Kai's fingers dug into Lucent's arm hard enough to bruise, his breath coming in short, panicked bursts that fogged the cold underground air. His pupils were dilated black with terror, the whites visible all around like a spooked animal's. A thin trail of blood seeped from where Nex's steel talons had grazed his cheekbone, cutting through that perfect Spire complexion.

"Please," Kai begged, voice cracking like cheap glass under pressure. His lips trembled around the words. "I'll triple it. Triple whatever I promised. Just—just get me out of here alive."

Lucent studied the kid's face—the sweat beading along his hairline, the way his throat worked as he swallowed convulsively. The stench of fear rolled off him in waves, sour and metallic. Behind them, Nex's laughter echoed off the rusted shipping containers, the rhythmic hiss-click of his hydraulic leg counting down the seconds.

"Five times," Lucent said flatly.

Kai didn't hesitate. His head bobbed in frantic agreement before the words even fully left Lucent's mouth. "Done."

A sharp pain lanced through Lucent's skull as his migraine pulsed in agreement, but the white-hot knives behind his eyes had dulled to a bearable throb. Good enough. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the old glyph-burns pull tight across his knuckles as he flexed his fingers. The cracked screen of his Conduit glowed faintly in the gloom, the battery icon flashing a weak 28%—enough for maybe three, four decent casts if he pushed it.

The air in the underground junkyard hung thick with the stench of rotting metal and plastic, the dim bioluminescent fungi casting long, wavering shadows that seemed to twitch at the edges of vision. No Aethernet nodes down here, no corporate scans or Reclamation sweeps. Just the raw, unfiltered dark where spells could run wild without consequences.

Nex stepped forward, his steel talons scraping against the concrete with a sound like bones being dragged across stone. The scars pulling at the corner of his mouth twisted into something resembling a smile. "Are you finally giving up the kid, Argyr?" His prosthetic leg whined as he shifted his weight, the hydraulic pistons contracting with a wet, meaty sound. "Or you just here to watch the show?"

Lucent didn't answer. His fingers brushed the cracked screen of his Conduit, tracing the familiar grooves where the casing had been welded back together one too many times. The device hummed faintly in response, the Aether circuits flickering like a dying pulse.

Nex struck first.

His talons lashed out in a brutal arc, the integrated Conduit flaring to life as a Kinetic Surge glyph ignited mid-swing. The air rippled visibly, a shockwave tearing toward Lucent with brutal efficiency, scattering loose bolts and rusted metal shards in its wake.

Lucent sidestepped at the last second, his boots skidding across the greasy concrete as his own Conduit flared to life. His fingers moved in sharp, practiced gestures—not the smooth corporate-approved strokes, but the instinctive, efficient motions of someone who'd learned glyphwork in back alleys and Pit fights. The Deflection Matrix formed just in time, its edges frayed and unstable, the blue-white energy sputtering like a dying lightbulb as it absorbed the impact.

"Cute," Nex sneered, already moving. His next attack wasn't a glyph—it was pure, brutal physicality, his talons carving through the air as he lunged with the grace of someone who'd spent too many nights in underground fight rings.

Lucent barely ducked in time. The claws grazed his shoulder, slicing through fabric and skin with surgical precision. Warm blood trickled down his arm, the pain sharp and immediate. No time to think.

He retaliated with a Static Lash, rank 3, the spell unfurling from his Conduit like a whip of crackling violet energy. It caught Nex across the chest, searing through his shirt and leaving angry red welts in its wake—but the bastard just laughed, shaking off the hit like it was nothing.

"Is that all you've got?" Nex spat, his Conduit flaring again. This time, the glyph that formed was darker, heavier—a Gravity Anchor, rank 4, its edges pulsing with unstable energy.

Lucent's boots suddenly weighed a ton.

Shit.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his Conduit to respond through the mounting pressure. Thirty percent charge. He could burn half of that on a counter, or—

A scream cut through to his attention.

Kai scrambled backward as one of Nex's crew lunged for him. The kid's polished boots slipped in the grime, sending him crashing onto his back, his hands coming up in a pathetic attempt to shield himself.

Lucent's fingers twitched with the memory of rawcasting's burn. He'd learned a few tricks before nearly frying his nervous system—like how to pull Aether not just from his Conduit, but from the charged air itself. The underground's thick atmosphere crackled with it, that sweet spot between desperation and decay where reality ran thin.

He exhaled sharply and did the stupidest possible thing—he fed the Gravity Anchor more power.

Not from his dying Conduit.

But from the space between breaths.

The glyph flared violent purple, its edges spiderwebbing with cracks as it drank in the ambient Aether. For half a heartbeat, Nex's triumphant grin held—until the spell buckled under its own weight. The backlash hit Lucent like a sledgehammer to the sternum, cracking a rib, but it sent Nex flying backward into a mountain of scrap metal. The impact rang through the junkyard like a gong, scattering rats and sending a rusted metal parts crashing down in a shower of sparks.

Lucent spat blood. But it was worth it.

The three seconds of stunned silence were all he needed.

He turned, Conduit raised, and cast the dirtiest and cheapest spell in his arsenal—a Sensory Dazzle, rank 2. Not enough to blind, but enough to make Nex's crew recoil as their optics glitched, their augmented eyes flickering with static as the spell short-circuited their implants.

Nex was already rising, his prosthetic hissing like an angry serpent. "You little—"

Lucent didn't let him finish.

He closed the distance and slammed his Conduit directly into Nex's throat.

The device sparked violently, discharging the last dregs of its battery in a Point-Blank Surge. Nex's body convulsed, every muscle locking as electricity arced through him, his augmented jaw clenching so hard something cracked. The stench of burning flesh and fried circuits filled the air.

For one suspended second, the junkyard was utterly silent.

Then Nex collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

His crew froze, the reality of the situation dawning on them as their leader twitched on the ground, smoke curling from his collar.

Lucent didn't wait to see if they'd rally. He grabbed Kai by the scruff of his ruined jacket and hauled him upright. "Run."

Behind them, Nex's roar of fury echoed through the tunnels, his voice raw with promises of vengeance. But for now—they were alive.

And Lucent had a payday to collect.