Chapter 4

  The cold air of the Banuk market barely registered to Sylens as he observed Adal from the shadows. The boy moved between traders, his small frame barely noticed among the rger, heavily clothed Banuk. Adal was effit—his eyes sed each stall, memorizing the pt of useful scrap, his fingers deftly palming a broken mae lens while handing over a few shards for an ued purchase.

  Sylens exhaled through his nose, her pleased nor displeased. Adal was learning, adapting. He had chosen to leave him alone in this enviro, knowing that exposure to the world—without diretervention—was the best way to sharpen his instincts. The boy o develop independehough Sylens would ensure he rayed too far into foolishness.

  Yet, even as he watched, a flickered in his Focus.

  A signal. A presence.

  His jaw tightened. He had tracked traces of something a, something buried beh yers of corrupted mae protocol, but this was different. This was an invitation. A meeting.

  Sylens turned away from the market and slipped into the snow-den wilds.

  The yon was silent, save for the distant hum of dormant maes. Sylens activated his Focus, his heart beating slightly faster—not in fear, but in anticipation. He had followed the signal to this precise location, deep withier reaches of Banuk territory.

  Then, the air shuddered.

  A low, meical voice emerged, resonating through his Focus with a cold precision.

  "QUERY: IDENTITY."

  Sylens smirked, stepping forward. “Ah, you finally respond.”

  The air seemed to vibrate with energy as a dark, metallic figure flickered iehrough his Focus. It was not a physical presence, but a proje—a vast intelligence buried within a mae mind.

  "IDENTITY FIRMED: DESIGNATION—HADES. PURPOSE—TERMINATION ANIC LIFE."

  Syle a thrill of excitement. “Fasating. A, you remain dormant. Why?”

  "SUBROUTINES: INPLETE. SYSTEM AUTHORITY: PROMISED. DIRECTIVE: REQUIRES FACILITATION."

  He stroked his . “You require assistance. And iurn… what do you offer?”

  There was a brief pause before the response came.

  "ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE. BLUEPRINTS OF OLD-WORLD TEOLOGY. COOPERATION YIELDS MUTUAL BE."

  Sylens grihis was it. This was the knowledge he had been chasing his entire life.

  "I believe we have an agreement."

  Far from the dealings of men and maes, Rost stood at the edge of the Embrace, his sharp eyes trag the shifting movement of the maes below. The herds had ged—what were once predictable routes had bee erratic, restless. They were being mgressive.

  He tightened his grip on his spear. Something was wrong.

  A rustling behind him made him turn. Aloy emerged, her bow slung across her back, her movements lighter than before. She was learning. But not enough.

  "The maes are ag strangely," she said, mirr his thoughts.

  Rost studied her carefully. She was sharp, quick-witted, but still young. He had taught her survival, but the dangers she would face—he could not yet prepare her for all of them.

  "Then we must be ready," he said simply.

  Aloy frowned. "I am ready."

  Rost sighed, kneeling beside the fire he had built. "You have e far, Aloy. But the wilds are not the same as they once were. I will have to teaore. actiew skills."

  Aloy sat beside him, determined. "Then teach me."

  For a long moment, Rost was silent. His thoughts drifted—to Ana. His daughter. A child he could ruly aowledge, ruly protect. He saw her when she visited, but he could not hold her, could not be her father.

  Yet, he could do that for Aloy.

  His grip on his spear tightened. He would make sure she survived.

  In the dry, cracked nds of the sun-bsted frontier, a new force was gathering.

  Men in dark robes k before a newly awakened presence. A massive, buried structure trembled as power surged through its core. Hades had moved—migrated from the Banuk territories toward the heart of the nds where humans gathered ier numbers.

  One man stood apart from the rest, his gaze locked onto the massive, looming struct before them.

  "Is it true?" he asked, his voice reverent. "The a god… it speaks?"

  A cold, meical voice filled the air.

  "DIRECTIVE: ENSLAVE MAES. DESTROY THE UNWORTHY. REBUILD ORDER."

  The cultists bowed deeply. "We shall serve."

  Hades watched. Calcuted. The process had begun

  Soon, the world would ge forever.