The Black Bazaar existed in a pocket dimension attached to the Crossroads—a place where laws were suggestions and everything had a price.
Echo wore a cloak, his amulet hidden beneath. Stall 13 was a curtained alcove smelling of incense and ozone.
The figure inside was tall, shrouded. "Echo. We've been watching."
"What do you want?"
"To offer you a partnership. The Academy restricts you. The Ordered Multiverse moves too slowly. The Corrupted adapt every second. You need freedom. And we need someone who can… disrupt systems."
The figure placed a small, dark crystal on the table. "This is a Soul-Shard—from a Corrupted Commander. Study it. Understand the enemy from the inside. In return, we ask for one thing: a sample of your bonded energy resonance. For research."
Echo's instincts screamed. This was a trap. But the shard… it glowed with terrible, fascinating knowledge.
"I'll think about it," he said, turning to leave.
"The Corrupted Legion is mobilizing, Echo," the figure called softly. "They've sensed you. They are coming. Will you be a lab rat for the Scholars… or a king in the shadows?"
Echo didn't answer. He walked out, the shard left behind.
But as he merged back into the Crossroads crowds, he knew:
The war was no longer distant.
It was here.
And he was at its center.