The trio moved deeper into the criminal sector of World Heart City. The change was immediate.
The pristine marble streets gave way to darker stone, cracked and scorched in places. Lanterns here burned with a flickering violet flame, casting long shadows along the alleys. The crowd was different—sharper eyes, quiet footsteps, and subtle hands slipping into pockets before retreating just as quickly. Hooded figures leaned against walls, cloaked in veils of illusion or surrounded by faint ripples of spatial interference. Everyone here was dangerous—and everyone knew it.
Veyra walked between Asher and Valeris, her senses sharpened.
"This place feels like it shouldn't exist inside a city watched by the World Consciousness," she said softly.
Asher nodded. "It exists because the World Consciousness allows it. This city holds all types—saints, emperors… monsters. A perfect realm must have a shadow. And this is it."
