The carriage lurched to a halt, its wheels splintering against a barricade of broken timber. Black Lotus enforcers swarmed the road, their torches casting jagged shadows. Hana stood among them, her knife glinting in the firelight.
"You should've taken the gold and run, Izuku," she said, her voice stripped of its familiar edge. Now it was cold, clinical. "But you had to play hero."
Lord Edric stumbled back, his noble composure shattered. "You—you led them here?!"
Hana ignored him, her eyes locked on Izuku. "The Black Lotus pays better. And they don't care about potential. They care about results."
[Betrayal Revealed: Hana (Black Lotus Informant)]
[Penalty: All Known Hiding Spots Compromised]
Izuku's mind raced. Of course. Her timing, her reluctance, her knowing exactly where to strike—she'd been watching, reporting, waiting. The system's golden text flickered like a taunt:
[Quest Updated: Survive the Traitor]
[Objective: Escape Hana and Black Lotus Enforcers]
[Reward: +0.05% Pain Resistance | Risk: Death Probability 93%]
"Run," Izuku hissed, shoving Edric toward an alley. "Don't look back."
The slums became a labyrinth of teeth. Every corner Hana had once helped them navigate now trapped them. A tripwire snapped, sending Edric sprawling. Izuku hauled him up, his malnourished arms screaming.
[Vitality: 0.22 → 0.20 (Malnourishment Penalty)]
"T-They're closing in!" Edric whimpered.
Izuku's gaze darted. The old hiding spot—the one the boy before me used. A memory flickered: a collapsed chimney, a child's skeletal hand clutching a rusted locket.
"Follow," Izuku ordered, veering into a derelict tannery.
Hana's voice echoed behind them. "You can't hide forever, Ghost!"
The chimney was exactly as the memories promised—narrow, stinking of ash, and forgotten. Izuku shoved Edric into the crevice, then squeezed in after him.
[Hidden Location Discovered: The Ash Hollow]
[Effect: Detection Risk -30% (Temporary)]
Edric trembled. "She'll find us. She knows everything!"
"Not this," Izuku said, clutching the moonstone shard. Its faint glow illuminated the locket buried in the soot. He pried it open. Inside, a faded sketch of a woman—the original boy's mother?
[Item Acquired: Rusted Locket (Sentimental)]
[Hidden Parameter: Resolve +1%]
Footsteps crunched outside. Hana's voice slithered through the cracks. "You're out of time, Izuku. The Black Lotus wants the noble alive. You? They'll settle for pieces."
Izuku pressed the moonstone to his chest. Pain is a catalyst.
[Moonstone Activation: 5%]
[Pain Sensitivity: 300% → 280%]
Agony seared his ribs, but strength—fractured, fleeting—flooded his limbs.
[Temporary Buff: Borrowed Strength]
[Duration: 10 Minutes | Penalty: Vitality -0.05 Post-Use]
He burst from the chimney, a shard of glass in hand. Hana blinked, startled. Izuku slashed her arm, then bolted.
[Combat Log: Critical Hit (Hana)]
[Pain Resistance: 0.20% → 0.25%]
"Kill them!" Hana roared.
Arrows whistled. One grazed Izuku's thigh. Another struck Edric's shoulder.
[Injury: Pierced Thigh (Mobility -40%)]
[Edric: Bleeding (Critical)]
They stumbled into a sewer tunnel, the moonstone's glow fading. Izuku dragged Edric into a side passage, their breaths echoing in the dark.
"Leave me," Edric gasped. "You can't save us both."
Izuku tightened his grip. "I don't save. I survive."
To Be Continued in Chapter 11 – The Hollow's Whisper