Crossing Boundaries

Lucien stepped out of the depot into the dim light of the hive city's labyrinthine streets, flanked by Razor, who held out a pair of sleek black boots. "Put these on," Razor instructed, giving him a quick, assessing glance. Lucien took the boots, noticing the subtle, intricate patterns etched across the leather—an indication that they weren't ordinary footwear. After slipping them on, he looked up at Razor for further instruction.

Razor tapped his own boots against the ground, causing small vents to open along the soles. A faint hum filled the air as he began hovering inches above the ground, maintaining an effortless balance. Lucien's eyes sparkled with intrigue, and he quickly imitated the motion, tapping his heels and feeling a similar surge of energy lift him from the ground.

"Keep up," Razor ordered, his voice cutting through Lucien's amazement. With a quick tilt forward and a slight oscillation of his legs, Razor surged ahead, his movements fluid and almost graceful.

Lucien leaned forward, attempting to match Razor's stance, then oscillated his own legs in a rhythm that took a few tries to coordinate. Gradually, he began to move, gliding forward until his pace matched Razor's. They picked up speed as they maneuvered through the narrow corridors, the world around them blurring as they accelerated. Lucien marveled at how the boots granted them a speed faster than that of an average Solarian sprint. For a Solarian, reaching fifty kilometers an hour was a feat of natural physiology—yet here he was, matching that with ease.

The cityscape grew unfamiliar as they continued, towering walls and darkened alleyways stretching far from the Paige's Edge territory. Lucien leaned slightly toward Razor and asked, "Where are we going?"

Razor kept his gaze forward, his jaw set. "Out of our territory."

A few minutes later, they rounded a corner and came upon a gathering of their own gang members, clustered around Soleli and Mar. Lucien took a quick breath as he spotted Mar among the group, looking alert and ready for action. Razor strode forward and gave a curt nod to Soleli, who raised his hand in acknowledgment.

"What's going on?" Razor asked, his voice calm but laced with tension.

Soleli's expression was serious as he replied, "It's the Seers. One of our men bumped into a group of them, there was some tension...and they didn't let it slide. Killed him. Our guys got worked up, and now it's become an all-out situation."

Razor's eyes narrowed, and he exhaled heavily, frustration flickering over his features. He turned and motioned to a small group of Paige's Edge members. "Form up," he commanded, his voice cutting through the murmurs of the gathering. They quickly arranged themselves into a loose formation, tense and ready.

"Where are the Seers?" Razor asked Soleli.

Soleli pointed toward a dark, elongated structure wedged within the maze of corridors, smoke lightly curling from small cracks and vents along its walls. Razor studied the structure, his gaze calculating.

He raised his hand and called out, "Effigy Magia: Flames!"

Several of the Paige's Edge members, including Soleli, raised their hands, each conjuring a sphere of fire that crackled and pulsed with energy. Mar watched closely, her expression a mix of awe and focus. With practiced precision, they aimed the flames at the structure, directing the fireballs toward cracks, ventilation shafts, and any vulnerable point they could find. The air filled with a heated hum as the flames surged forward, illuminating the dim surroundings and casting shadows that flickered wildly across the walls.

The flames licked at the building, seeping through the openings and spreading smoke into the air. But before they could gain any headway, thick black smoke began pouring out from the structure's vents, spiraling outward like a living creature. The smoke snaked through the air, neutralizing the flames in tendrils of dark, suffocating mist.

Then, figures began to emerge from the smoke. Cloaked in dark robes, each wore masks that obscured their faces, their gazes cold and unreadable beneath the hoods. They moved with eerie precision, their silence only adding to the menace that surrounded them.

Razor pulled a small device from his coat—a shimmering, gold-colored mechanism embedded with a blood-red gem at its center. He held it out to Lucien. "This is a Maguscraft. Pour ether into it, and it'll release a concentrated beam of light that can melt flesh," he instructed, his tone sharp. Without hesitation, he tossed a small, simple dagger into Lucien's other hand. "And in case that isn't enough, use this. It's just a normal blade, but a blade nonetheless."

Lucien weighed the Maguscraft in his palm, feeling its latent energy thrumming beneath his fingers. His eyes met Razor's, and a determined nod passed between them.

Across the formation, Soleli gestured for Mar to come closer. "Stay close to me," he said, his tone uncharacteristically serious. Mar nodded, her grip tightening on her short swords, her gaze never leaving the Seers as they lined up in a grim row against them.

The two groups stood face-to-face in a tense silence, the air thick with anticipation. The Seers' masked figures remained unnervingly still, while the Paige's Edge members tensed, weapons at the ready, fingers twitching around the hilts of Maguscrafts and melee weapons alike.

The seconds stretched on, each moment tightening the coiled spring of tension between the two sides. Lucien gripped his Maguscraft, feeling the pulse of ether begin to gather at his fingertips, its hum filling his mind as he braced himself. He cast a quick look toward Mar, who returned a steady, resolute glance. 

The signal to attack hadn't come yet, but Lucien could feel it in the air—the charged, electric silence that signaled the storm was about to break. The Seers shifted slightly, their masks turning toward their opponents with a quiet, unsettling synchronization, and it was clear: they moved in an almost perfect sync as they charged at the mebers of paige edge ready to tear their ranks apart.