The Outer Rim’s dust stung E.H.’s face as she crouched behind a rusted crate, her piercing red eyes scanning the alley. Her black hair clung to her neck, damp with sweat, and her dark jacket—worn at the elbows—shifted as she gripped a crude detonator. Heavenly Ascension’s latest plan hinged on this: a bomb to crack the Ark’s outer wall, a statement they couldn’t ignore. Her followers flanked her, silent, their trust in her absolute.