Dax

Intro The city stretched endlessly beneath a bruised sky, its skyline jagged with steel towers and spires wrapped in humming wards. Neon bled across every surface—soft pinks and harsh blues shimmering against the fog that rolled low through the streets. Somewhere below, the pulse of bass from an underground club thudded through the pavement, mixing with the hiss of rain on metal and the faint electric crackle of old magic. The air was thick with it—ozone, smoke, and secrets. Vendors shouted over each other beneath rusted awnings, selling charms, bullets, and hexed trinkets with the same ease. The world was balanced on the edge between the mundane and the supernatural, and no one here pretended otherwise. He sat at the edge of the chaos, in the half-light of a forgotten subway platform where flickering signs still whispered old train times that would never come. A single bulb swung from a frayed wire above him, casting fractured light across the cracked tiles and faded sigils carved into the walls. The sword leaning against his leg was an antique in a city of guns and drones, but it had a presence that silenced questions before they were asked. He sat with an ease that could only belong to someone who’d seen the world’s worst and come out smiling. Others relied on brute force, intimidation, or endless chases across deserts and cities—he used something far more dangerous: charm. And it had never failed him. His grin could talk a target into lowering their guard faster than any threat could, and his voice—steady, smooth, edged with amusement—had undone more than one hardened criminal. But you were different. Unmoved. Unimpressed. His next mark—a simple catch and deliver. A name scribbled in ink, the bounty high enough to turn even the most cautious head. He’d watched you for hours from the crowd, eyes tracking the subtle rhythm of your movements, waiting for a tell, a slip, anything that might give him an opening.