Lytis took the data-slate, his expression thoughtful. "Wraz," he murmured, the name unfamiliar. "Who is he?"

Elias sighed, a hint of weariness in his voice. "Wraz was... an orator, a scholar. He was once a respected figure in the Holian Society, known for his eloquent speeches and insightful interpretations of the scriptures."

He paused, his gaze clouding over with a hint of regret. "But then... he began to deviate. He started preaching about forgotten histories, about hidden truths that contradicted the accepted Holian narrative. He spoke of a time before the Three, of other gods, of suppressed knowledge."

Angella's ears perked up at the mention of other gods.

Elias shook his head sadly. "The Holian Society deemed his teachings heretical, dangerous. They outlawed him, stripped him of his titles, and banished him to the fringes of the city. He lives in the lower wards now, in the slums, a pariah."

Lytis nodded, his jaw tightening with a renewed sense of purpose. "Then that's where we need to go," he said, turning to Angella. "Thank you, Elias. You've been... invaluable."

Elias offered a small, sad smile. "Be careful, both of you. The lower wards are a dangerous place, and Wraz... he's a marked man."

 

Lytis and Angella quickly made their way back to the hovercar. As they navigated the increasingly crowded and dilapidated streets towards the city's underbelly, the vibrant neon lights and sleek architecture of the upper wards gave way to a grittier, more desperate landscape.

The air grew thick with the stench of decay and the oppressive weight of poverty. The towering structures of metal and glass were scarred and crumbling, casting long shadows over the narrow, winding streets.

 

Angella, her initial curiosity quickly giving way to apprehension, peered around, her gaze fixed on the passing scenery.

"There," Angella gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, pointing towards a dimly lit alleyway.

Lytis brought the hovercar to a halt.

"I saw something..." Angella said.

Lytis's eyes narrowed as he scanned the alley. He saw it then too - a shape, huddled and still, lying amidst a pile of discarded waste.

He activated a powerful floodlight on the hovercar, bathing the alleyway in a harsh, white light. Angella recoiled, a sob catching in her throat.

It was another victim. A young woman, her body arranged in the same ritualistic pose they had seen before. The viscous, black substance, the "Fear," was smeared across her skin, and her face was mutilated, half the skin peeled away, frozen in a mask of silent horror.

Angella was already on her wrist-comp as they get out of the car, her voice shaking as she spoke to the emergency services. "Hurry, please... there's a woman here, in an alleyway... she's badly injured... I think she's still alive..."

Lytis crouched down, his keen eyes examining the woman's still form. He confirmed Angella's assessment, his expression grim.

He then turned and sprinted back to the hovercar, his long coat billowing behind him. He opened the trunk and pulled out a sleek, metallic device, no larger than a briefcase. Angella watched, her mind racing, as he rushed back to the woman's side and quickly attached the device to her chest. Thin, glowing wires snaked across her skin, and the machine pulsed with a soft, rhythmic light.

"This will keep her alive... for a little while longer, at least," Lytis said, his voice strained with urgency. "It's a temporary bio-regulator. But she needs real medical attention, and fast." He paused, glancing at Angella as the sirens wailed in the distance. "I told them to contact me when she's stable and can communicate. She might have seen something. Anything."

 

 

A few minutes later, the wail of sirens echoed through the narrow streets, growing louder as an ambulance approached. Medical personnel rushed to the woman's side, carefully detaching Lytis's device and transferring her onto a stretcher. They worked quickly and efficiently, their movements practiced and precise, before finally loading her into the ambulance and speeding away.

Lytis and Angella stood in the eerie silence after they left, the flashing lights of the departing vehicle painting fleeting streaks of red and blue across their faces. The grim reality of the city's underbelly, the casual violence, and the pervasive sense of desperation, was beginning to settle in.

"We can't stay here all day," Lytis said finally, breaking the silence. He seemed unfazed by the gruesome scene, his mind already focused on the task at hand. "Come on. There's a place a few blocks from here that serves decent synth-ice cream. We can talk while we...process this."

Angella, still shaken and slightly nauseous, hesitated for a moment before nodding. The thought of something cold and sweet was surprisingly appealing, a small comfort in the midst of the surrounding darkness.

 

They walked in silence for a few blocks, the oppressive atmosphere of the lower wards pressing down on them. The synth-ice cream parlor was a small, garishly lit oasis amidst the decay, its bright, artificial colors a jarring contrast to the grim reality outside.

As they sat at a small, sticky table, a server with bright pink hair and multiple cybernetic piercings brought them their order: a towering sundae for Angella, and a more restrained cup of something dark and bitter for Lytis.

Lytis took a spoonful of his synth-ice, his expression thoughtful. "So," he said, his voice low, "I told them to contact us if that woman becomes responsive and can communicate. She might have seen something. Anything. In the meantime, though... this 'Wraz'. What do you make of him?"

Angella stared at her sundae, the vibrant colors suddenly unappetizing. She forced a small spoonful into her mouth, the sickly sweet flavor doing little to dispel the lingering taste of bile in her throat. "A heretic," she said finally, the word sounding hollow in the small, garish parlor. "Banished for speaking the truth."

Lytis raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Or a madman, spreading dangerous lies. The Holian Society doesn't usually exile people for mild disagreements, Ms. Angella. Whatever he was preaching, it must have struck a nerve."

They ate in silence for a few minutes, the synth-ice a strange, almost surreal distraction from the grim reality of their situation. Angella found herself watching Lytis, studying the lines on his face, the weariness in his eyes, the way he seemed both detached and intensely focused. He was a mystery, she realized, as complex and unsettling as the world they were navigating.

Finally, their strange, tension-filled meal came to an end. Lytis finished his bitter concoction, while Angella left most of her sundae unfinished. "Off we go then?" Lytis said, standing up and gesturing towards the exit.