Just as the Keeper had promised, the following day he waited patiently beside the Anchor, its faint glow casting shifting patterns across the floor. When Vallas arrived, bow slung across his back, the Keeper studied him with a curious smile.
"You ready?" he asked.
The archer gave a silent nod..
"Good. Glad to hear it. This won't be a one-day adventure, so prepare yourself for anything that might come."
With that, the Shopkeeper pressed his hand against the Anchor. The orb flared instantly, its brilliance swelling until it drowned everything in light. For a moment, Vallas felt as if his body was being pulled apart and scattered into a thousand pieces, only to be woven back together in the blink of an eye.
Then it was over.
When the glow faded, the archer blinked rapidly, his eyes adjusting to the sharp contrast of their new surroundings. A vast cybernetic city sprawled outward in every direction, metal and glass towers piercing the sky, neon lights flickering weakly on their sides. Yet despite the towering architecture, silence reigned. The two of them stood on the rooftop of a tall building, looking down on wide streets that should have been bustling with life. Instead, they were empty, no people, no movement save for the faint flicker of malfunctioning signs.
A hollow wind swept through the air, carrying with it the faint smell of oil and ozone. Somewhere in the distance, a mechanical hum echoed a broken rhythm, as if some machine still tried to function long after its masters had disappeared.
The Keeper's voice broke the silence. "Welcome to Riuaya," he said, his tone low and heavy. "Once a prosperous city… now nothing but a grave of steel and neon, where only the machines remain to roam."
Vallas tightened his grip on his bow, unease prickling down his spine.
"As I said, our main objective is to eliminate the boss here ironically called 'Boss Man,'" the Keeper said. "He holds a key that will let us into Atlas. Atlas is protected by a massive barrier set up long ago; that's why Althea and I couldn't get in. But with you here, I think we can make enough noise to draw Boss Man's attention."
Vallas responded with a simple gesture, hands cutting through the air. He preferred to communicate through movement rather than words, silently asking how they should create the ruckus needed to be noticed.
"What else?" the Keeper said, glancing over the edge. Then, without hesitation, he jumped.
Grabbing a butterfly knife from his coat pocket midair, he landed squarely on one of the patrol robots. Without missing a beat, he drove the blade into its neck. Sparks flew as wires severed with a sharp electrical crackle, the machine twitching violently before its systems failed. The red glow of its sensors winked out, leaving behind only the faint scent of burnt insulation and ozone. Below, the city's silence swallowed the outburst, but the mechanical stillness had been broken.
The other robots, alarmed by the sudden attack on one of their own, surged toward the Keeper with mechanical precision. But before they could reach him, a volley of arrows cut through the air. Each shot found its mark, striking the robots in the head with deadly accuracy, sending sparks and fragments flying in all directions.
The Keeper gave a nod with a tight, approving smile. "Good," he murmured. "That'll get Boss Man's attention. Keep it up, and he won't be able to ignore us."
Six hours had passed since the bodies of the robots littered the ground. The air reeked of oil and ozone, mixed with a faint, almost metallic chill. Why are there so many? he wondered, loosening his grip on the bow. Still, there was no sign of the boss man yet. This is rather annoying, he thought, scanning the area with measured caution. "Why are there so many clankers everywhere?"
The keeper looked up at Valla's "language kid, I don't want Althea on me for you picking up those kind of words"
Kid? Vallas thought.
Vallas crouched low, working quickly through the bodies of the fallen machines he tore away cybernetic parts wiring, fractured servos, and shattered lenses placing each piece carefully into his pack. These scraps could be repurposed. With enough of them, he might forge new types of arrows, something beyond his usual frost-tipped mana shafts. Still, the few components he'd gathered so far were far from enough.
He could not afford to rely solely on his frost arrows. Each shot drew directly from his mana reserves, and he knew all too well the cost of pushing himself too far. Overuse meant the risk of losing control, the risk of becoming that corrupted creature again.
Maybe it would be a bit smarter to keep a bundle of normal arrows, the fact his quiver was completely empty and only carried it around for style.
His eyes drifted to the Keeper, who was casually twirling his butterfly knife against the wall, performing small tricks as if the chaos around them didn't exist. Night was approaching, shadows stretching long across the cracked ground.
The Keeper pushed up against the wall "C'mon, night's coming. Let's go rest up for tomorrow," the Keeper said, springing upward effortlessly. He jumped, floated for a moment in the air, then grabbed a ledge and vaulted again, repeating the motion with fluid ease.
Vallas stared, momentarily stunned, a flicker of confusion tightening his features. His bow hand twitched slightly, as though unsure if he'd misheard or if the Keeper was toying with him again.
The Keeper glanced back over his shoulder, unfazed. "Can you not double-jump?" he asked, tilting his head as if the question were the most natural thing in the world.
Vallas tilted his own head in silent reply, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and irritation.
"You jump," the Keeper said, demonstrating with a lazy bounce on his heels, "then channel mana into your feet, then jump again. Simple as that."
His tone was casual, almost dismissive, as though he were describing how to tie a bootlace rather than rewriting the rules of gravity.
Vallas concentrated and tried it exactly as instructed. He leapt, tried to push mana into his feet but he barely rose an inch before falling back to the ground. Easier said than done
The Keeper shrugged, grinning. "I know you'll find a way to get up here."
Vallas exhaled, frustrated . He stepped back, gave himself a running start, and began parkouring along the walls and ledges. Step by step, gripping onto the edges of the building any way he could find up as if he were a squirrel he closed the distance, finally vaulting over the edge landing beside the Keeper.
"Rather impressive," the Keeper said, eyes flicking up at him with a faint smirk.
Though Vallas didn't quite understand how he had managed it, the climb felt almost like muscle memory. As if, in another life, he had scaled far greater heights than this with ease guessing that was one of the traits for having the memories and body of such a notorious person. The thought lingered only briefly before fading beneath the hum of the strange city.
"Anyways, you get some rest first, Vallas ill take first watch" The keeper said resting his arms over the edge of the building looking over the vast city. It was the most beautiful during the night. Vallas nodded before taking comfort onto the ground snugged up with his bow
Elsewhere, the clanking of iron and the grinding roar of heavy machinery filled the air. The factory stank of oil, ozone, and molten metal, its vast chambers alive with the constant birth of machines. Sparks rained from overhead catwalks as welding torches spat fire, illuminating the towering frames of half-finished robots. Pistons hissed and gears churned, a chorus of industry that never seemed to rest.
High above the floor, inside a glass-walled office overlooking the endless production lines, a figure watched. A faint white gleam escaped from the visor that masked his eyes, reflecting the glow of the massive iron constructs being assembled below. This was the Boss Man overseer of Riuaya, the one who ruled the city through his endless army of steel.
The door to the office burst open as a smaller robot stumbled inside, its chassis dented, sparks flickering from its joints.
"Boss Man!" it stammered.
The visor tilted downward, regarding the smaller machine with cold silence.
"The city of Riuaya has been attacked!" the robot cried. "Unknown variables have infiltrated under our watch and have begun killing units!"
The Boss Man's voice was low and sharp, like steel grinding against stone. "And you've been letting this happen?" he hissed.
The smaller robot shook, servos whirring nervously. "No, Boss Man, we've been sending security units after them, but… all of them have been kept getting wiped out."
A surge of rage rolled through the visor's gleam, and the Boss Man slammed a gauntleted fist onto his desk. The metal bent under the blow with a hollow clang. "Unacceptable. Increase the patrols. Double them at night. I want these intruders found!"
"Yes, Boss Man!" the smaller robot squeaked before scurrying out of the office, leaving the overseer alone once more.
The Boss Man turned back toward the window, visor glinting as he stared at the endless stream of machines below. The grinding of the factory filled the silence, but his voice cut through it like a knife.
"No one slips through Riuaya," he muttered. "No one."
The faint zap of electricity arcing across a broken circuit board shattered the silence of the rooftop, stirring the Keeper from his nap. He opened one eye, blinking against the faint neon glow of the dead city below, and spotted Vallas crouched near the scattered remains of dismantled machines. The archer's expression was one of cool focus, his hands steady as he soldered salvaged wires into place.
The Keeper groaned softly, sitting up. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice still heavy with sleep.
The zapping stopped. Vallas straightened and held something up, letting the dim light glint across the shaft of his creation. A new arrow, its metal body reinforced with strips of scavenged circuit pieces , faint wires running down its length, a tiny charge humming at the tip.
The Keeper frowned at it, then at Vallas, as if the answer should have been obvious. "And that's supposed to mean what, exactly?"
Vallas didn't speak. Instead, he flicked one hand outward and spread his fingers with a sharp motion, mimicking an explosion.
Realization hit, and the Keeper's eyes widened slightly. "Explosive arrows," he muttered. "So that's why you were digging through those robots' bodies like a vulture."
Vallas gave a single nod, lips pressed thin. His eyes carried a quiet gleam of satisfaction
The Keeper chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "Of course. I should've expected as much. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you're the Frost Archer of Johannas, after all"
Vallas lowered the arrow and inspected the wiring one more time, his fingers running across the grooves with care. The faint smell of ozone lingered in the air, mixing with the burnt scent of broken circuitry around them. It was crude work for now, but with more pieces, more parts. He could make it even more effective than before
The Keeper leaned back against the wall again, watching him with half a smile. "Just don't blow us up before Boss Man even shows his face."
Vallas grabbed a bundle of his new explosive arrows sliding it into his quiver nice and snug.