Ishiki gritted his teeth and instantly turned around.

'Holy shit... What have I gotten myself into.'

Without any delay, he launched himself off the rooftop and landed in the alley below and burst into a sprint the moment his boots hit the ground. Behind him, shouts multiplied and footsteps thundered.

He has just witnessed, a cart trafficking poor children, and then a bastard in black clothing appears out of nowhere and saves them... murdering the merchant responsible in between.

He was left dazed... and miraculously, all that had to happen as he was about to leave.

Was it not too much of a coincidence... and the fact that the murderer even escaped and all the attention was now shifted to Ishiki.

"There was a murder and goods were stolen! Alert any of the active captains! Don't let him escape!"

Behind Ishiki the chase ignited.

Ishiki tore through the Secondary Ring's streets, his coat flapping behind him like the wings of a fleeing bird. The alleys blurred into a maze of white stone and people. He vaulted over a low wall and skidded around a corner, inviting many curious gazes.

But they all went back to their own works as soon as they saw the group of people following him. No one stepped to stop him... as if they were afraid of even helping the guards that were after him.

Behind Ishiki, the Awakened woman was relentless too... She turned around the corner and suddenly stopped, her eyes glowed a faint bluish and then the air around Ishiki grew thick and oppressive, as though gravity itself had increased.

'She is using her skill,' he realized. 'Is she manipulating weight or air?.'

Ishiki greeted his teeth and continued running. After blending in between a specifically thick crowd, he activated [Ghost Blade] into its full power.

As soon as he did, his immediate perception of the world changed, colors were sucked out leaving behind a monochrome image of a sphere in his mind.

Around him, people became less aware of his presence. The air around him returned back to normal as the awakened lady lost the target. The guards that were running after him stopped too with a confused expression.

Ishiki witnessed it all through the picture in his mind and as soon as he exited the deep crowd he ran into an empty alley.

The guards and the awakened lady dispersed into groups of two over different directions. Now that Ishiki was seeing the whole area of 500 meters around him, it was much easier to predict the movements of the soldiers and loose them.

It was like watching multiple cats chase a mouse, who knew their all moves.

Ishiki dodged them all with ease and ran around the city's maze like streets slowly moving towards the golden wall looming in distance.

The Secondary Ring's pristine streets gave way to the main boulevard. At one point Ishiki was surrounded from all sides and had no choice but to have a confrontation with six of the guards.

'Screw it... there were just four of five of them at the start. Did the secondary ring's army members joined them?' Ishiki thought with a bitter taste in his mouth as two of them suddenly jumped out of the left alley.

He dodged a spear and a sword... both clattering uselessly against each other. He didn't stop and continued sprinting. The guards yelled and ran after him.

'Shut up goddamn it.'

Their yelling got the attention from all the guards that were around and they all ran towards the source.

Ishiki barely had reached the end to enter the main street once again and enter the crowd... but his way was blocked by the awakened lady herself this time.

'How bad can this get.' He gritted his teeth and turned around. But the alley was blocked by two army soldiers this time.

"Surrender yourself..." The awakened lady started You have nowhere to-"

"In your dreams." Ishiki interrupted the woman and summoned the [Aether blade].

The bladeless tachi appeared in his hand. The lustrous silver saya had already been lost, when it broke back in the forest. It didn't generate back.

Anyways... Ishiki ran towards the soldiers, gripping only the handle of a sword, that had no blade.

For a second the soldiers were dumbfound... and amused in equal measures. What could that child do anyways with a bladeless handle.

They underestimated their opponent and didn't take measures... that was a foolish mistake like none other.

On the other hand... Ishiki was even more scared. 'Holy cow... don't these guys think that it might be dangerous?'

In fact, he didn't know how to use the bladeless tachi to its full extent till now. It just cuts randomly and sometimes doesn't.

Still... he had to bluff his way through.

And he did, he closed the distance to the soldiers... even the awakened lady on the other side of the alley saw this with a smile playing on her red lips.

The soldiers finally moved... both of them had a spear that they thrust in at the same time, Ishiki dodged the first and let the second hit him a little on the side... only taking away a piece if his new shirt.

'That cost me fucking 10 silver coins... dumbasses.' He swung the handle with all his might, prying that it will cut. He even activated Ghost Blade, to increase the effectiveness.

The invisible blade passed through the first soldier without harming him and then it passed through the armor of the second one too.

Suddenly, Ishiki felt some resistance and he gritted his teeth driving the sword deep.

The sword exited the other side of the armor, invisible as ever and without a stain of blood.

Ishiki didn't stop to see what happened... both of the soldiers were stunned and he took the moment to get away from between them.

"What are you spacing out for..." The lady burst into action, but her eyes widened as Ishiki vanished into the darkness and behind him. A pool of blood seeped through the soldiers armor.

Then he collapsed... dead.

"What... the?" The soldier beside the dead body looked at the pool of blood and froze... had the kid just killed a soldier of the secondary ring with a bladeless sword?

Ishiki escaped from them, but the confrontation left a hard expression on his face. He had just actually killed one of the army's soldiers.

It was not long before he was going to be known for not just one, but two murders... one of them which he didn't even commit.

He ran through an empty alley in darkness and took a sharp turn to the main street. He suddenly felt as if he was being watched, he turned around and peered into the darkness.

Not even his skill picked anything... he did saw two glowing circles at some distance... they were like flowers blooming in the dark. But they were gone after he blinked once.

'Am I seeing things... sigh.' Without pressing on it for much time, he turned around and entered the main street.

But something was wrong.

Had it already been the night? It was dark.

Ishiki looked at the direction of the artificial sun and found out that it was not burning anymore. So it must be night.

As Ishiki ran towards the wall, lamps flickered to life along the streets, casting long, distorted shadows. The crowds thinned, then vanished entirely, melting into doorways and side streets as though rehearsed.

Ishiki's heart pounded. 'This... is not normal. What the hell is happening?'

He pushed toward the gates, legs burning.

Behind him, the Awakened woman and her squad closed in with their weapons drawn.

Ishiki cursed, spun on his heel, and bolted back into a side alley before they could surround him.

Ishiki ran. And ran. And ran.

His lungs screamed and his legs felt like lead. But he kept moving, weaving through alleys, cutting through abandoned market squares, always heading for the golden wall.

But the wall didn't get closer.

In fact, it seemed to recede with every step he took, shrinking into the distance like a mirage dissolving in the heat.

"What..." Ishiki gasped, stumbling to a halt in the center of an empty plaza. "What is this?"

He spun around and looked at the buildings around him, they were wrong. The architecture repeated—identical facades stretching in every direction, like a pattern stamped endlessly across reality.

And for some reason, he was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

A sudden shudder ran though his body, as his eyes widened.

"What in the hell is happening? have i gone mad?"

Suddenly... one of the soldiers stepped forward from the darkness surrounding him raising his spear. The tip gleamed wickedly, reflecting Ishiki's wide, terrified eyes.

"No... wait—"

The spear thrust forward.

Squelch.

Ishiki jolted awake with a scream trapped in his throat.

He was lying on his back on a stone floor, chains rattling as he moved. His chest—he clutched at it frantically, fingers searching for the wound, but there was none.

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