Chapter 3: Time To Leave
The city of Arclight sprawled across the horizon like a beast that refused to die. It was massive—like two cities smashed together, then stretched even wider.
Towering skyscrapers gleamed in the center, their glass and steel catching the sun, while sprawling slums and crumbling districts fanned out around them. Three years after the Abyss Gates opened, Arclight had become a patchwork of hope and despair.
The rich and the Hunters lived in the heart of the city, surrounded by clean streets and guarded walls. The rest? They clung to the edges, where Fin and Meg called home.
Fin's part of town was the worst of the worst. Broken pavement, rusted husks of cars, and the constant stink of rot and smoke.
It was where the poor ended up, the ones too weak or too unlucky to climb out. The slums weren't just neglected; they were forgotten, left to fend for themselves when monster breaks happened.
Fin had grown up there, scraping by, dreaming of something better but never quite believing it could happen.
Until now.
That morning, he stood in their tiny apartment, staring at a small pile of cash on the table. It was everything he'd saved over months of hauling scrap—worn bills and a handful of coins, barely enough to matter. Beside it was another stack, bigger, messier, shoved toward him by Meg.
"Take it," she said, arms crossed. Her purple hair was tied back, and she had that stubborn look she got when she wouldn't take no for an answer. "All of it."
He blinked. "Meg, that's your money. You've been saving for—"
"Forget it," she cut him off. "You're a Hunter now—or you will be. This is your shot. I believe in you. Take the damn money and go."