Chapter 67 - 64: One Month
It had been a month since Ellen left everyone behind.
In that time, she'd become a ghost with a name. A wanderer who left behind no footprints, but whose legend had begun to root itself in the whispers of New Eridu's underground and corporate threads alike.
She called herself Black Sun now. An alias born not from vanity, but necessity—for anonymity, for reputation, for the truth to be distorted just enough to keep people distant.
Ellen worked endlessly, rarely stopping to breathe.
She explored Hollow Zones on her own, finding lost scavengers and disoriented squads, dragging them back to safety without a word. Her face, when they glimpsed it through her mask, was blank. Emotionless. Only her efficiency spoke volumes.
She hunted down gangs who used the chaos of the Ether tides to prey on the weak. One in particular—Mountain Lions—had become her obsession. Their network was tight, fractured into well-guarded outposts scattered across the city. She'd found a handful, cleared them out, but the main nest remained elusive. Still, she pushed forward, night after night, alone.
On Inter-Knot, commissions came in daily. The name Black Sun had a polarizing effect—some feared her, others admired her. Employers with shady motives learned quickly: if Ellen sniffed out corruption, she eliminated her target and the one who sent her. It made people cautious. But her flawless success rate kept the dennies flowing.
When she wasn't bleeding criminals dry or mapping Hollow Zones, Ellen blended into the rhythm of the city.
She worked as a maid in quiet, upper-class estates—an old habit she couldn't seem to shake.
She bartended in neon-drenched lounges, never smiling, never engaging beyond necessity. Her drinks were always perfect.
And sometimes, she worked as a bodyguard for Astra Yao.