Kael woke to silence.

  Real silence. Not the kind that came before something awful. Just stillness. No blood in the air. No screaming. Just his own breath coming in and out.

  The weight of exhaustion and pain still clung to his bones, but it felt gentler now. Like it had settled. Like, for once—he’d actually slept.

  He blinked into the darkness of the dormitory. Sparks of small light cracked out of metal windows from the rising morning sun.

  Junnesa was still asleep, curled between him and Yoan.

  Lira sat in the same spot she had the night before. Back to the wall, knees tucked in, chin resting on her arms. But her eyes were closed now.

  He exhaled slowly. For the first time in what felt like years, he could actually think properly. There was no fire burning him alive, no Maxwell ripping his memories. Just the small ache of sore muscles.

  A strange feeling crept in.

  Peace. Kael didn’t trust it. Not really. But he let himself feel it anyway, if only for a few seconds.

  And then, somewhere in the building, something heavy clangs. Metal hitting something.

  Kael sat up. The others began to stir. Eyrk groaned like he’d aged twenty years. Mara rolled over with a curse. Yoan was already moving, blade at his side.

  Lira opened her eyes and looked at Kael. “You slept,” she said softly.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “So did you.”

  She gave a small nod, then pushed herself to her feet.

  Junnesa got up with a stretch, yawning hard. Her stomach growled like a hungry bear.

  Eyrk blinked from his bed. “Was that her or a beast outside?”

  Junnesa stuck her tongue out at him, rubbing her eyes. “I want bread.”

  “You and me both, kid,” Mara muttered as she sat up and cracked her neck.

  Yoan was already by the door. “The man said the room came with a meal.”

  They descended the creaking stairs once again. The first floor still had the smell of iron pipes, but intertwined with it was something savory.

  Behind a steel counter, a broad-shouldered woman stood with her arms crossed. She was missing an eye.

  A tray of steaming bowls sat on the ledge beside her. She didn’t speak. Just pointed at the tray and grunted once.

  Yoan took the lead. “Six.” The woman didn’t argue. She shoved six bowls across. The contents were lumpy and pale gray, but warm.

  Lira sniffed hers cautiously. “I think it’s food.”

  Eyrk shrugged. “That’s all I need to know.” He started eating without hesitation.

  Kael took a spoonful. It wasn’t good, but it filled the ache in his stomach. That was enough.

  Junnesa sat beside him, legs swinging off the bench as she ate. She wolfed down the food.

  “Slow down there,” Yoan said.

  She smiled up at him mid-bite. “It’s not bad.”

  Yoan then used his finger to wipe a bit of the stain off her cheek. “You missed a spot.”

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  Junnesa made a face at him and continued eating. “Still better than the soup the cultists fed us.”

  Yoan raised an eyebrow. “That wasn’t soup. That was rainwater mixed in with dirt.”

  Lira snorted softly. “Honestly, I’d take rainwater.”

  Eyrk scraped the last of his bowl. “If this place serves anything that doesn’t taste like boiled dust, I’ll marry it.”

  Mara pushed her half-finished bowl away. “You’d marry a boot if it fed you.”

  Kael didn’t laugh, but the corners of his mouth twitched.

  They sat in silence as they ate.

  Then, Lira stood first this time. “We need coin. We need shelter, and new clothes.” She said, pointing at her clothes, stained and tattered.

  “And a bath,” Mara added.

  He then glanced at Kael. “Lead the way. You’re the only one here who actually listens when people talk.”

  Kael nodded.

  They got up from their seats and stepped back into the streets. They followed the signs. Burned-in letters on rusted metal—until they reached a district called Hollow Bazaar.

  It was chaos. Vendors shouted behind iron grills. Children in rags darted between carts. One stall sold roasted lizard meat. Another sold vials filled with glowing memory mist. A woman gave out name-binding contracts next to a stall selling steel collars. The collars had runes inscribed on them.

  Junnesa stared, eyes wide. “Why are those people in cages?” She pointed to the far left.

  Rows of steel cages stood stacked, like those for exotic animals. Each cage held one occupant—men, women, and even a few teens. They all had steel collars around their necks.

  Each cage bore a metal plaque bolted to the bars. The letters were carved deep and read:

  —

  TRUE NAME: The Thorn-Footed Whisperer

  Bound By: COALMARK SLAVES — Transfer Available

  Mental Stability: Low | Obedience: High

  Skills: Infiltration, Trap Disarmament

  Asking Price: 50 Silver

  —

  TRUE NAME: The Hollow-Eyed Seraph

  Bound By: RED SIGNET — Transfer Available

  Mental Stability: Stable | Obedience: Full

  Skills: Spear Combat, High Pain Tolerance

  Price: 85 Silver or equivalent shards

  —

  TRUE NAME: The Bell-Tethered Flame

  Bound By: GREYGLASS & CO. — Transfer Pending

  Mental Stability: Fractured | Obedience: Partial (Collar-Enhanced)

  Skills: Third Floor Survivor, Sword Mastery, Elemental Magic, Void Resistance

  Price: 2 High Shards. Negotiable.

  —

  Eyrk muttered something under his breath and looked away.

  Kael said nothing. Kael stared at the girl in the cage. Eyes sharp. Alive. Not gone yet. He looked away before she saw him watching.

  Lira stepped up beside him, voice low. "They're name-bound. Black market work. Technically illegal... but no one here is going to stop it.”

  Kael glanced at her. He was starting to wonder how much Lira really knew.

  Yoan’s eyes were cold. “Slaves,” he said. “Fancy words, but that’s what they are.”

  They didn’t linger. The group moved past the cages in silence. No one said a word. Not even Eyrk, who told Kael everything he needed to know.

  "Let's keep walking." Lira broke the silence, muttering.

  The further they walked, the more the noise shifted. Less shouting, more clanging. Machinery deeper in tone. The smell of oil and old metal hung in the air.

  A building stood ahead, tucked under a rust-stained sign.

  Ledger Hall – Ashledge Branch – Temporary Work & Reports Office

  The door to the Ledger Hall creaked open. Inside, the air was warmer. A lone clock stood behind a reception desk ticking.

  No one stood behind the desk. Just a metal bell and a sign that read, “Board First, Questions Second.”

  Across the main wall loomed the job board. A massive slab of wood with inked parchments pinned under rusted nails. Each section was separated by thick iron dividers under different names: Retrieval. Binding. Guard. Trade. Bounty.

  Kael stepped toward Retrieval first, scanning quickly.

  —

  [Spineweft Pipe Rupture – Memory Containment Unit Lost]

  Hazard Class: Yellow

  Location: Lower Grindhill

  Reward: 15 silvers

  Apply: Ashledge Pumpworks

  —

  Lira read it over his shoulder. “Sounds manageable.”

  But Kael’s eyes drifted sideways—to the Bounty column.

  —

  [TARGET: “The Weeping Black”]

  Status: Hostile | Former Second Floor Warden

  Crimes: Escaped binding, killed three Concord enforcers

  Reward: 90 silver or 1 mid-tier shard

  Proof Required: Memory extract + collar core

  —

  Eyrk let out a low whistle. “Ninety silvers? That's probably be enough to buy a room, a bath, and a steak the size of my head.”

  Mara raised an eyebrow. “That thing killed three enforcers.”

  “Just saying,” Eyrk grinned. “We could split it six ways.”

  Yoan didn’t even look at him. “No.”

  “Alright, alright,” Eyrk muttered, backing off.

  Further down the Binding board, another posting read:

  —

  [Assistant Needed – Name Inscription Work]

  Risk: Low | Notes: Must provide own gloves. No questions.

  Pay: 3 silver/day or 1 low-tier shard/week

  —

  Junnesa squinted at it. “What’s a low-tier shard?”

  “Not much,” Lira muttered.

  Yoan nodded toward the Retrieval postings again. “We’ll start there. No point dying for coin we can’t spend.”

  Kael agreed. “Pumpworks it is.”