I suck my breath in and release it with a low hiss, the cogs in my head turning all the while. The Voice continues talking, unaware of the doubts swirling in my mind.

"I have prepared the SUV in the Inclinator for your use on the surface." The Voice rasps, "While we will still be cut off from each other once you begin your mission, the SUV can at least provide you with some measure of protection from whatever is going on out there."

"Cool. Thanks." I reply, turning my attention back to the present, "When will you be able to bring the Pit back online?"

"It all depends on how quickly Mrs Alley can complete her assignment." The Voice rumbles, "The device I prepared for her will force the Pit's data port to link with this control station. Once that is done, I will isolate the line and use it as an umbilical to reconnect with the isolated place of power."

"Why the Pit though?" I query, "Its the least comfortable of your topside hideouts. When I proposed this idea to you I was actually thinking of the apartment at the Academy, or at the very least the abandoned store."

"Caution must trump over comfort Transmigrator." The Voice notes disapprovingly, "If our guess is correct, you will not be able to evade the sight of the servant once you step out of the Inclinator. Retreating to the Academy or the store would allow Fate to simply set up a siege and bottle you up, giving it a free hand to act."

"Fair enough." I allow while getting up from the chair and doing some stretches, "But how would the Pit be any different then?"

"Unit density." The Voice explains, "The Pit is located within the Hills, a commercial and office complex of considerable size, and that is not counting the residential portions of the development."

I think back to my time spent at the Pit. Sure enough, there were plenty of stores and offices in the same building I was hiding in. Gallant's sister had been tailing me during that time, but she failed to discern my actual hiding spot. There were just too many places to search, especially once you take into account the fact that I could easily convert any one of the lots into a makeshift apartment. The size of the building and its multitude of floors did not help either.

"I get what you are saying. I will still need to be careful moving in and out though." I grunt, stroking my chin. Unfortunately, we would not be able to reconnect the SUV to The Voice if the surface was under Celeste's grip. It was not possible to set up a physical connection between the SUV and the Sarcophagus without sacrificing the mobile hobo base's biggest advantage. The simple fact that it could actually move about. That's also not mentioning how suspicious the SUV would become if it trailed a massive length of cable behind it regardless of where it went. Forget about a wireless connection. Anything not underground had become off limits.

Under the circumstances, the Pit was really the best choice despite my dislike of staying in what was basically a glorified lavatory. I hear the sound of the Inclinator powering up. Its almost go time.

"Just so." The Voice agrees, "More incentive for you to resolve this problem then. Now move out. The longer you tarry, the more dangerous the situation becomes for us."

"You don't know that though." I respond but begin walking towards the Inclinator anyway, "The Sarcophagus's systems show nothing particularly unusual is happening."

"The risk involved is nevertheless too great." The Voice rasps, "Especially now that we are on the final lap of the contest between Fate and myself."

"True enough." I allow, entering the Inclinator and stopping before the SUV parked within. Opening the vehicle's boot, I note that it is completely bare.

"At least arm me properly if you think it is going to be so dangerous up there." I point out, "I might get ambushed or something. And spawn some medical supplies, or healing potions. Whatever the locals have to fix themselves up after a scrap."

"Combat should be your last resort." The Voice hums, "Not until you can unravel the mystery of what is going on in The City. But very well."

The boot abruptly slams shut with a bang and quickly yawns wide open again, this time loaded with the revolver and several boxes of ammunition. The retractable baton lies by the gun's side as well, waiting for action.

"No medicine or healing items?" I ask, narrowing my eyes, feeling the figurative chain tied to my neck being yanked.

"None are needed." The Voice demurs, "You should not be engaging in combat in the first place. At any rate, you can always return here or to the Pit if your body requires repair."

"Sure." I agree blandly while holstering the revolver and stowing the baton away, no point making a fuss about this kind of thing now, not that it would do much good anyway, "Wish me luck."

.....

"Good luck." The Voice rasps as the Inclinator comes to a stop and the shutters begin to rise, "Control of the SUV has been turned over to you."

"Talk to you later." I confirm and press down on the accelerator, easing the SUV out of the giant elevator. As the vehicle emerges from the cavernous darkness, I shield my eyes in preparation of being blinded by being exposed to sunlight after so many days living underground. Except there is no sun. That's odd, the cameras in the control center clearly show that its daytime right now. There is light though, its not as if I need to turn on the SUV's headlamps or anything. So what exactly is going on?

I glance upwards and my breath is taken away. No wonder The Voice needed cameras wired to the Sarcophagus to see anything.

Red threads slash across the sky, forming a dome over The City. The threads emit an aura of power, painting what should be a blue canvas completely crimson. The thread itself is not woven densely though, with plenty of large gaps in the dome, causing it to resemble an incomplete tapestry. Turning my eyes back to the road and the surrounding area, I note that other than being bathed in the sinister glow coming from the threads above, the streets are completely free of any weirdness.

So its true then. Celeste did manage to extend her influence throughout The City. But she performed the feat in a very slipshod fashion, most probably due to limitations in her power. The dome sealing The City off is clearly incomplete. The anti access zone is instead maintained by a sort of area of effect phenomena being exerted by the threads themselves. That is probably why The Voice still has limited awareness of what is going on here. The red threads have not attacked any of the cameras hooked up to the sarcophagus. Celeste probably doesn't have the energy to be quite so thorough.

As the SUV begins trundling down the street at a sedate pace, the crimson shade cast over everything makes the Dreaming Spires District look like an alien planet. Obviously this is thanks to my unique visual range, the locals just getting on with their day clearly can't tell that anything is wrong. Well, whatever, I have a much bigger problem to worry about now. Namely what am I supposed to do? The Voice gave me no leads to kick this investigation off. Don't tell me I need to map out the red threads by hand in order to back trace it to the originating point. That's a tall, no make that an impossible order, given the size of The City and the fact that I am just one man.

As I am cursing to myself about the scale of the challenge before me, my heart sinks again as the SUV reaches a major intersection. I had spoke to soon about the streets being clean of Celeste's power. Just ahead of me is a solid wall of red, cutting clean across the intersection. I can see cars passing through it without incident, but the wall's purpose is clear. Its a tripwire, or more likely a scanner, being used by Celeste to keep track of vehicles and pedestrians. Damn it.

I quickly make a turn, driving away from the solid wall of crimson as swiftly as possible. No need to force the issue when I still haven't decided where to go yet. That can wait until I work out a route through the blocked streets. One step at a time.

.....

There is no route through the streets. No matter where I drive to, any major intersection will have that wall of red blocking it off. I have to give Celeste credit for the way she planned this. My movements have effectively been boxed in. I slap the SUV's dashboard in annoyance and slow down to park by the side of the road. Think. There has to be a way to overcome this blockade. Celeste is nowhere near powerful enough to make it airtight.

Well there is a way, but I don't think it would actually help with my mission. I could abandon the SUV and begin parkouring along the roofs and walls of the buildings around me. From what I can see, moving along such a route would allow me to evade the magical tripwires. Unfortunately, it would also mean that I would be travelling on foot, turning an already daunting, time consuming mission into a gargantuan challenge. While I spend my days jumping up and down rooftops, Celeste would be free to do whatever she is planning, free of interference.

But as unpleasant as that prospect sounds, staying in the SUV does me no good either, unless I am willing to chance setting off a tripwire. And that's a silly idea through and through. No point stewing in the car about it though. I might as well stretch my legs a bit, maybe get a new idea while I'm at it.

Making up my mind, I shut the SUV's engine off and open the door, stepping out into an alien world. But before I can take another step, a sudden pain tears across my face, burning, mutilating and forcing me to my knees. I instinctively paw at my face, but there's no blood or other injury there. Just the pain, that overwhelming searing pain. I hear a crowd beginning to gather around me, but I can't drum up the willpower to care. Tears begin welling up in my eyes, and a hot flood runs down one of my cheeks.

My face is in pain. My world has become pain. Darkness closes in. My sight begins to fade as a sense of disorientation overtakes me.

I struggle back to my feet realizing something. My vision has been halved. The darkness only covers one side of my face, the eye that The Voice supposedly repaired.

Its blind.