The world smelled of sulfur and old rust. It was the scent of a dying age, a smell that clung to Elian's skin no matter how hard he scrubbed.
Elian adjusted the filtration mask covering the lower half of his face. The leather was cracked, and the filter cartridge was three weeks past its expiration date, making every breath taste like metallic dust. He crouched on the rusted skeletal beam of what used to be a skyscraper, looking down into the abyss of Sector 4.
"Don't look down, Elian," he whispered to himself, his voice muffled by the mask. "Look for the glow."
Below him, the fog of ash swirled like a living ocean. Somewhere beneath that grey blanket lay the corpse of the deity known as Valdor, the Earth-Shaker. When Valdor fell from the heavens three centuries ago, his impact had flattened the continent. Now, his calcified bones served as mines for the city of Oakhaven.
Elian wasn't supposed to be here. This was a Red Zone—territory claimed by the Iron-Blood Guild. If they caught a freelancer like him scavenging their scraps, they wouldn't just kill him; they would toss him into the rendering vats to turn his body into fuel.
But Elian had no choice. His sister, Mara, had the cough. The Ash-Sickness was turning her lungs to stone, and the medicine cost fifty silver credits. Elian had three.
He scanned the ruins, his eyes narrowing. Then, he saw it.
A faint, pulsating blue light emanated from a crevice about fifty meters down, nestled between two massive, rib-like structures of white stone. Divine Marrow. Even a gram of raw marrow could sell for a hundred credits.
Elian checked his gear. A rusted grappling hook, a serrated knife made from scrap metal, and a canvas bag. It wasn't much, but it had kept him alive for nineteen years.
"Easy money," he lied to himself.
He secured the hook to the beam and rappelled down. The wind howled through the ruins, threatening to smash him against the concrete, but Elian moved with the fluid grace of a rat. He landed silently on a ledge covered in black moss.
The blue light was closer now. It was coming from a small cave opening in the God's bone.
Elian crept forward, drawing his knife. The silence here was unnatural. Usually, these depths were crawling with Corrupted—rats the size of dogs and beetles that spat acid. But today, there was nothing. Just the wind and the hum of the magic.
He stepped into the cave. The air suddenly became warmer. The ash didn't reach here.
In the center of the small chamber sat a crystal cluster growing out of the bone, glowing with that beautiful, dangerous blue hue. Elian's heart hammered against his ribs. This wasn't just marrow; this was a Core Fragment. This could buy Mara medicine for a year. It could buy them a ticket out of the slums.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a chisel. Clink. Clink.
He worked fast, sweat stinging his eyes. The crystal began to loosen. One final strike, and it broke free, dropping into his hand. It was heavy, humming with a vibration that traveled up his arm.
"Got you," he grinned beneath his mask.
CRACK.
The sound didn't come from the crystal. It came from behind him.
Elian spun around, knife raised.
Standing at the entrance of the cave was a creature that looked like a nightmare woven from shadows. It was a Hollow—a human scavenger who had absorbed too much radiation from the dead Gods and lost their mind. Its skin was translucent and grey, its eyes burning with a mindless hunger. It wore the tattered remains of an Iron-Blood Guild uniform.
The creature hissed, exposing jagged, metallic teeth.
"Mine..." the Hollow gurgled, its voice like grinding stones.
Elian took a step back, gripping the crystal in his left hand and the knife in his right. "I don't want trouble," he said, though he knew Hollows couldn't be reasoned with.
The Hollow lunged.
Elian threw himself to the side, barely dodging the creature's clawed hand. The claws raked across the stone wall, sending sparks flying. Elian slashed out with his knife, catching the creature's arm. Black blood sprayed, burning the floor where it landed.
The Hollow didn't even flinch. It backhanded Elian, hitting him in the chest with the force of a sledgehammer.
Elian flew backward, slamming into the glowing wall of the God's bone. The air left his lungs. He gasped, tasting blood. His mask had cracked. The toxic air rushed in, burning his throat.
The Hollow advanced slowly, savoring the kill.
Elian tried to push himself up, but his vision swam. He looked at the crystal in his hand. It was glowing brighter now, pulsing in time with his frantic heartbeat.
Is this it? he thought bitterly. Dying in a hole for a rock?
As the Hollow raised its claws for the killing blow, the ground beneath them trembled. It wasn't an earthquake. The vibration came from inside the wall Elian was leaning against.
A voice, deeper than the abyss and older than time, echoed not in the room, but directly inside Elian's skull.
[ COMPATIBILITY DETECTED. ]
Elian froze. The Hollow froze, sensing something ancient waking up.
The blue crystal in Elian's hand suddenly shattered, dissolving into a fine mist of light. But the mist didn't dissipate. It swirled around Elian's arm, sinking into his skin like water into dry earth.
Pain.
White-hot, blinding pain shot through Elian's veins. He screamed, his back arching off the ground. It felt like liquid fire was replacing his blood.
[ SYNC RATE: 10%... 40%... 80%... ]
The Hollow shrieked in terror and turned to flee, but it was too late. The air in the cave grew heavy, crushing the gravity downwards.
Elian's eyes snapped open. The irises were no longer brown. They were burning gold.
He didn't know what was happening, but he felt a surge of strength that terrified him. He looked at the fleeing Hollow. He didn't think; he just acted. He reached out his hand.
"Stop," Elian commanded.
He didn't shout, but the word carried a force like a physical blow. An invisible wave erupted from his palm.
BOOM.
The Hollow didn't just stop. It exploded. The force of the blast disintegrated the creature instantly, painting the cave walls with black ichor. The shockwave blew the dust out of the cave entrance, clearing the air for a hundred meters.
Elian fell to his knees, the golden light in his eyes fading. He gasped, looking at his hands. They were trembling. His veins were visible beneath his skin, glowing with a faint, golden lattice pattern.
The mechanical voice returned, softer now, fading into the back of his mind.
[ HOST BOUND. LEGACY OF THE SILENT GOD ACTIVATED. WELCOME, DISCIPLE. ]
Then, silence returned to the cave.
Elian stared at the spot where the monster had been. He looked at his hands, then at the pulsating veins. He realized with a sinking dread that he hadn't just found a treasure. He had become one.
And in a world where power was hunted, he had just become the most valuable prey in the Ashlands.
He grabbed his bag, ignored the pain in his ribs, and ran. He had to get to Mara. He had to hide.
But high above, in the broken clouds, the sleeping stone face of the dead God seemed to shift, just a fraction.
The Era of Ash was ending.
Continue for Chapter 2