Lucen scratched another line into the bark of a passing tree.
This one didn't bleed.
That was nice.
The last one oozed something purple for a few seconds before sealing itself shut like it was embarrassed.
He moved on.
Step after slow step.
The jungle stretched in every direction. Same thick moss. Same overgrown trunks. Same silent, heavy air pressing in on him like the world had run out of fresh thoughts.
'If this place has a radio station, it's just static and screaming.'
He crouched near a slope that dipped between two roots. Dirt was darker here. Softer. Slightly sunken.
And different.
There were marks.
Not claw marks. Not footprints.
Just pressure dents. Long, narrow, like something heavy dragged across the moss and pressed it flat.
But the shapes were geometric.
Not wild.
Lucen followed them with his eyes.
They led east. Maybe. Whatever passed for east in here.
He tapped the side of his leg with his fingers while he thought.
'Heavy object dragged. That means… maybe the rescan gate support cart? Or someone pulled a sigil case out too full and didn't lift it?'
It was a stretch.
But it was something.
He stood and followed the trail.
Every few meters, he paused.
Checked the system.
Still no exit marker.
Still offline sync.
Still alone.
He ducked under a low branch. Stepped over a patch of glowing mushrooms he didn't want to look at too hard.
The moss gave slightly underfoot.
Then stopped.
Stone beneath.
He looked down.
A flat plate. Half-covered in growth. There was a line cut through the center. Thin. Clean.
Lucen crouched fast.
Brushed the moss aside with one hand.
A glyph.
Carved into the surface. Old. But familiar.
Not part of the drift.
This was from the real world.
A transit rune.
A shallow one. City grade. Linked to return pads or single-direction scans.
He pulled up the system window.
[Gate Sync Detected]
[Exit Location: 5 Meters Forward]
[Exit Node Status: Fading]
[Time Remaining: 02:14]
Lucen blinked.
'Two minutes? What—why is it already closing?'
He took a step forward.
The air in front of him shimmered.
No sound. Just a ripple.
A thin, vertical crack of light flickered into view.
Not dramatic.
Just real.
The gate.
He broke into a jog.
Not full sprint. Just enough to reach it before something decided it should close early.
The rift widened slightly as he got close.
Then stabilized.
He stepped through.
No flash.
No fanfare.
Just a cold breath of air across his face and the sudden sound of a very real, very loud city.
Lucen stepped out of the drift gate and nearly tripped on a crack in the concrete.
The sudden shift in atmosphere hit like a slap.
Cold air. Noise. The distant honk of a delivery truck. Steam venting from a pipe somewhere nearby. Someone shouting in the background about their breakfast being stolen.
He blinked once.
The quiet was gone.
The jungle had vanished behind him.
The rift closed without a sound. Just a slight ripple in the air, like reality shrugging off something it didn't want to remember.
He turned to look.
Nothing there.
No glow. No shimmer.
Just a patch of weather-stained concrete with an old warning sign nailed to a post that was bent at the middle.
ZONE 12 – UNSTABLE FIELD
ENTRY REQUIRES CITY CLEARANCE
NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF LIMBS OR DIGNITY
Lucen stared at the sign.
Then squinted at the bottom.
Someone had added a smiley face in marker. The smile was crooked. The eyes were bleeding.
He muttered, "Accurate."
Boots scuffed behind him.
Lucen turned.
The rescan clerk stood ten feet away, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a tablet with a cracked corner. His coat looked more wrinkled than it had an hour ago. Still oversized. Still unimpressed.
The guy sipped from a half-empty coffee cup, didn't blink, and said, "You're alive."
Lucen nodded. "Yeah."
The man looked down at the tablet.
Tapped once.
"Time of entry… forty-one minutes. You beat the hour cap."
Lucen didn't answer.
Mostly because his brain was still playing a highlight reel of falling trees, jungle fangs, and whatever that wooden monstrosity was supposed to be.
The clerk raised an eyebrow. "You find anything?"
Lucen held up the sigil case.
It clicked faintly.
The man took it and opened it halfway.
Inside, two faintly pulsing drift shards glowed like they were trying to pretend they weren't dangerous.
He whistled low. "Two. Not bad. That's a hundred-credit base. If the grade checks out."
Lucen nodded again. "Cool."
The guy handed the case back and scanned his badge.
Then looked up with that same deadpan expression and asked, "You hurt?"
Lucen blinked. "No."
"You look like you lost a bet with a swamp."
Lucen looked down.
His coat was covered in moss bits. His sleeves were scraped. His boots were wet with something that might've been blood or exotic plant juice.
His right hand had a small burn on the knuckle where he'd gripped the stone too long.
He hadn't noticed.
'Great. Definitely not suspicious. I just rolled out of the jungle like it owed me money.'
He shrugged. "It was messy."
The guy nodded once like that explained everything.
"Alright. Go check out at the payout desk inside. Don't lose your case. They hate that."
Lucen turned and walked toward the main structure.
The door buzzed when he pressed his ID badge to the reader. The building interior smelled like old mana and burned instant coffee. Half the lights flickered.
There was a vending machine in the corner with three blinking red errors and a stuck chip bag in the middle coil.
He didn't stop.
Just walked straight to the counter labeled civilian field processing and set the sigil case down.
The woman behind the desk didn't look up at first. She was scrolling something on her tablet and chewing gum like it owed her rent.
Lucen stood still.
After a few seconds, she tapped a button and held out her hand without saying anything.
He passed her the case.
She popped it open, scanned the contents, then whistled.
Same exact tone as the guy outside.
"Double pull? For a solo?"
Lucen nodded.
She stared at him.
Then said, "Huh."
Just that.
Then tapped her screen a few times.
"Grade check will be posted in twelve hours. If both are stable, you'll get a full payout. They clear at D or better. Below that, you get credit for effort and emotional damage."
Lucen leaned on the counter with both hands.
'Do I ask about the emotional damage credit or do I let that one go?'
He let it go.
She handed the case back without looking.
"Any injuries?"
Lucen shook his head.
She finally glanced up.
Then down again.
"You're not bleeding. That's good. Keep doing that."
She tapped her screen one more time.
"You'll get a text when the payout hits. Door's that way. Don't throw up on the carpet."
Lucen turned.
Didn't say anything.
He stepped outside into the gray street air, let the door shut behind him, and didn't move for a few seconds.
Just stood on the sidewalk.
Two sigils in his coat.
Full mana not quite recovered.
And his first drift behind him.
He cracked his neck once.
Then muttered, "Well. That was easy."
He smiled.
The kind that didn't reach his eyes.
'Next time, maybe I'll be able to bring a real weapon.'