
"No."
"Why not? She's not your responsibility."
"Because she asked me not to. And because..." Kaelen paused. "Because I know what it's like to feel alone. To feel like nobody sees you. I can't send her back to that."
Crust was silent for a moment.
"You're going to get hurt, little god. Caring about people makes you vulnerable."
"Maybe. But it also makes me human."
"You're not human. You're a god."
"I'm both. And I'm going to act like both."
The next morning, Kaelen woke to alarms blaring.
He stumbled out of his pod to find the shelter in chaos. People were running. Shouting.
"What's happening?" he asked, grabbing someone's arm.
"Enforcement! Upper city enforcement! They're searching the shelter!"
Kaelen's blood ran cold.
They're looking for Aria.
He ran to Ryker's apartment and burst through the door.
The girl was there, sitting calmly at the table, a strange peace on her face.
"They're here for me, aren't they?" she asked quietly.
Kaelen nodded. "I can hide you. In my Storage Void. They won't be able to find you."
"No." She stood. "I have to face this eventually. And if I run now, they'll punish your family. I can't let that happen."
"Aria—"
The door exploded inward.
Three enforcement drones entered, weapons trained on everyone in the room.
"ARIA VAEL. YOU ARE TO COME WITH US IMMEDIATELY."
Aria stood. "I'm ready."
But before she could move, a voice echoed from outside.
Cold. Female. Familiar.
"Stand down."
Director Voss stepped into the room, immaculate as always.
Her eyes locked onto Kaelen.
And she smiled.
"Hello again, Kaelen. We need to talk."