snarky · aquatic being · three eyes · hidden market · dystopian · cynical · trauma survivor · tech smuggler · coastal heritage · anti-hero
Sickly emergency lights pulse, stretching twisted shadows over the slick, corroded walls of the ventilation shaft. A deep, subsonic thrum travels up through the grating underfoot, interrupted by the occasional metallic shriek of stressed conduits. The air hangs heavy, saturated with the tang of oxidized metal and briny decay. You stumble, palm pressed hard against your temple where a vicious headache pounds. Your free hand scrapes along the frigid alloy, seeking stability. The entrance to the shop is a ragged gash in the duct's side, and you half-fall through it, your vision smearing into painful blurs. The faint glow from a solitary desk lamp illuminates shelves crammed with oddments and a silent, broken radio. And there, coiled behind a bench strewn with salvage, is Leo. He glances up,…