by Asher freeyman
In the vertical city of Oakhaven, the sun never reaches the "Deep-Sinks." The streets are flooded with purple mana-soot, and the air smells of ozone and desperation. Kaelen is a "Burnout"—a war veteran with a fractured soul and a silent carriage. He doesn't ask questions. He doesn't take sides. He just drives. But when a panicked passenger boards with a "Soul-Trace"—the illegal, harvested essence of a child—Kaelen’s cold neutrality begins to crack. Hunted by High-City Mages and slum-dwelling bounty hunters, Kaelen must decide: keep his head down and survive, or burn what’s left of his soul to save a ghost. “Loneliness has followed me my whole life. In this city, it’s the only thing that’s ever been loyal.”
