BONG. BONG. BONG.
The first bell strike hit the city like a physical blow. In the Apostate's cellar, the sound vibrated through the lead-lined walls, causing the dust on the scrolls to dance.
Kai's eyes snapped open. He didn't need the Apostate to tell him what three bells meant.
"The giral…" Kai rasped.
He tried to push himself up from the crate, but his left arm was a dead weight. The blue frost had crept past his shoulder, numbing the side of his neck.
"Sit down, you fool," the Apostate said, his blindfold turning toward the ceiling. "The bells mean the Cathedral is sealed. If you go out there now, you are just walking into a furnace. Vane will have the streets blocked with order fields within minutes."
"I am not leaving them," Kai growled.
The Red inside him flared, fighting against the blue ice. A vein in his neck pulsed dark, angry orange. He reached for The Scourge with his right hand, the notched steel scraping the stone floor.
"You can't even hold your sword!" the Apostate shouted. He grabbed a heavy iron bowl from his desk and slammed it down.
"If you want to save them, you have to break the ice. Now"
"How?"
The Apostate reached into a hidden drawer and pulled out a jagged shard of raw Halo stone; not the refined, glowing yellow stuff the church used, but a piece of Blood stone stained a deep, pulsing crimson.
"That is an unrefined catalyst," the Apostate explained, his voice trembling slightly. "It doesn't filter the fire; it magnifies it. If I press this into your Mark. It will burn away the Void chill instantly.
But it will also consume your calories. Your body fat, your muscle, your every breath feels like hell. If you don't kill Vane and get to a meal within an hour, your own fire will eat your heart."
Kai looked at the red stone. He could feel the heat radiating from it; it smelled like dried blood. He looked at the foundation crack where Miri had disappeared.
"Do it," Kai said.
The Apostate didn't hesitate. He pressed the shard directly into the center of the Fire Mark on Kai's shoulder.
Kai didn't scream, or to be precise he couldn't. His lungs locked as a wall of White hot agony surged through his nervous system.
The blue frost on his arm evaporated in a cloud of hissing steam. The translucent skin turned back to flesh, then to a glowing, molten red.
The shackle on his wrist began to smoke. The runes turned violent, screaming violently as the device tried to suppress the sudden spike in Resonance.
"Go," the Apostate whispered, leaning back, his own hands scorched from the proximity.
"But remember, Kai…a torch that burns twice as bright lasts half as long. You are on the clock."
Kai exploded through the foundation crack. The Bloodstone on his shoulder was working too well. Every breath he took felt like he was inhaling drugs, and his vision was tinted a sharp, predatory orange.
The alleyway outside was filled with a thick, grey fog; the city's lockdown mist. Above, the three bells were still vibrating, their echoes bouncing off the salt-crusted stone walls.
Kai gripped The Scourge. The heavy iron hilt was hot to the touch, steam rising where his sweat hit the metal.
"Target located! Section 4. Sump Entrance!"
A voice boomed in silver plate armour dropped down, their heavy boots cracking the pavement. They held long shock staves that hissed with electricity.
Kai didn't wait for them to level their weapons. He moved with a speed that defined his massive frame.
He swung the notched Nodachi in a vertical cleave.
The first guard raised his shock staff to parry. In the past, the energy in the staff would have deflected Kai's blow.
But now, Kai was Overclocked. The heavy iron blade didn't stop; it sheared through the staff and the guard's silver pauldron, burning itself in the stone ground.
The guard didn't bleed red; a spray of pure yellow energy hissed from the wound. These men were so bleached that they were barely human anymore.
The second guard lunged, his staff catching Kai in the ribs. A massive jolt of kinetic energy slammed into Kai's chest, but it didn't do much damage.
The Red in his blood absorbed the hit. He felt his own skin blistering under his cloak, but the pain was a distant noise.
Kai grabbed the staff with his bare hand; the skin glowing a dull cherry red, and wrenched it away.
He drove his elbow into the guard's helmet, the metal crumpling like parchment.
'One minute down,' Kai thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. 'Fifty-nine left.'
He could feel the Bloodstone eating his strength. His stomach cramped with a sudden, violent hunger. If he didn't find Elara and Miri soon, he wouldn't need a guard to kill him; his own heart would shatter itself to pieces.
He looked toward the High Cathedral. The white marble towers were glowing brighter now, the order fields forming a golden dome over the central district. He had to get inside that dome before it sealed completely.
The Order Dome was closing. A wall of shimmering yellow light descended from the Cathedral's spires, touching the ground with a low-frequency hum that made Kai's teeth ache.
Ten yards from the main stairs, Vane stood waiting. He wasn't wearing his helmet. His face was a mask of cold disappointment.
"I expected you to run from the Sump, Kai," Vane said.
He raised his heavy mace. The weapon hissed as it drew power from the Cathedral's central font.
"Coming here, while Overclocked…you are not just a criminal. You are a suicide bomber."
Kai couldn't speak. He choked; his throat was so dry it felt like it was lined with sandpaper. He adjusted his grip on The Scourge. The bloodstone in his shoulder was pulsing in time with his heartbeat, sending waves of orange heat through his chest.
"The girl and the merchant," Kai rasped. "Let them out."