The air in Evie's lab hung heavy with static and grief. The Veilbreaker Lens lay disassembled on the worktable, its iridescent components glowing faintly like dying stars. Evie's fingers trembled as she projected holographic schematics. "To stabilize the Lens, we need two ingredients: Starlight Ash and Void Resin. One's in the Stellar Wastes, the other in the Silent District." She avoided Symbol's gaze. "We'll have to split up."
Lila leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Silent District's my kind of hell. I'll take Evie."
"No," Thomas Westwood said, stepping forward. His glasses reflected the holograms, hiding the resolve in his eyes. "Evie needs someone who understands tech to navigate the Silent District's traps. I'll go with her."
Symbol's jaw tightened. His father had always been a man of equations, not combat. "Dad, the Silent District's a sound-dead zone. One wrong step and—"
"And I've rigged dampeners to my gear," Thomas interrupted, patting the modified backpack humming at his side. "I'll keep her safe."
Lila shot Symbol a look. Let him go.
The Stellar Wastes
Symbol and Lila trekked across a radioactive desert, the sky choked with violet dust. The remains of a meteorite crater loomed ahead, its edges glittering with Starlight Ash—a crystalline powder said to be the remnants of a fallen star. The air buzzed with energy, and the ground trembled underfoot.
"Charming vacation spot," Lila said, adjusting her respirator. "Remind me to leave a one-star review."
They didn't have to wait long for trouble. Monolithic creatures made of jagged quartz erupted from the sand, their faceted bodies refracting light into lethal beams. Symbol's Resonance flared, his guitar strings screeching as he deflected the attacks. Lila danced between the creatures, her knife carving fissures in their crystalline hides.
"Ash is in the crater's heart!" Symbol shouted, dodging a beam that vaporized a boulder. "I'll distract them. Go!"
Lila vanished into the dust. Symbol played a dissonant riff, the Veilbreaker Chord shuddering through the wastes. The creatures recoiled, their bodies cracking under the strain.
The Silent District
Evie and Thomas crept through streets draped in unnatural quiet. Sound here was lethal—every footstep, every breath risked triggering sonic mines left by the Symphony. Buildings leaned like broken teeth, their walls scarred with resonance burns.
"Void Resin forms where reality glitches," Evie whispered, her tablet mapping distortions. "There." She pointed to an alley where the air rippled like water. At its center floated a black, tar-like substance—Void Resin.
Thomas activated his dampeners, creating a fragile bubble of silence. "Stay behind me."
They inched forward, but the district fought back. A mine detonated, the shockwave shredding Thomas's dampeners. Evie stumbled as the silence shattered—a deafening roar tore through the alley, collapsing walls and dislodging debris.
"Go!" Thomas shoved Evie toward the Resin. "I'll hold the frequency!"
He slammed his hand onto his backpack, overriding its safety protocols. The device emitted a sustained scream, countering the district's deadly harmonics. Blood trickled from his ears as the strain ruptured capillaries.
"Dad—!" Evie lunged, but Thomas shoved her back.
"Take the Resin. Now."
Convergence
Symbol and Lila returned to the lab with Starlight Ash, its glow dimming in its lead-lined container. Evie arrived moments later, Void Resin clutched in her hands, her face streaked with dried tears.
"Where's Thomas?" Symbol asked, though he already knew.
Evie didn't answer. She placed the Resin on the table and walked out, her silence louder than any scream.
Lila stared at the components. "We can still fix this."
Symbol's grip tightened on his guitar. The Veilbreaker Lens hummed, its pieces slotting together with finality. "We'll make it count."
Status Update:
Level: 9
Experience Points: 35,000/40,000
Energy: 20/25
New Item: Thomas's Dampener (grants temporary immunity to sonic attacks).
In the shadows of the lab, the Energy Monitor clone flickered. Aria Voss's airship descended toward Neo-Noctis, its engines silent.
Somewhere in the Silent District, a single dampener lay broken in the rubble, its screen flashing a final message:
> PROTOCOL OVERRIDE: SACRIFICE ACCEPTED.