chapter 22:The Hidden Truths of the Down world

Here's an expanded version of Chapter 22 with richer descriptions, deeper character moments, and more world-building to reach closer to 3000 words.

Chapter 22: The Hidden Truths of the Down World

The wind howled through the ruined streets as Rin pulled his coat tighter around Gotham, shielding the mechanical man from the bitter cold. Despite his long dormancy, Gotham moved with eerie precision, his metallic joints making no sound as he stepped forward. His glowing blue irises pulsed rhythmically, adjusting to his new environment.

Silas, walking beside them, scoffed. "You really picking up stray dogs now, Rin?" His voice was tinged with amusement, but beneath it lay curiosity.

Rin didn't spare him a glance. "Shut up and walk."

Gotham finally spoke, his voice hollow yet disturbingly human. "Where… are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe," Rin replied, his tone clipped. "You're useful to me."

The cyborg's glowing eyes flickered. "I see. I am… a tool."

Rin didn't correct him. Because it was true.

They made their way through the shattered remains of what was once a grand structure, now reduced to rubble. Rusted signs dangled from barely-standing buildings, the wind making them creak ominously. Shadows lurked in the alleys, but none dared to approach. The presence of someone like Gotham, an unknown variable, was enough to keep the scavengers at bay.

Rin glanced at the towering walls in the distance—The Wall. The boundary that divided this decaying world from what lay above.

He clenched his fists.

If he wanted to change anything, he had to start there.

Far away, deep within a hidden chamber, a woman sat on an ornately carved chair. Her fingers lazily traced the soft fur of a white leopard resting beside her. The air around her shimmered, light bending unnaturally.

From the darkened corridor, a distorted shadow emerged, its presence warping the space around it.

"The distortion created by that virus," the woman murmured, her voice smooth as silk, "has destroyed the hideout of that… thing."

The shadow shifted, a hollow voice echoing from its depths.

"Seems someone has taken possession of it."

She chuckled, her masked face tilting ever so slightly. "Let them have it. Who knows? Perhaps we'll witness another anomaly—one that will shake the balance of the families."

The shadow hummed in agreement. "How long has it been, Mrs savage?"

The woman—Savage—smiled beneath her mask. "Too long."

The white leopard purred as she ran her fingers through its fur. The beast's golden eyes flickered with an unnatural intelligence, mirroring its master's amusement.

"And what of the boy?" the shadow asked.

Savage leaned back, fingers drumming against the armrest. "Rin… He's interesting, isn't he?"

For a moment, silence stretched between them, the weight of unseen machinations shifting in the darkness.

As soon as Rin returned to base, Ezra dragged him away without explanation.

"You need to see something," she said.

Rin followed without question, Gotham trailing silently behind them.

The deeper they walked into the forgotten districts, the worse the air became.

The first thing Rin noticed was the stench—a mix of rot, rust, and something far worse. The air itself felt heavy, as if the world was suffocating under its own decay.

Then he saw it.

Buildings, streets—everything was disintegrating.

At first, he thought it was merely the natural consequence of time, but as he watched, he realized that the structures weren't just falling apart. They were… vanishing.

Ezra led him to the edge of a ruined watchtower. She pulled off her gauntlet, revealing a small mechanical device on her wrist.

Pressing a button, a thin mist of silver particles sprayed into the air.

The moment they touched the crumbling walls, the decay slowed.

"This," Ezra said, "is Xink. A natural mineral. We expose it to the air to delay the process."

Rin frowned. "Delay the process?"

Ezra clenched her jaw. "The Down World is dying, Rin."

She gestured towards the collapsing structures. "This isn't just destruction. This is erasure. The world itself is breaking apart."

Rin ran his fingers through the mist. It felt like nothing—neither solid nor gas. It moved and shifted without shape, like ghostly remnants of something that was never meant to exist.

"Xink is the only thing keeping this place from disappearing entirely," Ezra continued. "But it's unstable. We can manipulate it, but at the end of the day, it's just chemical compounds trying to hold together a world that's already falling apart."

She looked at him, her expression unreadable. "This is the reality of the Down World."

Then, she took him deeper.

Scene 4: The Forgotten and the Forsaken

The streets turned from ruined structures to nightmarish landscapes.

Rin's stomach twisted at what he saw.

Children feasting on the rotting remains of their own parents.

The diseased, their bodies riddled with decay, slowly withering away while they still breathed.

Criminals, too far gone into madness, eating anything—rats, corpses, even their own flesh.

And then, the addicts.

Rows upon rows of hunched figures, their eyes hollow, their bodies nothing but skin and bones.

IV*00—a drug injected directly into the veins—was their only escape.

The moment someone took IV*00, their mind detached from reality. Some laughed hysterically, some screamed, others simply sat in silence, their souls already lost.

Everything here was both legal and illegal.

The authorities didn't care.

The only time they intervened was to capture slaves or execute people to control the population.

Ezra's voice was cold. "This is why the Guilds exist."

Rin didn't respond immediately.

He knew the Guilds fought for power, but deep down, they were just another cog in the cycle of corruption.

"They had no choice," he muttered. "They fight corruption while working for corruption."

Ezra turned to him, watching him carefully. "And what will you do?"

Rin's hands clenched into fists.

His kingdom—his home—was in ruins.

And there was only one answer.

"I'll fix it," he said. "I'll purge it."

Ezra's gaze lingered on him before she smirked. "Big words."

"I'll make them real."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, 'King.' Let's see how far you can go."

The Down World needed to change.

And Rin would be the one to make it happen.