East Verdan’s lower market was loud enough to wake the dead.
Metal clanged.
Merchants yelled prices across crowded streets.
Messenger birds swooped overhead screaming names and half-finished messages.
The entire district smelled like:
– engine oil
– grilled seafood
– smoke
– rain-soaked wood
Dhruv walked through the chaos with both hands inside his pockets.
Honestly?
He loved it.
The noise.
The movement.
The feeling that something ridiculous could happen at any second.
And considering his current luck… something ridiculous probably WOULD happen.
Dhruv stopped near a street vendor selling fried octopus skewers.
“How much?”
“Three crowns.”
Dhruv stared at his wallet silently.
“One crown and emotional support?”
The vendor pointed at another customer.
“Next.”
“Cruel world.”
Dhruv sighed dramatically and continued walking.
His hood remained pulled low.
After yesterday’s invisible disaster at the harbor, rumors had spread surprisingly fast.
People whispered things like:
– “ghost hunter”
– “invisible thief”
– “spirit kid”
Dhruv found this extremely entertaining.
A loud explosion suddenly echoed nearby.
BOOOOM.
Smoke burst upward from the next street over.
People screamed immediately.
“MOVE!”
“NOT AGAIN!”
“WHO GAVE THAT KID FIRE?!”
Dhruv blinked.
“…What?”
Another explosion followed.
Metal parts flew across the air.
Then someone burst out of the smoke riding what looked like a heavily modified bicycle with rockets attached to its sides.
The vehicle bounced violently across the street.
The rider screamed:
“IT WAS SUPPOSED TO TURN LEFT!”
CRASH.
The rocket-bike slammed directly into a vegetable cart.
Cabbages exploded everywhere.
Complete silence filled the street.
Dhruv stared blankly.
The boy inside the wreckage slowly lifted a thumbs-up.
“…Minor calculation error.”
Dhruv immediately started laughing.
Not polite laughing.
Full uncontrollable laughing.
The kind where breathing becomes optional.
The boy inside the wreckage looked offended.
“It was scientifically impressive before impact.”
He stood up dramatically from the smoke.
Messy dark hair.
Oversized hoodie.
Grease stains everywhere.
Goggles hanging around neck.
Probably sixteen.
Maybe dangerous.
Definitely chaotic.
The market vendors collectively groaned.
“DEEP!”
“YOU BLEW UP MY STALL AGAIN!”
“I’M CALLING THE POLICE!”
Deep pointed accusingly at the broken rocket-bike.
“The machine lacked emotional support!”
“That machine almost killed someone!”
“ALMOST,” Deep corrected proudly.
Dhruv laughed harder.
Deep finally noticed him standing nearby.
The two stared at each other for a second.
Then Deep narrowed his eyes.
“…Why are you laughing like you’ve seen heaven?”
Dhruv wiped tears from his eyes.
“Because that was the greatest entrance I’ve ever witnessed.”
Deep looked thoughtful.
“…Fair.”
A police whistle suddenly echoed through the market.
Both boys froze.
Several officers pushed through the crowd aggressively.
“There he is!”
Deep sighed deeply.
“Okay bad news.”
Dhruv grinned.
“You’re banned here?”
“I’m banned in MOST places.”
The officers pointed directly at Deep.
“Illegal inventions! Property damage! Reckless endangerment!”
Deep looked genuinely confused.
“That last one feels subjective.”
The officers began moving forward.
Deep immediately grabbed Dhruv’s wrist.
“Run first. Questions later.”
“Wait wha—”
Too late.
Deep sprinted instantly.
Dragging Dhruv directly into market chaos.
“WHY AM I RUNNING TOO?!”
“YOU LOOK ATHLETIC!”
“That’s not a reason!”
People jumped aside as the two raced through crowded streets.
Behind them:
angry police whistles echoed endlessly.
Deep grinned while pulling random gadgets from his hoodie pockets.
“You like explosions?”
Dhruv blinked.
“That sentence feels dangerous.”
Deep threw a small metal sphere behind them.
BOOM.
Purple smoke exploded across the street.
Officers immediately crashed into fruit stands blindly.
Dhruv stared.
“…Okay that was awesome.”
“I KNOW.”
They sharply turned into a narrow alley.
Deep slid beneath hanging laundry while Dhruv nearly got strangled by somebody’s bedsheet.
“WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CLOTHES?!”
“WELCOME TO LOWER EAST!”
Another officer appeared ahead blocking the exit.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!”
Deep pointed dramatically.
“Dhruv! Hit him with your secret move!”
Dhruv blinked.
“My WHAT?!”
The officer lunged forward.
Pure instinct activated.
Dhruv disappeared instantly.
The officer froze mid-step.
“…What.”
Deep’s jaw dropped.
“…WHAT.”
Dhruv himself looked equally shocked.
“Oh right. I can do that.”
The officer panicked immediately.
“INVISIBLE EMBER USER?!”
Dhruv quickly swept the officer’s legs from underneath him invisibly.
The man crashed face-first into mud.
Deep stared with stars in his eyes.
“That. Was. AMAZING.”
Dhruv reappeared beside him awkwardly.
“Still figuring it out honestly.”
Deep grabbed his shoulders dramatically.
“You’re joining my science.”
“My WHAT?”
“We’re friends now.”
“That’s not how friendship works!”
“It literally is.”
The police whistles grew louder again.
Deep immediately pointed upward.
“Roof route!”
Before Dhruv could answer, Deep launched a grappling device toward a rooftop.
FWIP.
The gadget pulled him upward instantly.
Dhruv stared.
“…You carry that around casually?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
Deep grinned upside down while hanging from the cable.
“Because stairs are slow.”
Dhruv laughed despite himself.
Then activated invisibility and climbed upward after him.
Several minutes later…
Both boys collapsed onto a rooftop overlooking the harbor.
Breathing heavily.
Laughing uncontrollably.
Below them, officers searched streets furiously.
Deep sat up first.
“…Okay.”
He pointed dramatically at Dhruv.
“You.”
Dhruv pointed back.
“You.”
Silence.
Then simultaneously:
“You’re insane.”
Both immediately burst out laughing again.
The harbor wind blew softly across the rooftop.
For the first time in days…
Dhruv forgot about funerals.
Maps.
Hunters.
Fear.
This felt strangely normal.
Deep leaned backward against a chimney.
“So what’s your deal?”
Dhruv hesitated slightly.
Should he mention the map?
Grandpa?
The Ember Fruit?
Probably not.
Yet.
“Name’s Dhruv.”
“Deep.”
“Obviously.”
Deep gasped dramatically.
“You wound me.”
Dhruv smirked slightly.
“So you just build illegal rockets for fun?”
“Correction.”
Deep proudly held up a finger.
“Illegal rockets for SCIENCE.”
“Ah yes. Much safer.”
Deep suddenly leaned closer suspiciously.
“That invisibility thing though…”
Dhruv stiffened slightly.
Deep noticed immediately.
Then surprisingly… leaned back again casually.
“No worries. Hunter world’s full of weird powers.”
Dhruv relaxed slightly.
Deep stared at the ocean horizon quietly for a moment before speaking again.
“You planning to stay in East Verdan forever?”
Dhruv’s fingers unconsciously touched the rolled map hidden beneath his jacket.
“…No.”
Deep noticed the movement instantly.
Sharp eyes.
Smarter than he acted.
“You’re leaving somewhere.”
Dhruv looked toward the eastern sea.
“East Cloud.”
For the first time since meeting him…
Deep’s playful expression faded slightly.
“…East Cloud?”
Dhruv glanced at him.
“You know it?”
Deep stayed quiet for a second.
Then laughed lightly again.
“Only that people either become legends there…”
His eyes shifted briefly toward Dhruv’s hidden map.
“…or disappear forever.”
Wind moved between them quietly.
Far below, waves crashed against harbor walls.
Dhruv smiled slowly.
“Sounds fun.”
Deep stared at him for two full seconds.
Then grinned.
“Oh yeah.”
He extended his grease-covered hand dramatically.
“You are DEFINITELY my kind of stupid.”
Dhruv laughed and shook it.
Neither of them noticed the shadowy figure watching from another rooftop nearby.
A burning cigar glowed faintly beneath the rain clouds.
The man quietly whispered into a messenger bird.
“Confirmed.”
“The boy has the map.”
The bird immediately flew into the darkening sky.
END OF CHAPTER 4