Hayazaki—still known as Filis in the underworld—stalked through the ruinous backstreets with a heightened sense of purpose. The Axis terminal glimmered at the edge of his vision, quietly cataloging each new threat, awarding slivers of XP for avoided confrontations or gleaned tidbits of information. He half-ignored it, mind reeling with one single goal: Find Myn.
He clutched the handle of a newly acquired short blade, an upgrade courtesy of Slasher's doping regime and the harrowing raids that had hardened him further. A twinge of guilt threaded his chest each time he remembered the child he'd taken in. Was it weeks or months ago? Time blurred in the Rim's constant gloom. But he remembered how he'd rescued Myn from that savage brawl, how the boy had clung to him with a quiet trust no one else in this forsaken place had shown.
