Sabir found himself in an awkward car ride with Cassius, who sat across from him looking rather bored. Despite the situation, Sabir could sense that Cassius wasn’t a bad guy. However, there was an air of unpredictability about him that made Sabir uneasy. Every time Cassius attempted to smile, it looked more like a predatory grin, as if he couldn't completely turn off his intimidating demeanor.

Cassius's office was located in Sector 3, a relatively long journey ahead based on Sabir’s assumptions. Sabir had barely explored the entirety of The Commons and here he was about to go to another region in Havana.

Havana was a large area teeming with millions of people in each section. When Havana was first established by the Seven Noble Families, they split the land evenly between them. Each family governed their respective sectors, which were officially numbered from one to seven. As Havana grew, it began giving names to the sectors, and a sense of zeal increased between citizens living in each sector. To the regular person, the nobles were like gods.

Tetra City was left as neutral ground. Anyone with money or power could go there. A council was created to oversee the running of Tetra City. This did not stop the seven families from having influence over the city.

As they left The Commons through Cassius’s shadow ability, Sabir felt a strange sensation of displacement. Once they reached the edge of the city, Sabir was abruptly dropped to the ground. He stumbled, hitting his head against a tree with a painful thud.

“You said your office is in Sector 3, so why aren’t we moving?” Sabir asked, clutching his head in pain. He glanced at the government enforcer and noticed that Cassius’s skin was paler than usual, and his breathing was shallow.

Cassius leaned against a nearby tree, clearly exhausted. “I’ve used my powers quite extensively. I’m not an infinite pool of energy. Depending on one's esper ability, certain requirements are needed to continue using them. My shadow travel relies heavily on my stamina for extended use.”

Sabir nodded, absorbing the information while trying to soothe the throbbing pain in his head. “So, what now? Do we wait here until you recover?”

Cassius shook his head slowly, a determined glint in his eyes. “No, we can't afford to wait. The longer we stay in one place, the more vulnerable we are. We need to keep moving, but we’ll have to go the old-fashioned way for a bit.”

He pushed himself off the tree and started walking, motioning for Sabir to follow. They navigated through the outskirts of the city, keeping to the shadows and avoiding any open areas. The landscape shifted from urban decay to a more barren, desolate wasteland, remnants of the old world scattered around like forgotten memories.

They reached a more secluded area where no one could find them. Cassius lifted up his sleeve to reveal a small watch. Sabir watched as he pressed a button on the side of the watch.

“This is the hound. I need a ride to my office, make it snappy,” he demanded. A simple “yes sir” could be heard before the watch produced a long static screech. Cassius turned the watch off and put his sleeve down.

Cassius dropped to the ground, sitting with his posture straight. “Sit down. A car will be coming soon to pick us up.”

The word "car" made Sabir shiver slightly. If it wasn't for the way his sister died, he would've been ecstatic to be in a car. There were plenty that drove through The Commons, and Sabir always wanted to be in one. Not anymore, though.

Sabir squatted down on the floor opposite Cassius. “Hey Cassius, how did you find out about me? There shouldn't be any record about me. I have no documents or anything. In Havana, I might as well not have existed.”

Sabir stayed on guard around Cassius, despite the man's apparent willingness to help him. He was certain Cassius had his own motives for getting involved, though he couldn't yet discern what they were. Sabir felt he'd naturally uncover Cassius's true intentions sooner or later.

Cassius looked at him with a smile. “Well, you see, I rummaged through your sister's apartment and found some letters that were written to Sabir Quinn. You sharing the same name, I thought you were related.

“She had an apartment?” Sabir's interest peaked. The life of his sister after leaving him was shrouded in mystery. Any piece of information was like learning about a new person.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Yes, they lived in an apartment complex in Tetra city.” Cassius said with a confused look. “Shouldn't you know this already, she is your sister?”

“My sister hasn't contacted me in years,” Sabir answered bitterly. “While she left me all alone to fend for myself she was living it up in Tetra City.”

Cassius began to laugh, a deep, almost bitter sound. "We're all the same, huh? All of us in Limbo really think everyone in Havana has it easy." His eyes grew intense, locking onto Sabir's with an almost hypnotic grip.

"No place in Havana is what you imagine it to be," Cassius continued. "What you saw in The Commons—the hopelessness in one person's eyes, then turn your head and see someone else smiling like their life is all sunshine and rainbows.”

Sabir nodded, understanding exactly what Cassius meant. The Commons had a strange duality. There were those who had just crossed The Threshold, dazed and desperate, trying to figure out how to survive. Even those who had lived there for generations often had the same lifeless look. But for every person who saw the world in black and white, there was another who saw it in the brightest colors.

Compared to The Limbo, The Commons seemed like an unimaginable escape to Sabir. Real houses that didn’t topple over in the slightest wind, shops where you could buy food without having to fight for it—it was a different world. It seemed people were in a Limbo of their own but it was all playing out in their head.

"Those different faces are everywhere in Havana," Cassius said, breaking Sabir’s reverie. "We're all living in a shithole, but some lucky few can distract themselves from that realization. Tetra City? No different from any other sector. You can wrap a place in gold, but the interior can still be made of shit.”

Cassius paused, then shifted the conversation back, after realizing he was being too didactic. "As for finding out where you were, well, that was trickier. You were right—you didn't exist. No birth certificate, nothing. You were like me once, a ghost. But I knew there was a place where ghosts lived. So I headed to The Limbo, and that's where I found out about you.”

“Who the hell could've ratted me out? I made sure to keep a low profile. There was no one who knew me well enough.

Sabir paused, his mind flashing back to his terrifying first encounter with Cassius Ward. His voice wavered slightly as he asked, "You didn't hurt anyone there, did you? I mean, you didn't... torture people or anything?"

He was skeptical that Cassius could have gathered so much information in The Limbo without resorting to extreme measures. In The Limbo, people only reacted to two things: strength or money. Sabir knew that all too well. His unease grew as he waited for Cassius’s response, the fear of what might have been done in his name gnawing at him.

Cassius began to squirm uncomfortably on the ground. “Well, there was this old lady that I happened to meet, and she told me I would find you in The Commons at the time.”

“Mrs. Norris? How did she give up any information? She may not look it, but she's as stubborn as they come.” Sabir realized that the only person who could've given such information was Mrs. Norris.

“Well, she was unwilling at first, but I explained the situation, and she gave up the information pretty quickly. She seemed really worried about you.”

Sabir nodded to what Cassius was saying. After all, Mrs Norris cared for Cynthia just as much, if not more. Before he could reflect on it, Cassius cut off his thoughts.

“Hey Sabir, this Mrs. Norris, is she close to you?” Cassius asked, stumbling over his words.

“Yeah, she's like a grandmother to me.” Thinking of Mrs. Norris, Sabir smiled and grabbed his rucksack, opening it. Cassius watched him intently. Sabir brought out the cola that Max had bought him. There was still eighty percent of it left.

Sabir took the tiniest of sips. The sweet, syrupy flavor melted in his mouth. “I can't wait to let Mrs. Norris try some of this. When I was younger, she'd give me lots of her own food, so it'd be nice to do it for her,” Sabir said, smiling.

“That might be difficult,” Cassius said darkly.

“Why is that?”

“Oh well, she's old, y'know. Such sweet things like cola aren't good for her, especially if you aren't exposed to sweet things like people living in The Limbo.”

“I see, but a sip won't hurt,” Sabir replied, putting the cola back into his bag.

“The fizz isn't going to last,” Cassius said, watching Sabir.

“Yeah, I was told, but I shut it as tightly as possible. Hopefully not much will escape.”

Cassius looked at Sabir with a guilty expression. “Listen, Sabir—” BEEP! Before he could finish his sentence, a horn blared in the distance. They both looked towards the sound. “Well, that's our ride. Let's go,” Cassius said, his mind feeling some sort of lag.

They both brushed themselves off and headed to the edge of the city where a black car with tinted windows was waiting for them. A man wearing a gray suit stood by the car, opening the passenger door as they approached.

“I'll be driving you to your office, Mr. Ward,” the man said, his voice professional and composed.

Cassius nodded in acknowledgment. “Thank you.”

Sabir followed Cassius into the car, the door closing behind them with a soft thud. They drove in silence, as the car sped towards Sector 3.