My boots hit the metallic floor with sharp, resounding clanks, each step echoing like a distant drumbeat. My pace was deliberate, but my thoughts were scattered—too fractured, like shards of broken glass—too jagged to piece back together. The overhead lights flickered sporadically, casting a sickly, pale glow that barely kept the creeping shadows at bay. All around me, the soft hum of unseen machinery buzzed relentlessly, a quiet rhythm beneath everything. Beyond the bulkhead doors, faint voices meandered through the air. Their presence was a barely perceptible rhythm, but I barely registered it. My mind kept circling back to one thing—Ms. Carmen''s words.


    "Your old friends are back."


    Cyclops. Vekar’yn. The Syndicate. Even the names stung like hot metal on bare skin. I could almost hear Cyclops''s laugh—hollow, cruel—echoing in my head. It churned in my gut like an approaching storm, full of anger, building with relentless force. This wasn''t coincidence. The sabotage? Too deliberate. The chaos? It was intentional. Someone was pushing something, and I couldn''t ignore it.


    The air around me thickened. It felt heavy, pressing down on me. That tight knot in my stomach twisted harder, and I exhaled slowly, the weight of everything unsaid closing in on me. The words I hadn’t managed to say earlier still clung to my throat, heavy and stuck. I shook my head, trying to clear the haze, and quickened my steps—until a voice sliced through my thoughts.


    "Aiden ?^ >ヮ<^?!"


    I barely managed to catch my footing before stopping dead in my tracks. Elissa. Of course it was her. She stood against the wall, casually leaned like she had all the time in the world, her electric blue hair practically glowing in the harsh lights above. And that grin of hers, a cat who’d just cornered its prey.


    "You’re putting the brood in brooding," she teased, her voice light, almost musical, but laced with sharpness. She unfolded herself from the wall with a single, easy movement and strolled toward me with that confident swagger only she could pull off. "Congratulations! You’re officially grumpy enough for today’s mission: Operation Retail Therapy."


    "Shopping?" I frowned, narrowing my eyes. "Now? /? - ? -マ?"


    Her eyes widened, feigning scandal, the most dramatic of expressions. "Yes, now! The ancient human art of acquiring non-combat-related goods. Haven’t you read the latest health manual? It’s essential for morale—and mine specifically."


    I stared at her like she was speaking in a different language. "I don''t—"


    She cut me off, wagging her finger with mock disapproval. "Uh-uh-uh! No negotiations, Aiden. This is an order issued under the strict guidelines of... whatever program governs making your coworkers less boring /?????\."


    I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance. "This is exactly why I avoid people."


    From the corner of my eye, I saw Rei, clutching an operations manual to his chest like it was some kind of lifeline, muttering to himself as he hurried down the corridor. Well, this was perfect.


    "You. Newbie." My voice sliced through the air like a knife, hard and direct, as my finger pointed at Rei, zeroing in on him.


    Rei froze mid-step, head whipping toward me. "Uh... me?"


    "Yes, you. Congratulations, you''re coming with us."


    Rei blinked, looking between me and Elissa in sheer confusion. "I—coming where? Why?"The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Before he could backpedal, Elissa was already all over him, latching onto his arm with a smile that could only be described as unrelenting. "You’re coming on the most important mission of your young career: bonding time!" she chirped, that grin growing into something unreasonably wide. "You’ll love it. ?^>ヮ<^?"


    Rei''s eyes shifted from her to me, panic flashing in them. "Aiden, help?"


    I merely shrugged, arms crossed, watching with mild disinterest. "She’s relentless. Good luck saying no."


    ---


    The marketplace buzzed with frenetic energy, an odd blend of chaos and color. Neon signs blinked erratically above every stall, casting short-lived flashes of color on the worn streets below. The air smelled thick with sizzling meat, a hint of spices, and some sweet confectionary scent I couldn''t quite place. The chatter of the crowd mingled with the sounds of street musicians, their beats relentless and off-kilter, matching the hurried pulse of the city. Strings of glowing orbs dotted the sky, casting kaleidoscopic colors on the already warped reality of the bustling street below, offering everything from shiny tech to trinkets made from someone''s half-formed imagination.


    Rei looked visibly out of place, his grip on the operations manual so tight his knuckles were white as the overstimulation of the marketplace hit him all at once. "Are we seriously shopping here? In the middle of... this?"


    "You sound like an old man," Elissa laughed, tugging his sleeve like he was a puppet in her hands, her voice light and teasing. "Stop worrying. This—" She gestured broadly around us, pausing just in time to point at a juggler tossing flaming batons into the air in rhythmic, graceful arcs. "—This is where life happens. See? That’s joy."


    I lagged behind a few paces, hands shoved deep into my jacket pockets, watching the crowd but not really seeing them. There was laughter here, sure. But it sounded like something sharp, like glass shattering, distorted by the odd crackle in the air. The flickering missing posters posted to nearby poles caught my attention, their faces barely visible beneath the wind, as if the world was trying to scrub them out of existence. I stopped, just a moment too long, staring. Something didn''t sit right with me about that one poster.


    Elissa, unaware, practically dragged us into a boutique. "This is it!"


    I glanced up at the ridiculously flashy sign above the door. “Timeless Finds.” Seriously? The chrome mannequins stood posed in exaggerated stances, their arms caught in fake action, draped in flashy coats and fur, as if they were all too eager to sell me something I didn’t want. "This can’t be serious."


    "Oh, it’s serious, rookie," Elissa chirped, tossing her hair over her shoulder like she didn’t have a care in the world. "You wouldn’t understand. You’re grace-deprived /? ^ ? ^ ??\?."


    Rei glanced between her and the door like he might make a break for it. "I think I’d rather stay outside..."


    "Good luck with that." I muttered dryly under my breath. "This feels like an ambush."


    Elissa spun around on a dime, her eyes already sparkling. She held up a sleeveless denim jacket, one that had more zippers and buckles than I could count. "Aiden, this is *so* you /? ?° ? ?° ?\!"


    I glared at the jacket, unimpressed. "Do I look like the sort of guy who wears... that?"


    She slapped the jacket against my chest, a mock-serious look in her eyes. "Look, hotshot. It’s about making a statement. You know, something like: ‘I punch monsters and still slay the runway.’"


    A smirk tugged at my lips, but I kept it under control. "The only statement it makes is, ''I’ve given up.’"


    Her playful offense hit the next gear as she crossed her arms. "Oh, come on, don’t be a buzzkill, man /?? ? ? ?\." She jabbed at my chest playfully. "If you’re so above all this, tell me, what exactly do you wear to—oh, I don’t know—something social? Do you even own anything that isn’t combat black?"


    I opened my mouth to argue, but her victorious smirk silenced me before I even got a word out.


    "Ha! Exactly. By the time we’re done here, monsters will die of shame just looking at you."


    At this point, our bickering had reached its usual crescendo, each exchange its own dance, one I was both stuck in and strangely used to.


    "You’re impossible."


    "And you’re allergic to joy. So, we’re even."


    Rei was already backing toward the door, mumbling to himself like he was trying to negotiate his way out of the situation. "Please, for the love of everything, don’t drag me into this..."


    Of course, Elissa''s grin only widened, her eyes locking onto him as she spun on her heel, waving yet another jacket in front of Rei’s face. "Rei, this is perfect for you. Trust me ?(? >ω< ?)?!"


    "No, no, no!" Rei practically shrieked in panic, holding his hands up to block her approach. "That’s more his style, not mine!" He looked at me desperately. "Hey! Don’t drag me into this!"


    The bell over the boutique door jingled as it opened, and a familiar voice almost knocked the wind out of me.


    "Come on! Is this place really that bad?"


    It was a voice I’d heard too many times before, light and teasing but laced with familiarity. My chest tightened before I even registered why.


    "Pfft, please. It looks like some arts-and-crafts geek tried fashion." A male voice followed, and I caught the glint of green in his hair. That was a sight I could have done without, right now.


    "Well, aren''t you a sight for sore eyes, Aiden."


    The man’s voice was so familiar, and it stirred something deep in my chest that I couldn’t quite name.


    [End of Chapter]