(📍 Location: Old Villedor – Bazaar Courtyard, Late Afternoon)

The sun casts long shadows over the courtyard. Aiden stands on a makeshift platform, a noose tightening around his neck. The crowd murmurs, their fear palpable.

Bazaar Guard: "He's not wearing a biomarker! He could turn any second!"

Suddenly, a figure darts through the crowd, moving with practiced agility. Before anyone can react, the rope snaps—cut cleanly. Aiden collapses to the ground, gasping for air.

Bazaar Resident: "What the—? Who did that?"

The crowd turns, but the figure has already vanished into the shadows, leaving only the severed rope swaying in the breeze.

Aiden: coughing "I... I'm alive?"

He looks around, bewildered, searching for his mysterious savior, but finds only the confused faces of the Bazaar residents.