To reach the Southern Slums, they had to pass through the Contested Zone, which lived up to its name.
After the Eclipse, Vel'Sharim had fractured into multiple factions, each holding different ideologies and claiming different districts as their own.
To the west stood the militaristic Ironhand Compact. The north was controlled by the extremist Illuminators. South of them lay the Merchant Quarter and the Temple District, while the Eastern Slums, as the name suggested, occupied the eastern side of the city.
The Contested Zone—once known as the Central District—sat between all of them, bordering the western, eastern, southern, and temple sectors alike.
It was the largest district in Vel’Sharim, stretching across nearly eight square kilometers. Before the Eclipse, it had been the city’s cultural heart, packed with theaters, civic halls, upper-middle-class residences, and long commercial streets crowded with people day and night.
Now it looked dead.
The malfunction of the Luminous Spire—originally built to absorb ambient miasma—had turned the district into one of the hardest-hit areas in the city, second only to the Southern Ruins. More than ninety percent of the population had died, and most of the district had collapsed into wreckage. Every faction claimed ownership over it. None truly controlled it.
Standing beside the cracked window of a first-floor apartment building near the edge of the Eastern Slums, Lucien stared quietly at the ruined city outside, one hand resting against the frame.
Collapsed buildings filled the streets. Rusted carriages lay overturned between rubble and shattered stone. Farther away, the skeletal remains of a collapsed watchtower leaned dangerously to one side, barely holding together.
Through Corruption Detection, Lucien could see the reddish miasma hanging thick in the air like a faint fog drifting through the ruins. A normal person would reach a critical stage within a month living here. Deeper inside, even a single day could push someone into Stage 2.
Good thing we don’t have to go that far…
He turned toward Ava, who was standing nearby with her arms loosely folded, her crimson eyes scanning the ruined streets below while the tip of her boot tapped idly against the floor.
“I never actually asked this,” Lucien said as he walked over to a section of wooden flooring a few steps away from her. “Are you friends with Razor? Or are you part of the Twilight Covenant too?”
Truthfully, Lucien didn’t even know how large the Twilight Covenant really was. For all he knew, it might’ve existed only inside Vel’Sharim—or spread far beyond it.
Ava tilted her head slightly, strands of white hair slipping over one shoulder as she answered casually.
“Just a friend. We’ve got some history together.”
Lucien gave a small nod and crouched down, tapping one of the floorboards in a specific rhythm. After a moment, he wedged his fingers into the gap and pried the wooden panel loose.
Beneath it sat several fitted stones.
One by one, he removed them, revealing a hidden hatch underneath. A narrow staircase descended into darkness below.
Ava’s brows lifted with clear interest as she stepped closer, peering down into it.
“The Empress of Midnight’s Covenant Magic?” she asked, her voice carrying a faint note of curiosity.
“Something like that,” Lucien replied vaguely.
“Since you’re part of the Twilight Covenant, you should’ve learned at least a little about Obsidian threads, right?”
She was referring to one of the Soul Loom thread types, the kind associated with absence, consumption, entropy, and fear.
“Only the basics,” Lucien answered while setting the last stone aside. “And even then, it’s inefficient to use. Costs too much energy for too little effect.”
Considering how similar Shadow Tendril and Void Cloak appeared to abilities derived from Obsidian threads, he figured planting that explanation early was safer.
Especially for Shadow Tendril.
Lucien glanced up at Ava curiously.
“What about you? With how long your race lives, learning Soul Loom shouldn’t be that difficult.”
Soul Loom itself wasn’t that difficult to learn.
It was the amount of time and dedication required that is frustrating for him.
To even reach the very bottom level—Nascent—he had needed over a year before he could produce anything remotely noticeable. It had only been three years since joining the Twilight Covenant. During those times, he had also been forced to study combat techniques, coded writing systems, field survival, tracking, assassination methods, reconnaissance procedures, and a dozen other things at the same time.
Finding time for Soul Loom training had been miserable.
Ava let out a faint laugh.
“Heh. I’m way younger than you think.”
She leaned slightly against the wall beside the hatch.
“Besides, I already awakened my bloodline. The abilities aren’t that different from Obsidian threads anyway.”
“Bloodline Awakening, huh…”
Lucien’s expression turned a little thoughtful.
From what he knew, awakenings usually required people to be pushed into near-death situations or severe emotional trauma before any real progress happened. Things like divine blessings, Weave leylines, rituals, or even Corruption could accelerate the process further.
Considering how suicidal most of those methods sounded, Lucien had never been remotely interested in trying.
He grabbed the hatch handle properly this time and pulled it open all the way before starting down the stairs first.
The two descended one after the other, their footsteps echoing softly against damp stone until they reached a narrow underground tunnel barely wide enough for a single person. Several branching paths stretched deeper into the dark like veins beneath the city.
Lucien moved to the front and pulled out the Wayfinder Compass, the brass casing giving off faint vibrations in his palm.
“Stay close and watch your step,” he warned while scanning the tunnel ahead. “There are traps everywhere down here. One wrong move and you could lose a limb.”
“So reassuring,” Ava murmured dryly, though her expression sharpened a little as her eyes swept across the floor and walls more carefully now.
Lucien continued forward at a measured pace, guiding them through routes and hazards he had already memorized. Even with that knowledge, his expression still tightened from time to time whenever they passed certain sections.
While he was focused on the path ahead, Ava suddenly started an odd conversation.
“So,” she drawled, “what’s your body count?”
Lucien blinked and looked back at her.
“What?”
Ava laughed under her breath, clearly entertained by his reaction.
“You’re way too tense,” she said, glancing at him with an amused grin. “Even I can tell. Instead of stressing out so much, why don’t we talk about something lighter?”
Lucien shot her a dry look over his shoulder while continuing forward.
“That’ll just make me tense in a completely different way, so no.”
Ava’s grin widened.
“Aren’t you Inferni-blooded?” she asked openly. “An Inferni who doesn’t like sex is like a merchant who doesn’t like money.”
Lucien frowned slightly as he stepped over a thin wire stretched low across the tunnel floor.
“That comparison feels a little extreme,” Lucien replied with a faint shrug. “Also, I’m only half human.”
“So you don’t like sex?”
“I do,” he admitted without much hesitation. “I just don’t treat it like something worth bragging about.”
Honestly, he hadn’t even viewed what happened with Seren that way.
To him, it had felt closer to treatment than indulgence. Something necessary to help her survive, not just him satisfying his own desires.
“Hm.”
Ava hummed thoughtfully, her crimson eyes roaming over him with open curiosity.
“I’ve never been with a half-Inferni before. Want to change that?”
Lucien almost missed his footing on the uneven stone path.
Just like that?
He stared at her for a second before looking forward again, breathing out softly.
He was starting to notice another difference between himself and the original Lucien—he wasn’t used to how casually people in this world, or maybe just Ava, talked about sex.
Lucien rubbed a hand over his face before shaking his head slightly and continuing down the tunnel.
“Let’s talk about that another time.”
From a practical standpoint, sleeping with Ava would probably benefit him. The System practically encouraged it.
But emotionally and tactically, he still didn’t know enough about her—or what kind of reaction she’d have if she ever discovered the intercourse’s effects on her Corruption, and by extension, the mark.
More than that, I need a break, Lucien thought wearily as he stepped around another concealed pressure plate. It’s not like I’m against it, but it’s literally my first day after transmigrating here.
The thought alone made his shoulders sag a little.
And I still have to spend the night with Seren again. Possibly the entire night.
Even he had limits mentally.
Behind him, Ava watched his back for a moment, one brow lifting faintly as if she could tell he was having some kind of internal crisis. Amusement flickered across her face, but she didn’t push the topic further.
“Fair enough,” she said lightly. “I’ll ask again when you look less traumatized.”
Lucien let out a dry laugh without looking back.
“Much appreciated.”