The market district in Roza was a loud, sweaty mess—cobblestone streets packed with the stalls, folks hollering over the sizzling food carts. Kai, Mid Stage Soul Initiate, crouched in the grimy alley just off the square, digging through the pockets of the three goons Lysara sent to drag him back to her fancy mansion. No way he'd let her win. The brass badges on their coats screamed hired muscle, and Kai's gut burned to screw her over. The void-black soul essence in him hummed, the All-Devouring Clock ticking like it was ready to roll.
"Got it," Kai muttered, snagging the communicator from the lead goon's belt. The gadget, size of the big coin, had the crystal core with Lysara's gaudy crest carved in. The coin pouches they carried were light—barely enough for the loaf of bread—but the communicator? That'd fetch some real coin in the market district. New clothes, something that didn't make his skinny frame look like it crawled out of the ditch.
His soul essence, all dark and grabby, ate up the stray light around him, leaving his body alone. It was weird, nothing like the golden glow everybody else had. The books he'd nicked never explained it. If he could crack the Clock's ticking, he might get somewhere.
His stomach was growling, legs shaky, but the hum kept him moving. "Sell the communicator, grab the gear," he said. "Don't blow it, Kai."
He slipped into the market's chaos, dodging the drunks and the carts steaming with spicy noodles. The low chug caught his ear at the banged-up stall. Kai stopped, eyes glued to the soul tuner, the brass gears clunking as the soul essence flowed through the crystal tubes. The thing, built to fix the essence gadgets for trades, glowed like the hot forge, the gears grinding and the essence spitting sparks. Kai leaned in, studying the carefully crafted machinery, trying to learn its secrets. Maybe he could rebuild one someday, tinker his way to something big. The void essence in him buzzed, itching to mess with the tuner. Could it scan the void? The hum in his chest was all, go for it.
An old beefy trader, Early Stage Soul Awakened, was standing beside it, leaning on the stall, the copper pipe in his mouth puffing faint smoke. Two brazzen thugs, both at Late Stage Soul Initiate, stood behind him, showcasing their strength while flexing the brass gloves on their fists, the gadgets humming low. "No free looks, kid," the trader, growled, spitting to the side. "Buy or beat it."
Kai's heart kicked up, hunger making him dizzy. The communicator was the only shot, and the squint from Cal screamed scam. What in the world, he could barely stand. But he couldn't just give up, pushing him. "Beat it? Old man, the communicator's worth the whole stall." He smirked, flashing the gadget. The eyes of the old trader lit up with anticipation, the copper pipe tilting as he pulled a metallic object with many gears from his belt, the gears rotated as the Old man poured essense into the tool. A beam of orange light shot out from the tool and embedded the communicator to check it. Kai jerked back, the beam nicking his wrist, stinging like crazy. The thugs stepped in, their brass gloves aiming to grab the —Iron Snag. Kai twisted, his void essence curling.
He nudged it at the soul tuner, the Clock's hands going wild. The tuner's crystal blinked, the essence wobbling, but the skill from Cal yanked it back."Tricky kid!" Cal grinned, puffing the pipe and swinging the soul-rod with a Flare Snap realizing golden streaks. Kai ducked,evading barely.one of the thugs took the opportunity throwing a heavy Puch at his shoulder.Kai was hit and thrown back. The pain in his shoulder surged then dissapeared quickly as if consumed from within. He crashes into the stall, the tuner's gears screeching as the void essence brushed it. The crystal tubes cracked, the essence leaking in the tiny pops.
The thugs froze, pissed off. "You idiot!" the old trader yelled, yanking the pipe out. "The soul tuner is my source of living."Kai scrambled up, his shoulder screaming, grinning like the fool. "My bad, man. Guess I'm the bad news." The tuner's gears went nuts, the essence flaring. The tube blew, spraying the essence dust . The hum was screaming, egging him on. He shoved the void essence into the tuner, the brain burning to push past the shaky skills. The machine groaned, the gears jamming with the loud thunk. The secret slot popped open, spitting out the fist-sized orb—the Void Resonance Core, the rare gadget swirling with his dark essence, the black runes on it glowing like the starless night.
The Old man's jaw dropped, his pipe nearly falling. "That's mine!" He charged, his soul-rod blazing with Flare Snap. Kai gripped the core, the essence in it syncing with the void, making the Clock's hum go crazy. The thugs rushed, their brass gloves swinging in Iron Snag. Kai dodged,his void essence pumping. He squeezed the core, the runes sparking. The black slash ripped out—Void Spike—the sharp burst that ate the gloves' essence, smashing them. The soul-rod from old man jabbed, but Kai rolled, slamming the core forward. It shot a shockwave the dark ripple emaniting from kai's hand blasted the old maninto the stall, his soul-rod snapping like the stick.
Kai wheezed, his legs felt weak. The core dimmed, but it'd saved him. The old man was cold out, groaning, the pipe fell to the ground. Kai swiped the rough jacket from the rack—gray, tough, way better than the rags—and stuffed the core inside. The communicator was still good for sell later; the core was the real prize.
Then, a deep rumble shook the stall. The floor quaked, the brass gears grinding as the trapdoor creaked open. A red glow poured out, the essence pulsing like bad news. Kai was astounded. The core's runes lit up, emanating a golden glow, like it was calling.The rough laugh hit the air.
A hooded guy, a Late Stage Soul Master, stepped from the trapdoor, the soul-axe in his hand sparking with the golden essence. "Some kid with the Void Resonance Core? Hand it over, or I slice you up to bits." The smirk from Kai dropped. This person's skill was on a whole different level—way past The old man's. Trouble always found him. The soul master swung his axe realising a golden light that headed towards Kai.Kai jumped avoiding the slash. The soul master takes another swing.Kai dives just in time avoiding being severed in half, the blade grazes his side, the pain burns like fire. He clutchs the core, he channels soul essence into the core releasing a beam of his essence. The Late Stage Soul Master grinned, the axe spinning in the brutal arc "Doom Spiral".
The head of Kai screamed—screw Lysara, screw the city, he'd be more. The Clock's hum roared, the hands spinning. Kai poured the void essence into the core, the brain on fire. The core flared, the runes pulsing, and unleashed a black wave—Void Storm—the wild surge consumed the slash coming his way . It then hot the soul master blasting him back into the trapdoor.Kai hit the ground, his vision blurred with every step his head spinning, he was bleeding from the cut from his previous fight. He was loosing his sight. The core's runes hummed, like they knew the Clock's secrets. The red core with numerous symbols intricately curved could juice the void essence, maybe make him the strong enough to defeat the enemy.
The enemy clearly had tricks,he had coated his body with soul essence and managed to block the hit. His void essence was strong but the strength gap between them was so vast.his attack couldn't penetrate his defenses.His essence was nearly running out. Kai knew that this was his final chance for attack. He channeled all his essence into the core preparing to fire his last bullet.all light around the area began dissapearing as the voidal power increased .The red glow got worse, the essence thumping like the drum.
A shadow moved in the trapdoor—the figure, draped in the black cloth, holding the brass spike. Before Kai could blink, the figure chucked the spike, hitting the core. The wild hum exploded, the essence going nuts. The world went dark, the body numb, as the voice rasped, "Find the forge, kid, or it finds you."