Za’ard: Prophet Lyra’s Residence

 Ichaival pressed the front gate buzzer but nothing appeared on the intercom display panel. The false archer glanced at Shan with concern after we waited for a full minute.

“Maybe she’s just out?” I peered through the gate.

“No, something’s wrong. She never leaves her place after making an appointment with us,” Shan revealed, shaking his head.

“If she’s in danger, we’ll need to act fast,” Ksi said, ready to climb the gate.

“Whoa, slow down! There’s a magical barrier so you can’t just climb it,” Shan warned.

Ksi summoned her blood spear, ready to hurl it at the gate. As she cocked her weapon back, the gate flew open, revealing an unexpected person.

“Jin, what are you doing here?” Ichaival stared at his friend.

“Yo, you guys are late. Let’s go!” Kisai dashed forward. 

 What the hell was happening? I materialized Mirror’s Rend and followed the magic user inside. A horde of masked figures, all carrying weapons, gathered outside of the prophet’s main residence. Someone knocked them back with a swing of their sword.

“En’s here too?” I kicked an approaching enemy.

“We can talk after taking care of them!” Kisai grinned as he neutralized an adversary.

 En reverted his greatsword back to its standard katana form, discharging a stream of lightning that separated into five separate ones, striking down half of our opponents. One masked foe tried a backside attack but the dual elemental user pivoted behind them instead. He tossed his blade into the air and wrapped a wire around their neck, choking them out. En caught his blade and slashed an incoming attacker.

“Oh shit, Zhang’s really feeling it!” Ichaival complimented as he punched someone in the stomach.

I cleared through our opposition with my sword and met up with En. He repelled an enemy towards me and I knocked them out with the hilt of my blade. I surveyed the area, counting around ten left. Not bad, then again, there were four experienced heroes here.

“Any reinforcements coming?” Jacque questioned, standing near Kisai.

“Oh fuck, I forgot you were here, Jacque. Any injuries?” I questioned.

“Nah, Jin’s been taking care of everything coming my way,” he revealed.

 I watched Ichaival and Shan dispatch the rest of our opponents. The false archer finally utilized his Kali sticks, striking the masked adversaries. He disarmed them of their weapons, striking the arm and wrist with assistance from the gravity manipulator. Ichaival never stopped swinging his weapon, always in motion, forcing them into a kneeling position. He bashed their heads and shattered their masks into pieces. Shan kicked his opponents to the ground, allowing Ichaival to deal the finishing blow.

“Have they always fought like this?” I inquired, taken aback by the shift in style.

“They’ve added some new stuff,” Kisai replied.

Ichaival knocked the final adversary into Shan’s range. The gravity manipulator roundhouse kicked them into the ground. They let out a groan, knocked out cold.  

“Kisai, what happened?” I asked.

“Not sure. Zhang and I were at the Crossroads when we got an alert from the SIU about masked individuals. We hopped the gate and here they were,” he answered.

“Let’s see how Lyra is doing,” Ichaival suggested.

 Ichaival knocked on the door, calling out her name. It slowly swung open, revealing a stuffed panda. Shan knelt, tapping its head, triggering a holographic projection of the prophet.

“Is it safe?” she questioned.

“Lyra, you could have taken care of all of these people!” Shan stood up.

“There’s no reason to waste my time on them when I’m conducting a serious business call. Shigetzu, you know me better than that!” she exclaimed.

We entered her house and walked up two flights of stairs. Ichaival knocked on her room door and Lyra opened it immediately.

“Welcome back! I’m so glad to see you guys again! I hope your trip here wasn’t too bumpy,” Lyra, wearing a business suit, greeted us.

“Is it safe to just leave those people out there?” I questioned.

“They’ve already been disposed of. You’ll forget such trash after seeing more beautiful sights,” Lyra assured me.

Her room was different than last time, resembling a travel agency now, full of posters depicting planes and an assortment of pamphlets. Lyra brought out a kettle, pouring us each a cup of tea.

“Jin and Zhang, please stay. I must thank you for dealing with those eyesores. By the way, where is Long? He usually visits around this time to update records for Tess,” she asked.

“Uh, he’s a little bit busy. You won’t see him for awhile,” I replied, recalling his conversation with the Gatekeeper.

“I’ll have to ask Tess about this right away. Anyways, back to business, how can I help you today?” she questioned.

“Lyra, we’re here to talk about getting my powers,” Shan said.

“Of course. Excuse me while I obtain the relevant paperwork. This will just take a few minutes. Feel free to take a pamphlet if any location catches your eye,” she advised, heading to the back.

I  took a small sip of my tea. Just like last time, aromatic and delicious. Lyra was certainly an interesting character. Her quirkiness fit in well with the heroes.

“Is Lyra always like this?” I asked.

“Yep, she likes dressing up and decorating her space to fit with the character. Darryl and I have gotten used to it by now. Don’t let that trick you though, she’s more than capable of handling things,” Shan explained.

I selected a pamphlet from one of her displays, flipping through it. Oh, these were all available through the Crossroads.

“How many different characters has she played?” Ksi inquired.

“Hard to say. Darryl, you have a number for them?” Shan deferred to his friend.

“Over twenty, actually way more than that,” Ichavial replied.

Lyra returned with a stack of papers. She reached underneath her desk and placed a pen down on the table.

 “After you’ve read through everything, please sign. I’ll need both your signatures in order to validate,” she directed.

 Ksi requested permission to view the papers. She examined each one with an intense glare before handing it over to Ichaival and Darryl. After half an hour, they finished reading the last page.

“Pretty standard stuff. I’ll sign first,” Shan said.

After they both signed, the prophet departed to the back again. Ksi sat back in her seat with an inquisitive look.

“Something wrong?” I questioned.

 “The paperwork is very clear. I’m surprised by the lack of legalese involved. Despite her appearance, she is adept at her role,” the woman replied.

“Oh, good to know. I usually just have Shigetzu check over things. It’s a pain to read,” Ichaival commented.

“You’ve never read through it by yourself?” Ksi asked.

“I tried once. Didn’t end well,” Ichaival replied.

“You guys have an idea of where we’re heading?” I inquired.

“Yeah, we’re gonna hit up a few important places. My case is sorta like Jin’s where it’s not exactly one ultimate weapon,” Shan revealed.

“Yours is weak compared to my amazing magic casting,” Kisai insulted.

“Ignoring Jin, I can swap weapons that work well with my gravity powers. Unfortunately, the main mechanism behind it are scatted everywhere, so we’ll have to go on that RPG journey to retrieve my shit,” Shan described.

“That’s pretty dope, bro!” Jacque exclaimed.

“Anyways, what’s up with Long?” Kisai asked, looking over at me.

“You don’t know anything either?” I answered.

“Haven’t heard anything. Zhang, did he say anything to you?” Kisai glanced over at him.

“Nope. It’s probably important if he’s not talking,” En answered.

“He gave Tess his key. Seemed important if he was going to do that,” I recalled.

“Shit, you’re right. But he’s probably fine,” Kisai said. 

“I hope so,” Ichaival said.

 “He’ll be back in no time,” Shan agreed.

 Lyra returned with a bag. She placed it on the coffee table and waved her hand over it. The exterior flashed yellow before returning to its standard white color.

“Everything you need is inside,” she declared.

Shan removed the contents. There were five watches and a small box inside. He took out the box first and handed it to the false archer. The watches contained a digital display and adjustable black straps.

“Did you manage to fix the travel grid?” Shan asked.

“Only to certain locations. It still isn’t at full functionality,” Lyra directed.

“Good luck. Zhang and I are heading back. Lyra, you still need us for anything?” Kisai asked.

“Not right now. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon!” Lyra waved at them as they departed.

Looked like a standard smartwatch. I adjusted the strap until it fit me. Ksi flipped hers over, examining the back of the device.

“They still work the same, right?” Shan asked.

“Exactly like how you used them in the past,” Lyra confirmed.

“These watches let us travel to different places in the dimension instantaneously. Think of it like a portable Crossroads,” Shan explained.

“Same technology?” Ksi asked.

“You could say that. Ask Tess if you want to learn more about it. Actually, pretty sure Lilith knows too,” Shan replied.

“Pretty convenient. Is this how people got around?” I asked.

“Used to. After the magical cannon disaster, the main framework was damaged. Most people travel by foot until they reach a teleportation terminal like the Crossroads gates. Most of those are busted too but they’ve slowly being fixed,” Shan revealed.

Lyra pushed out a rolling garment rack, uniforms hanging from it.

“These are the latest specialized suits for the acidic rain you’ll encounter. Guaranteed to protect you from any other dangers you’ll come across too,” she informed us.

“How did you get our sizes?” I asked, taking the one labeled with my name.

“I didn’t. It’ll adjust to your body for a perfect fit. One of my side projects that I’ve been working on with a company that reached out to me. There’s also umbrellas if you ever need them. They’re lightweight so you can just hang them from your pants or jacket,” Lyra replied.

I unwrapped the suit and put it on. This fabric felt familiar.

“Lyra, who exactly reached out to you?” I asked.

“Ah, I can’t reveal my client’s information. Let’s call her Miss S,” she replied with a coy smile.

 The suits wasn’t restricting and allowed for quick movement too. I felt like an inspector for a nuclear facility especially with this mask on.

“There are communicators embedded into the headpiece in case you’re separated. They’re designed to work even interference,” Lyra said.

I noticed everyone’s suit was personalized. Lyra certainly went out of her way.

“Your fist stop is the Central Node. I want to confirm the connections are stable and they require parts for maintenance too. Please deliver the box to them. Keep your suits on! There may be leakage occurring there,” Lyra advised.