Chapter 16: No Solo
The tram hissed as it pulled away behind him.
Lucen stepped off the final platform and followed the narrow concrete path down under the overpass.
The light was already fading, but the old infrastructure hummed with that familiar mana-fed current. It was slight, sour, and metallic.
The gate was where the map said it would be.
Welded steel frame. Spray-painted tag numbers of CZ-11-HZ.
One standing pole light buzzed above it. It leaned toward the gate like it was watching. Or losing balance.
Next to it stood a foldout table and a small gray kiosk. A single official sat behind it in a chair that looked less approved and more borrowed from someone's garage.
Lucen approached.
The guy didn't look up.
He was maybe in his late twenties, chewing something that might've been gum or might've been a mana chew tab.
His ID badge was clipped sideways. A half-open bag of squid chips sat next to a cracked tablet.