CHAPTER 28 — CRESCENDO
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
X’OMNERA — ENTERING THE PULSE DISTRICT
The further they walked from the Rustline pods, the more the district changed shape.
Lights shifted from scattered scavenged bulbs into perfect grids of neon that pulsed on a schedule.
Then The Pulse hit all at once.
The moment the trio stepped out of the Rustline and into the district proper, the world exploded in color and sound.
Neon signs stacked five stories high blasted ads for clubs, stimulants, Crownfall betting halls, and “experiences” you couldn’t unsee once you read the fine print.
Music bled from every direction; bass from one club, an electronic synth line from another, cadences shaking the metal under their feet.
Pulse workers lined the street, inked markings under their eyes, dressed to pull customers in.
Some danced on small platforms. Others leaned across railings offering flirtation, companionship, or something darker if you looked long enough.
Drone patrols drifted overhead, broadcasting in a flat synthetic loop:
“Abidance is a shared responsibility. Report unlawful activity.”
Nobody even glanced up.
In X’Omnera, being watched was just part of the weather.
Talla exhaled. “This place is… insane.”
Riven smiled like a kid seeing fireworks for the first time.
Set just tightened his new blackout jacket and scanned the crowd.
Then he saw him.
Across the street posted up in front of a neon-washed venue; Club X’O. Big dude, broad chest, SECURITY printed across his shirt. Panteran. No clan marks. No Kaijin jewelry. Just a man working a door like he’d been here for years.
Set caught himself staring, wondering how long the man had lived in The Pulse.
The young trio made it ten steps before the district swallowed Riven whole.
His fingers twitched.
His foot tapped.
His shoulders shifted.
“Don’t even,” Talla warned.
Riven ignored her.
He lifted his hands like he was about to strum an invisible guitar and aether answered.
Thin lines of luminous jade light snapped into existence between his fingers, stretching outward like strings forming themselves out of air.
He dragged his thumb across them.
The street lit up.
Arcs of green-silver light flared with each strum, sound waves rippling in bright patterns. The neon grid of the Pulse matched.
A crowd formed instantly.
Pulse workers drifted in, moving to the beat like they’d rehearsed with Riven before. Someone recorded with a neon-lensed visor. A YoYo clinked at Riven’s feet. Then another.
Talla covered her face. “Oh my god.”
Set crossed his arms. “He’s gonna get us arrested.”
Riven spun, dipped, and ended the routine with a final sharp strum. A last ripple of light rolled across the street.
The crowd cheered then scattered, swept away by the next escape The Pulse had to offer.
Riven exhaled, hands dropping as the aether strings dissolved.
“Still got it,” he said, proud.
Talla didn’t even pretend to clap.
“I’m happy for you, my little superstar" she said flatly, “but I’m starving. We’ve been moving since the docks. Can we please eat before I pass out and you have to drag my body through this glow stick circus?”
Set snorted. "Mine too.”
They looked around.
Food was everywhere.
Street grills tossing wok-flame over skewers. Steam clouds rising from neon-lit noodle bars. Buffet halls with chrome windows showcasing trays piled with synthetic-meat roasts, spiced rice, fried roots, and dishes imported from every nation on the planet.
The Pulse sold dreams through lights
but it earned community through food.
Talla reached for a menu board—
then froze.
“Uh… guys? We don’t have money.”
Set checked his pockets like the universe might’ve magically gifted him currency.
Nothing.
“I’m not begging,” Set muttered.
“Not begging,” Talla tried to convince him. “Just… asking nicely.”
Riven, of course, had already solved it.
He held up his hand and let YoYos spill between his fingers—five of them, clean and bright, still warm from the crowd’s hands.
“Your boy,” he said with a ridiculous bow, “is now officially funded.”
Talla gasped. “You made that from the performance?”
“Hey,” Riven shrugged, “never doubt that Elven rhythm.”
Set rolled his eyes but couldn’t hold the smile back.
They followed the smell of spiced broth to a street stall under a flickering pink sign. They ordered whatever the vendor was scooping that smelled edible, grabbed metal bowls, and sat on a crate under a canopy of neon.
Talla destroyed her food in seconds.
Riven talked with his mouth full.
Set ate quietly, eyes scanning the crowd.
Then his chewing stopped.
Across a cross-street, tucked between two blinding holo-ads, was a shop with its lights dimmed to near-black. Its neon sign flickered weakly, half-dead letters reading:
A POTTY
Not Apothecary.
Just A POTTY — like someone who knew what the word meant and assumed everyone else would too.
The door was window shades hardly open, darkness pooling inside.
Set stood up mid-bite.
Riven blinked. “Big guy, we just sat down—”
Talla followed his gaze and froze. “Oh.”
Without a word, Set started walking.
Talla grabbed two more pieces of flatbread from the stall—one for her, one for him, because he’d forget to eat later—then jogged to catch up.
Riven groaned and poured the last of his broth into his mouth.
“Yeah, sure,” he mumbled. “Let’s go meet the witch doctor we learned about in some shady bar.”
Riven stops for a second "Great place though, fine people"
He shoved his bowl back at the vendor and ran after them.
As the trio crossed the street toward the dark doorway, the neon glow behind them faded.
They had found Vei.
Or maybe…
Vei had been expecting them.
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣