Chapter 10: Fragments of Divinity
"Nick…" Rin's voice broke the silence, carrying both relief and worry.
Nick froze mid-step. His eyes found Luke, and for a second, disbelief crossed his bruised face. "Rook? You… got away? How?" His voice came out rough, strained, every word scraped by exhaustion.
Luke blinked, not expecting to see him like this—battered, bleeding, eyes wild. Before he could speak, Rin hurried forward, pulling some rags from a pile near the corner.
"Let me see that," she said softly. Her hands were steady despite the tremor in her voice. She crouched beside Nick and began pressing the rags against his wound, trying to slow the bleeding.
Nick hissed through his teeth but didn't resist. "You're… better at this than you look," he muttered weakly.
"Don't talk," Rin said, frowning as she tied one of the rags tighter.
Nick watched her hands for a moment before glancing back up at Luke. "Last I heard," he rasped, "you were in deep shit with the Joker gang. Didn't think that l would see you breathing. "
Luke shrugged, his tone flat. "Guess I got lucky." He looked down at Nick's injuries, shaking his head. "Seems like you've been having your own fun."
Nick let out a dry laugh that quickly turned into a wince. "What can I say? I'm a popular guy these days." Then his expression darkened. "Speaking of which—we need to get out of here. Now. It won't be long before Meg's boys flood this whole area."
"Meg?" Luke raised an eyebrow.
Nick nodded grimly. "Yeah. Those bastards have gone completely insane. They want control of the entire sewer network. They already went after Gloria, and they won't stop there. Doro, Anthestan… this whole place is about to turn into a warzone."
Luke's jaw tightened. He had expected this much.
"Will Gloria be okay?" Rin asked quietly, her voice barely holding steady.
Nick's gaze dropped, and sorrow flickered in his eyes. "She was in bad shape when I saw her. I don't think she's going to make it."
Silence filled the alcove. Rin's hands froze mid-motion, and Luke felt a heavy pit settle in his chest. Gloria had been the one thing keeping this corner of the sewers safe. Without her, everything would fall apart.
After a moment, Rin swallowed hard and whispered, "What about Melissa?"
Nick's eyes flickered toward her. For a second, he didn't answer. Then he exhaled softly. "She's safe. Gloria made sure of that before things got bad. She's hidden with one of Gloria's old contacts, deeper toward the eastern pipe routes."
Rin's shoulders eased, just a little. She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Thank god…"
Nick swallowed, his voice lowering. "Before she… before that, she gave me something. Said it might help us survive."
Luke leaned closer. "What kind of something?"
Nick reached into his coat with shaky fingers and pulled out a small silver pendant—a cracked sunburst. The metal was dull, but even in the weak candlelight, it carried a strange glow.
"She told me to find the Blind Prophet," Nick said. "Said to give this to him. That he'd be waiting for it."
"The Blind Prophet?" Luke frowned. The name meant nothing to him—but the instant he saw the pendant, something inside him stirred.
A whisper. A soft, majestic feminine voice that curled through his thoughts:
"You have encountered fragments of divinity."
The world flickered. For a heartbeat, he saw an illusory space—shifting lights, endless colors blending into shadow.
Luke's brow furrowed. That same voice had spoken to him once before—when he gained the Fool's attribute.
Rin's voice cut through the silence. "Wait, you mean that Prophet's in the Rusty Pits?"
Nick gave a slow nod. "That's what she said."
Rin looked uneasy. "Nick, no one comes back from there. The air's poison. They say it's full of mutant rats, and… things. Even old ruins that look like castles just buried underground."
"The Rusty Pits?" Luke repeated.
l know rumours about that place but l believe Gloria wouldn't have sent us if she didn't think we had a chance."
The silence stretched again, broken only by the dripping of water somewhere deep in the tunnels.
Nick's eyes shifted between Luke and Rin. "Look, this has to be our choice. If either of you don't want to go, we'll find another way."
Rin tightened the knot on his bandage, then looked up. "If that's where our only hope lies," she said quietly, "then we go."
Luke hesitated, glancing at the pendant still glowing faintly in Nick's hand.
The fact that this pendant had stirred the voice of the existence behind his transmigration, had his intrest piqued.
These Rusty Pits might be the opportunity he was looking for. Or maybe it might be his doom.
Either way, he knew what his answer would be.
"l don't have a problem either "
Nick then sighed in relief.
"Okay good now this brings me to my next proposition. "
Nick and Rin simultaneously raised their eyebrows.
"Your what?"
He paused for a moment, then turned to Nick.
A smile slowly made its way towards his face.
" Don't you think that this is the perfect time for us to finally focus on our ambition ".
Luke frowned puzzled by the words.
"Our what now? "
Nick's lips curved into a faint, familiar grin, the kind that always meant trouble.
Rin's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Nick leaned back against the wall, breathing carefully. "You remember what we used to talk about, Rook? Back before Gloria took us in?"
Luke blinked, not sure what to say. Rook's memories didn't contain whatever he was talking about.
Rin at this moment interjected.
"Not that stupid idea of yours?"
"Not stupid," Nick said firmly. "Visionary."
Rin rolled her eyes.
Luke just stared at the duo simply oblivious to what they were taking about.
Nick pressed on, his voice rising with quiet conviction. "This city treats us like rats. Vagrants, throwaways, scum. But we see everything down here, the trades, the tunnels, the movements no one talks about. If we could unify the sewers, make everyone work together, we'd have eyes and ears everywhere in the city above. Every secret, every deal, every hidden move."
He looked directly at Luke. "You once said it yourself—we could turn this hole into a network. A network of information."
"Gloria wanted us safe," Nick went on. "She wanted us to leave. But that's not me. I'm done running. I'm done begging for scraps. If the surface won't give us a place, we'll carve one ourselves."
He lifted the pendant slightly. "And to do that, we need power. Weapons. Something to balance the scales."
Rin frowned. "You think Gloria hid weapons in the Rusty Pits?"
Nick nodded slowly. "Her firearm. The one that made everyone fear her. The thing that kept Meg's gang from moving against her for years. I think that's why they attacked her first—they wanted it."
He paused for a moment.
"And I believe if we have it, we might actually have a chance. That… coupled with that item of yours."
As he said the last part, his gaze shifted to Luke, sharp and determined.
"After all… all that mess, stealing it from Joker—it was all for this moment."