The Registry yard was packed by dawn. Not with crowds, but with noise. Hammers on beams, pipes dragged into lines, crates stacked to choke alleys. Civilian volunteers filled the gaps with carts and ladders like the city itself was trying to build armor out of junk.
In the middle, Evan stretched a bandaged arm and ignored the ache. His storm hissed violet arcs through the scars, refusing to stay quiet.
"Today we stack," Aelira said from atop a crate. Her slate glowed against the fog. "Three Domains. Registry wants proof your storm can hold them together before the next surge."
"Three?" Evan said. "I've barely kept two from killing each other."
"Then don't let them argue," Cairn grunted, rolling his shoulders. His arcs spat yellow like sparks that didn't believe in grace. "Make them sing your hymn. Or choke."
Evan bared teeth. "That's the lesson?"
"That's every lesson," Cairn said.
They dragged the test anomaly into the grid.
Not Ripple this time. Bigger. Registry called it Shedskin—a serpent-thing made of scales that peeled off and became smaller versions of itself. It rattled inside the cage, shedding more every second, ready to fill the block with pieces.
"Hold three Domains," Aelira said, braid whipping in the morning wind. "Then kill it."
Registry scribes moved quick, scrawling notes like debt collectors.
Evan closed his eyes. Pipes hummed in his chest.
[Lane Override] — Engaged.Domain Sync: Hook Street + Slums + Foundry.Stability: Fragile (17%).Overflow: 6%.
Three notes struck inside him. Bread-heat from Hook. Stubborn dirt from the Slums. Iron weight from the Foundry. He pulled them tight into his rhythm. They fought like siblings. His storm snapped trying to hold them.
The panel flashed red.
Warning: Multi-Domain Sync unstable. Neural strain rising.
"Geometry," Cairn barked. "Anchor the corners."
Evan stomped. Pipes knocked back. Rails hummed. The lanes themselves bent into agreement. His storm fed into them until his ribs hummed like a drum.
Multi-Domain Override — Stabilized (31%).Ally Buff: +15% speed/resistance (within 3-Domain radius).
"Open it," Evan said.
The cage split. Shedskin poured out like a sack spilling knives. It rattled scales into the dirt, each one twitching, growing legs, sprouting heads. Spawnlings hissed and fanned.
"Ugly," Cairn muttered.
"Fast," Aelira said.
"Mine," Evan promised.
He blurred.
[Echo Step] — Engaged.Count: 4 (stable). Duration: 2.3s.
Four Echos ripped free, each pulling Domain rhythm behind them. They struck first, intercepting spawnlings, kicking, tripping, stalling. The real Evan slid between them, storm compressed tight.
Vector Compression: 17% (redirect successful).
A spawnling lunged. Evan angled its teeth into its brother, let them tear each other apart, then cleaved the mess with arcs that sang down rails.
Vector Cleave (Phase II) — Adaptive cut achieved.Spawnlings eliminated: 8.
Shedskin itself slithered through the chaos, scales peeling faster, each one a copy. Evan thunderstepped under its body, arcs sparking, and struck its belly.
Damage Inflicted: Minor.
The serpent screamed, voice like stone scraping stone. More scales fell, birthing more spawnlings.
The panel chimed blue.
Warning: Domain stability falling (27%).
"Too much weight!" Aelira shouted. "Hold it!"
Evan gritted teeth. He let Hook's heat rush his arms, Slums' stubbornness grind into his legs, Foundry's iron clamp his spine. He dragged the notes into unison.
The streets obeyed.
Multi-Domain Override — Stabilized (44%).Overflow: 9%.
"Better," Cairn said, then punched him in the ribs.
Evan nearly folded. "What the—"
"Storm's no good if a sneeze kills you," Cairn growled. "Anchor while bleeding."
Spawnlings lunged. Evan shoved pain down, dragged another Echo into being, and fed it his rhythm. It held the line even while his ribs screamed.
He sprinted up Shedskin's body, violet arcs biting scales. Thunderstep detonated with each stride, ripping chunks free.
Spawnlings eliminated: 22.Damage Inflicted: Moderate.
The serpent thrashed, tail smashing buildings. The barricades shook but held. Registry scribes scribbled faster.
Evan screamed and cleaved.
Vector Cleave Radius: 18m → 21m.Decision Pressure: +12%.
Shedskin's body split in two, lightning searing through its spine. Both halves writhed, but arcs chased the nerves until they stilled. Spawnlings shivered and died in ash.
Silence hit hard.
The panel blinked.
Anomaly [Shedskin] — Eliminated.Reward: Minor XP.Multi-Domain Synchronization — Competent (C).Overflow stored: 10%.Quest Progress — Forge the Storm:
Speed ≥ 1,500 (Current: 1,316).
Overflow ≥ 50% (Current: 10%).
Stabilize 3 Domains simultaneously (Progress: Achieved 1/3 trials).
Evan dropped to his knees, chest burning. His storm hissed, unwilling to settle.
Registry cheered in murmurs. Aelira nodded once, as if she'd expected nothing else. Cairn crouched, shoved a canteen in Evan's face.
"You didn't break," Cairn said. "Good. Next time you burn and don't break."
Evan drank, spat blood, grinned through it. "Next time? Bring me something bigger."
The fog answered in drifting ash.
No one else noticed, but Evan did. His storm hissed higher, uneasy. He looked at the sky and saw gray motes falling slow, like snow that remembered fire.
The panel glitched for a heartbeat.
[System Warning] — Residue Detected. Source: Unknown.
Evan clenched his fists. He didn't know what it meant yet. But the ashes weren't gone. They were waiting.