Chapter 4 - The Shadow of Cedric
As Ethan followed his waypoints he moved cautiously through the desolate remains of the Bridge, the huge hub city that served as the last known stable domain before deeper, more fractured parts of the Abyss. The distant neon glow cast jagged shadows over the crumbling streets, flickering erratically as if the city itself was on the verge of collapse.
His body still ached from his near-fatal encounter with the rogue AI on the highway, but his regeneration skill had worked steadily, pushing his HP up to a safer margin. He kept a mental note of his cooldowns, his new "Glitchborn" class abilities still a mystery to him.
The class felt more like a gamble than an advantage, and without a proper understanding of the system mechanics, every move he made could be a potential disaster.
But he had bigger problems now. He was drawing too much attention.
At first, he seemingly blended into the background of the city''s corrupted dataflow— but now he stood out, overhearing eerie distorted NPC chatter, fragmented code loops repeating endlessly.
"An outsider… looking for the dead…"
"One who died twice… yet still lingers…"
"Echoes remain. The lost one walks the void…"
As he wandered deeper into the back alleyways and bars of the Bridge, the whispers became more distinct. Ethan spotted something in the distance, a discarded makeshift weapon that had been scavenged—a broken voltage blade barely functional, its energy core flickering weakly. Most importantly, it''s previous owner nowhere in sight. Ethan picked up the makeshift weapon and his HUD glimmered.
> [Voltage Blade] Added To Inventory
> [Voltage Blade] Equipped
He inspected the [Voltage Blade] closer.
> [Voltage Blade] Weakened state. <=13% Energy Remaining. <=28% Durability.
It would have to do for now. Someone—something—knew he was looking for the data cache, for answers about his brother. And that meant he was being watched, that meant danger.
<hr>
The Bridge was a city of remnants. A mix of old game architecture, forgotten AI-controlled districts, and rogue data markets operating under the nose of the corrupted overlords. Ethan learned quickly that information here didn’t come for free—it had to be bought.
And the price wasn’t always credits.
His next waypoint hovered over a dwelling in front of him. Ethan entered a bar that he came to find out was called The Data Well, a neon-drenched dive filled with NPCs and what Ethan suspected were other divers— but he had no way of knowing for sure. He couldn''t risk long conversations and wasn''t about to approach potentially dangerous situations by asking these types of questions directly.
He approached the bartender, an NPC with flickering code running down his arms like tattoos. Ethan hesitated, then placed his hands on the bar. "I am looking for the information broker," he said.
The bartender did not reply, instead he gave the slightest gesture of a nod towards the direction of a man sitting alone at a table in the dimly lit corner of the bar. Without a further word spoken, Ethan returned the nod to the bartender and made his way over the man sitting alone.
Ethan sat down in the dimly lit corner of the bar, facing the man who sat alone before studying him. His figure shrouded in the flickering neon haze. He was older, his face lined with deep creases, suggesting a life spent navigating the digital underworld.
A pair of augmented lenses glowed faintly beneath the shadow of his hood, their lenses scanning Ethan as he sat down. His long coat, patched with synthetic leather and reinforced plating, bore the marks of someone who had survived far too many encounters with both CyberWatch and rogue AIs.
"I am looking for something" Ethan said, breaking the silence.
The information broker''s mechanical gaze fixed on him. "Everyone here is looking for something, outsider. What makes you different?"
Ethan exhaled. He had no money, no established credibility in this world. But he did have a newly unlocked skill.
> [Deception] Activated: [Level 1]
For a moment, he felt something shift in the system. A subtle push, like nudging a piece of unstable code in his favour. He leaned in. "I''m here on behalf of CyberWatch."
The information broker flinched. The nearby patrons stilled, their broken conversations pausing for just a second before resuming in glitchy murmurs.
"You speak of the watch," the information broker muttered. "You are either very foolish… or very unfortunate."
Ethan held his ground. "Tell me what you know about the data cache I seek."
The information broker tapped his fingers against the counter. The neon beneath his fingertips pulsed with corrupted energy.
"The only cache I know that holds anything of value to someone like you is currently in the wards... Word is, something big has been happening down in the Lower Ward Domain.. But… beware. The warlord who rules there is ruthless, not even those of the watch return when they enter."
"What else can you tell me?" Ethan questioned.
"Nothing else of value... I do not know anything more"
Ethan nodded, stepping away and leaving the information brokers'' table. That was more than he expected. The Lower Wards— He wondered if this is where Cedric''s last movements in the Abyss were. Before he could finish the thought, his HUD glimmered.
> [Quest Completed - Find the first trail]
> [Quest Added - Investigate the Lower Ward Domain]
Ethan wondered if this was Kira from above who updated his log or if this was triggered by speaking with the information broker. He was still surprised his deception skill worked, suddenly his HUD beamed again.
> [Deception] Skill level increase [Level 2]
The moment he left The Data Well; he felt it again—eyes on him. Watching. Waiting. His minimap updated with a waypoint.
Ethan followed the designated path, his HUD guiding him through the decaying city. The waypoint flickered steadily ahead, leading him past derelict structures where neon signs flickered erratically, their messages long since corrupted into gibberish. The deeper he ventured, the more the architecture became unstable—buildings bending at impossible angles, entire streets phasing in and out of existence like forgotten memories.
The neon glow of the Bridge cast eerie reflections on the crumbling structures as he maneuvered through derelict alleyways and abandoned intersections. The waypoint pulsed stronger, leading him to an archway flickering between existence and oblivion—a swirling vortex of raw data and fractured code. It stood as a gateway between the Bridge and the Lower Wards.
As Ethan moved closer to the portal, a raspy voice called out to him from a stall cluttered with various supplies—dented rations, cracked energy cells, and bottles of something that glowed an unnatural shade of blue.
"You look like you could use a few essentials, traveler," the NPC vendor said, his voice thick with artificial cheer. "A meal, some medical patches? Maybe a bit of insurance in case things get messy down there?"
Ethan shook his head. "I’ll manage."
The vendor chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows.
His weathered face overlaid with fragmented digital markings, flickering erratically. "Everyone thinks that, at first. But the Lower Wards ain’t like the Bridge. Down there, it’s chaos. The factions are always at each other’s throats—some fight for control, some for survival. Others? Just for the hell of it."
Ethan paused, curiosity getting the better of him. "Factions? Who’s in charge?"
The vendor scoffed. "No one. That’s the problem. Used to be a council kept things in check, but that fell apart ages ago. Now you got Agoral and his warband carving up the east, the Cult of the code holed up in the ruins, and then there’s the scavengers—opportunists, mercs, and deserters who take what they can, when they can. There’s no morality, no stability. Just the strongest ruling until someone stronger comes along."
Ethan absorbed the information, glancing at the waypoint flickering in his HUD. "Sounds like a place where people disappear."
The vendor let out a low chuckle. "That’s putting it lightly, friend. You go in prepared, or you don’t come out at all."
Ethan exhaled slowly before turning away. "I’ll take my chances."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Taking a deep breath, Ethan stepped into the vortex, feeling an immediate sensation of weightlessness as the world around him twisted and fragmented. His HUD flickered, momentarily losing signal before reconnecting as he emerged on the other side.
The Lower Wards sprawled before him—an ancient city reborn in digital decay. Towering, half-ruined marble structures reminiscent of a corrupted ancient empire loomed over the streets, their once-pristine columns now wrapped in neon ivy and jagged code.
Statues of forgotten deities and emperors stood frozen in glitched postures, some missing limbs, others shifting between different historical forms as the system struggled to render them. The air was thick with the distant hum of malfunctioning systems, and ghostly NPCs wandered in loops, their dialogues fragmented and distorted. This place was both ancient history and dystopia, merged into one forgotten corner of the Abyss.
<hr>
Navigating the Lower Wards was like stepping into a fractured simulation. Half-rendered architecture loomed over stone pathways of digital static, where the roads glitched between different styles—one moment, highly detailed and defined, the next, pixelated ruins of an old city.
Ethan moved cautiously, keeping to the shadows where he could. His Perception skill flickered with low-level warnings, small anomalies appearing in the edges of his HUD. The ancient city was alive, but not in a way that made sense.
Then, he saw her. She stood beneath a crumbling marble archway, her hooded cloak reminiscent of an ancient patrician, though interwoven with shimmering neon threads that pulsed like a living circuit. Her features were strikingly sharp, sculpted like the statues that lined the streets, but her eyes were unlike anything Ethan had seen—hollow voids filled with shifting code, glitched patterns of purple and silver.
The woman stood near a broken alleyway, draped in tattered robes that flickered between different textures—medieval, cybernetic, spectral. She turned, revealing piercing violet eyes that weren’t quite human.
"You do not belong here" she said, her voice layered, echoing in ways Ethan didn’t understand.
Ethan exhaled. "Neither do you."
The woman’s lips twitched into a knowing smile. "Perhaps. But I have made peace with this existence. Have you?"
Ethan clenched his fists. "I don’t plan on staying."
A pause. The woman stepped closer. "Not many outsiders pass through the ward. You seek something. What is it you seek?"
Ethan froze. He was conflicted about trusting the woman. Instead, he probed her for information. "Doesn''t everybody here seek something?"
Suddenly something caught her attention, and she darted for a nearby column.
"Hide yourself! They are coming!" She exclaimed before disappearing behind the ruined column.
Ethan snapped a glance before diving into cover in the same direction the woman went. He heard them before he saw them, the marching of boots, many boots, along the along the stone path. There were numerous militant soldiers marching along the path with a uniformed pace. They wore the same bronze armored chest plates and steel helmets, each with swords or spears in hand.
Ethan glanced over at the woman, who was now hiding next to him. "Who are they?" He queried.
"Agorals men, raiders from the eastern wards, a murderous bunch... Now shhh! Before they hear us!" The woman warned.
Ethans HUD flickered.
> [Skill] [Stealth] [Level 2]
The cohort of militants marched by, unaware of their hidden presence. Once the sound of marching steps had dimmed with distance, they both came out of hiding.
"My name is Tia" the woman said. "I stay in the Horrick ruins not far from here."
Ethan feeling more at ease replied "I am Ethan, it’s a pleasure to meet you Tia. Thank you for the warning."
"You are most certainly welcome Ethan, Agoral and his men are nothing short of common bandits. I couldn''t bring myself to not give you fair warning." Tia assured.
"I don''t meet a lot of courteous people here" Ethan stated. He grew suspicious of Tia, she didn''t appear to be an NPC, she wasn''t like anyone he had met in the Abyss so far. Was she another diver?
"Well, you met me" she smiled. "So, Ethan, what brings you to the wards after all?"
"I am searching for a cache, one that belonged to a friend" He responded.
"I don''t know anything about a cache, but perhaps someone else at the Horrick ruins might know. You are welcome to join me on the way back" Tia said.
"That sounds about as good of a lead as I will get Tia, lead the way"
"It''s not too far from here" Tia said, before setting off down the stone path.
<hr>
The walk to the Horrick ruins was treacherous, the cracked marble streets flickering between states of decay and reconstruction, as if the system couldn''t decide whether to preserve or erase this place.
Ethan and Tia moved cautiously, their steps echoing through the vast and abandoned sections of ancient ruins and green overgrowth fluttering in a ghostly wind. Each shadow seemed to stretch unnaturally, twisting as though something unseen lurked just beyond the veil of corrupted code. Ethan’s Perception skill pulsed softly in his HUD, flickering between weak and strong warnings—someone, or something, was following them.
> [Skill] [Perception] [Level 2]
The first attack came in the form of a pulse—a silent rupture of the world around him. The air distorted. Ethan perceived the attack with barely enough time to react before something lurched out of the static.
Humanoid figures draped in black, three of them, their faces voids of shifting data. Their limbs cracked as they moved, too fast, their forms unstable, like corrupted code forced into humanoid shapes.
> [WARNING]: Hostile Entities Detected
> Threat Level: Unknown
After barely dodging the first attack, a streak of shadow went slicing through the air where his head had been moments before. He rolled, landing hard against a digital wall that flickered between stone and white marble panelling.
Ethan''s grip tightened around the Voltage Blade as the two void shadow assassins lunged at him, their twisted forms phasing in and out of existence like corrupted data streams. Tia had engaged the third assassin, her movements swift and precise as she countered its strikes with a precision honed by experience. She wielded a long staff; with exceptional technique her strikes were swift and fluid. Ethan barely had time to glance at his HUD:
> [System override] [Cooldown 14:35:55]
His ultimate was still locked in cooldown, a long way off from being usable. He grit his teeth and raised his weakened blade, using quick parries and footwork to keep the assassins at bay.
The shadows moved with relentless aggression; their attacks faster than his eyes could fully track. Sparks flew as his Voltage Blade clashed against their ethereal weapons, but each block drained his dwindling energy reserves.
They were pressing him hard, backing him into a narrowing corner, his breathing ragged as he realized he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. One of the assassins feinted, the other capitalizing on the opening—Ethan had no choice but to act.
With a desperate cry, he lunged forward, fully expecting to take a fatal hit—when suddenly, his vision blurred. The world fractured into glitched pixels, his body breaking apart and reforming behind one of the assassins.
> New Skill Unlocked: Phase Step [Level 1]
His blade struck true, piercing the assassin’s back with lethal precision. The creature let out a distorted shriek before collapsing into cascading lines of broken code.
Ethan staggered back, his heart hammering as realization set in—he had just teleported. A new skill, born from sheer desperation. The two remaining assassins paused for a moment while analysing the events that lead to the fall of their ally before fleeing out of sight.
Across the battlefield, Tia glanced at him briefly before calling out, "Ethan, let''s move!"
Ethan didn’t hesitate, not even stopping to plunder the fallen foe, he rejoined with Tia, and they continued with haste further off the trail and deeper into the overgrowth. While in a moment of respite, he stopped to check his voltage blade.
> [Voltage Blade] Weakened state. <=5% Energy Remaining. <=19% Durability.
"This thing isn''t going to last much longer..." He thought to himself.
"We should avoid the trail from here on out" Tia stated, still panting and catching her breath.
"I agree" Ethan remarked. "Do you know who they were?"
"Agoral''s assassins" Tia said, with a concern look falling over her face. "You stuck one them down, that was impressive, but the others will be back in greater numbers."
"Then we must move fast"
"Yes, but we must be careful not to leave a trail they can follow behind us" Tia advised. "We aren''t far now, they won''t dare follow us into Horrick".
"Why not?" Ethan questioned.
"You''ll see!" Tia replied, with a smile.
Ethan wasn''t thrilled with Tia''s response, or her lack of detail in her answer, but for now he trusted her.
They pushed through the dense overgrowth, their steps careful as the wild vegetation tangled around ancient stone pathways. The deeper they went, the more the jungle-like terrain gave way to crumbling structures, remnants of a civilization long abandoned to digital decay.
As they made their way through the dense undergrowth, Ethan found himself stealing glances at Tia. The faint neon glow filtering through the corrupted sky cast a surreal shimmer on her features. She had sharp, angular cheekbones softened by a natural warmth in her expression, and her violet eyes—flickering with shifting code—seemed to hold stories untold. Her robe, woven with threads of ancient design and modern digital overlays, hugged her lithe frame as she moved with practiced ease through the uneven terrain.
"You walk like someone who’s lived in this place a long time" Ethan mused, stepping over a gnarled root jutting from the cracked stone path.
Tia smirked but didn’t look at him. "You could say that. This world... it has a way of keeping people who don’t belong anywhere else."
Ethan caught the weight in her words, something unspoken lingering beneath them. "And you? You don’t belong anywhere else?"
For the first time, she hesitated. "I did, once." Her fingers briefly traced the edge of a rusted column as they passed. "But that was a long time ago. Now, this is all I have. The Lower Wards, the ruins, the people who live in the cracks of the system. It’s home."
Ethan frowned but chose his next words carefully. He wanted to ask if she was also diving, but he changed his words at the last moment. "It sounds like you lost something important."
Tia let out a quiet laugh, though it lacked amusement. "Not something. Someone. Myself, maybe."
Ethan wanted to press further, but something in her expression told him not to. Instead, he offered a small nod. "For what it’s worth, you seem more alive than most I’ve met here."
Tia’s eyes met his, lingering just a little longer than before. "That’s kind of you to say, Ethan. But let’s see if you still think that once you meet the others."
As they emerged from the thick underbrush, a ruined town sprawled before them, its broken buildings forming a jagged skyline beneath the ever-flickering neon mist of the Lower Wards. At the town’s center stood a colossal structure—an ancient coliseum, its once-magnificent archways now fractured and overridden with creeping vines of corrupted code. Tia gestured toward the ruins; her expression unreadable.
“This is Horrick,” she said. “My people control these ruins. We’ve turned it into a trading hub—one of the last trading districts in the Lower Ward zone.”As Ethan took in the sight, he noticed figures moving in the shadows—cloaked individuals observing from the periphery.
“Your people?” he asked.
Tia’s lips curled slightly. “Don''t worry, just let me do the talking.”