Time had passed - days, maybe more - long enough for the pain in Raizen's arm to dull to an ache rather than a constant scream.
The bandages were tighter now, cleaner, and Louissa had scolded him more than once for trying to use it too much.
He just had to learn that nothing slipped past her watchful gaze.
But at last, his strength had returned enough to stand, walk, and breathe without fire tearing his ribs.
One random morning, Obi had burst into the room like a storm breaking down a door.
"All right, hero!" he shouted, tossing Raizen a small apple. "Time you two stopped rotting in here. Come on! The Underworks won't explore itself!"
Raizen caught the apple clumsily with his good hand. Hikari, perched by the window, tilted her head in quiet curiosity.
She hadn't said much since the day she woke up.
Sometimes, she sat in silence for hours, looking at the streets outside, or just staring into nothingness.
Now, though, her eyes brightened, and she gave a slight nod. "Sure..."
And so, Obi became their guide.
The Underworks stretched beneath Neoshima farther than Raizen could see. The first steps outside the door were enough to steal his breath - not because it was beautiful, but because it was alive.
Some corridors and vents twisted and branched endlessly, some smooth stone lit by lanterns, others jagged and dripping with water.
Rusted pipes ran like webs across ceilings, hissing every few moments with bursts of steam.
The air carried a dozen smells: roasting meat, wet moss, iron from forges, and the sour stench of rust everywhere. Heat and cold fought for dominance in every corner.
Obi spread his arms wide like a king unveiling his palace.
"Welcome to the Underworks! Markets this way, vents that way, smithies everywhere if you know where to look." He shouted, chaotically pointing in different directions.
"Oh, and don't step too close to the Maw unless you like being stared at by people who definitely want to rob you."
"Way to encourage me" Raizen muttered, while sighing, sarcastically.
"Relaax!" Obi said with a sneaky grin. "You've got me. Nobody in the Underworks would dare mess with me."
From the corner of his eye, Raizen caught two rough-looking men glancing their way - then away, when Obi gave them a lazy wave.
Somehow, his confidence was useful.
They passed through a market square where the ceiling arched higher, supported by massive stone pillars.
Dozens of stalls clustered everywhere, patched and repatched with cloth, leather, even stitched-together scraps of bent armor. Hikari kept quiet, as if she was absorbing everything that she saw.
The noises hit Raizen like a wave. Merchants shouted over one another, customers arguing, their voices bouncing off the walls creating a weird echo.
Steam rose from bowls of spiced soup, mixing with the other scents of oil, electric lamps and dust.
Colors burst from fabric stalls - scarlets, golds, indigos - dyed from roots and minerals dug out of who knows where.
Children darted barefoot between people, laughing as they carried baskets or snatched dropped coins.
A trio of old men played a weird card game in a shadowed corner. A hunched woman offered carved charms, whispering that they kept Nyxes away.
For every burst of life, though, shadows lingered. Evil-eyed men leaned against walls, bottles clutched tight. A boy with burned hands polished tools at his father's side, each movement mechanical, exhausted. Silent figures leaned in alleys, watching. Always watching.
Raizen slowed down, unsettled. He thought the Underworks would feel safer than the forest, but here, safety was just another mask.
Hikari, though, seemed amazed. Her eyes lingered on everything - the clothes, the lanterns, the faces. When a kind vendor pressed a slice of fruit into her hand with a smile, she was completely taken by surprise, so she held it for a few moments, then offered it back, disoriented.
"You act like you've never seen a market!" Obi teased.
"I... Haven't" Hikari answered.
"Well, today's your lucky day. Stick with me, and I'll show you the best spots.
Instead of weaving deeper into the stalls, he led them upward. Narrow staircases bolted to the sides of buildings reached higher and higher, past balconies filled with boxes and patched with thin metal. The air became cooler the higher you went.
Raizen frowned. "Where are we going? The market's down there…"
"Sure" Obi said over his shoulder, curls bouncing. "But you haven't seen the Underworks until you've seen it from above."
When they emerged onto a swaying iron walkway, the sight hit Raizen like a blow.
The cavern stretched out in its full enormity, the ceiling lost in shadow.
Below them lay the entire Underworks - many scattered buildings stitched together by scaffolds, pipes and staircases.
The market glowed down below, lanterns and glowing signs casting restless color over the crowd.
The entire undercity throbbed with motion and sound, and above it all, crisscrossing in every direction, hung the Tangle.
Bridges of iron and wood, cables as thick as tree trunks, pipes that hissed with steam - all woven together into a sprawling lattice suspended high above the city.
Children jumped across the narrower beams as if they were born for it. Traders pushed carts across sturdier ones, wheels squeaking on old boards.
And far above, the faint silhouettes of daredevils leaping from one hanging cable to the next, dancing and swaying dangerously.
"The Tangle." Obi announced proudly, spreading his arms like a ringmaster.
"Every bridge, every pipe, every shortcut in the Underworks - woven together across tens of years. From up here, you can get anywhere."
Raizen pressed closer to the railing. His village had been flat and simple, every path laid clear. This? Oh, this was chaos suspended over chaos! Beautiful, terrifying, impossible.
"People actually live up here?"
"Live, trade, fight, hide…" Obi smiled. "Depends on who you ask. Fall, and you're gone. Run fast enough, and you'll never be caught. It's freedom - or a grave."
Hikari's blue eyes reflected the glow of lanterns as she leaned forward. "It's like a second city above the first" she said softly.
"Exactly!" Obi beamed. "You get it. Down there's the stomach. Up here? The... Uh... Lungs?"
But then he lowered his voice, nodding toward a wider bridge not far off. "Of course, not everything up here is good."
A formation of men moved across the bridge. Their boots stepped in unison. Polished breastplates caught the lantern light, marked with the sigil of Neoshima, a simple lotus. Rifles glinted on their shoulders.
"The Wardens" Obi muttered, with a disgusted face. "Neoshima's dogs. They come down from the city above whenever they want. Take what they like. Food, tech, people - it's all the same to them. Call it tax. Call it law. But everyone knows it's theft."
The atmosphere changed. The laughter below faltered. Merchants froze in place. One of the Wardens plucked an item from a stall without a word, turning it in his hand before pocketing it. The seller bowed his head and said nothing. Nobody protested. Nobody dared to.
Raizen's chest tightened. His hand curled against the bandages.
Obi caught his look and forced a lopsided grin. "Don't. Trust me. They want you to fight back. That's their excuse to completely break you."
The Wardens vanished into the far side of the Tangle, leaving only silence and the dissapointed murmur of people behind.
Raizen leaned heavily against the railing. The Underworks wasn't just alive - it was dangerous, and always watching.
Obi's grin faded a little when he saw Raizen's face. "Hey. You good?"
Raizen nodded, but his eyes narrowed. Something felt wrong.
Ever since Hikari woke up, that whisper had gone silent.
Like... It no longer needed him.
Obi clapped him on the back with a grin. "Well, then. Markets, vents, or rooftops? Where do you two want to almost die first?"