New Cascadia – Sector 9, Below Power Grid Delta
The entrance wasn't marked.
It pulsed once every five seconds with residual power—an old cargo elevator wedged into the side of a collapsed transport station. Cassian entered the override manually. No drones patrolled here. Too deep. Too forgotten.
He descended in silence, Mira's stabilizer readout still ghosted on his inner sleeve. Stable—for now.
But stable was never permanent.
---
Blackline Market – Access Node 7L
The elevator opened into a sprawling, semi-lit maze of reinforced walkways and makeshift stalls. Holograms flickered on loop, advertising unlicensed firmware patches, Veil exploit tools, outdated stabilizer kits, and neurochemical override tanks.
Everyone here was anonymous.
Everyone carried a weapon.
Cassian walked with his hands visible, posture steady. The armor of fear was respect here.
He moved past three vendor clusters before he found it: a red-glassed booth at the far end, tucked behind a shattered med-dispenser.
A woman stood behind it—mid-forties, hair buzzed short, eyes cybernetic and emotionless.
> "You looking for treatment," she said, "or absolution?"
Cassian didn't blink. "I need a Type II stabilizer with midline compression, artificial bonding. Needs to hold for at least twelve weeks."
She studied him.
> "You're not buying this for yourself."
He didn't answer.
> "That means you know the risks. You know it could fail. And you'll take it anyway."
He nodded once.
She reached under the counter and placed a dull-gray case on the table.
> "One vial. One shot. Don't ask where it came from. Ask for forgiveness when it works."
---
As Cassian turned to leave, a new figure stepped into the corridor—a tall man in a corporate-style coat, spotless, face hidden behind an augmented visor.
> "That's a hard item to get, friend."
Cassian didn't stop walking.
> "People are dying for those. Literally."
The man followed casually, no weapon drawn—but the threat lingered in his gait.
> "You've got the look of someone who's very good at staying unnoticed… but recently got very noticed."
Cassian turned the corner and dipped through a scaffolding slot, quick and quiet.
> "Careful," the voice echoed behind him. "You're not the only one chasing ghosts."
---
Cassian doubled back, bypassed the path he'd taken in, and triggered a partial lift override—climbing to the upper gridline.
He popped the service hatch, boots hitting cracked ferrocrete in Sector 8, one level above Blackline.
Behind him, the city pulsed like a heart built from static and regret.
He didn't run.
But he didn't linger either.
---
New Cascadia – Apartment 18B (Later)
The stabilizer sat in the cooling unit, marked with a blinking sensor light.
Mira was asleep—her breath shallow, but steady. He didn't wake her.
He simply sat nearby, listening to the dull hum of the room. Watching the lights flicker.
> "Twelve weeks," he whispered.
A lot could happen in twelve weeks.
Too much.
---
Vitality – Hollow Fragment Echo, Same Time
In a forgotten zone Cassian had cleared weeks ago, two players stood examining the lingering Veil residue.
One of them wore a TianXia badge.
The other had no nameplate at all.
> "He's collecting pieces," one said.
> "And?" the other replied.
> "And someone else is starting to do the same."
---
End of Chapter Twenty