The air in the Outer Slums didn't just smell like dust; it tasted like rotting iron. This was the "Garbage Heap," the place where the Academy threw its failed experiments and broken souls.
Raiden held Mia's hand tightly. Her small fingers were ice-cold, and she stared at the ground, clutching her rag doll to her chest. They were surrounded.
Men in long leather coats reinforced with lead plates stood in a semi-circle. They carried rugged, primitive rifles, but the chambers glowed with a toxic green light—"Rust Energy."
"The Brigadier wants to see the 'Newcomer'... and the 'Core' he brought with him," one of them said, gesturing with his rifle toward Mia.
Raiden's eyes narrowed. The Archive on his wrist began to thrum, a low growl echoing in his mind. He wasn't the weak boy from District 7 anymore. He was a loaded gun waiting for a reason to go off.
Before he could strike, a heavy metal door at the end of the alleyway screeched open. A mountain of a man stepped out. He wore a weathered trench coat and an industrial gas mask. On his back, strapped with rusted chains, was a pressurized glass jar. Inside it, a massive heart pulsed with a necrotic purple glow, wired directly into his spine.
This was The Brigadier, the King of the Outcasts.
"Back off," the Brigadier growled, his voice vibrating through the mask's filters. "This isn't some stray dog. This is 'Vessel Zero'—the kid who turned the Academy upside down today."
The soldiers stepped back immediately. The Brigadier walked toward Raiden, his heavy boots cracking the pavement. He reached out and gripped Raiden's blackened, scarred arm.
Raiden didn't pull away. He felt a strange, jarring resonance. This man didn't have the "pure" energy of the Academy elites. His energy was jagged, broken, and heavy—just like Raiden's. They were two frequencies of the same static.
"Welcome to the real hell, Raiden," the Brigadier said. He reached up and unlatched his mask.
The hiss of pressurized air escaped as the mask came off. Half of his face was rugged and bearded, but the other half was a horrifying map of molten metal and fused wires. His eye on that side was a glowing red optic lens.
"The Academy wants you dead to hide their mistake," the Brigadier continued, his voice raw. "The White Organization wants to put you on a table and peel back your skin to see how you work. But us? We just want to survive."
He looked down at Mia, his red optic lens clicking as it focused.
"And your sister... she isn't just a girl, Raiden. She's the only 'Key' left that can disable the Great Seal. That's why they're coming. Not just for your blade, but for what she's hiding inside her."
Raiden stepped in front of Mia, his shadow elongating and darkening. "If anyone touches her, I'll burn this entire city to ash."
The Brigadier let out a dry, hacking laugh. "Good. You'll need that rage. Because tonight, the Purge Squads aren't coming with handcuffs. They're coming with 'Erasers.'"