It was near to the mall’s closing hour when the short, chubby teen in the stretched-out hoodie stepped into the clothes store. They had dyed black, half-long hair with a few green highlights at the curved ends of their locks. Not paying any mind to the cashiers, they marched straight to the back and rummaged through the hangers, throwing a whole pile of shirts, hoodies, and sweaters on the floor, trying to find something they liked. Eventually they came across a dark green hoodie with a rough texture, black threads waved into the material. It was a few sizes bigger than they needed, but that didn’t matter. They wouldn’t admit that to themself, but oversized clothes even made them feel cozy for some reason.

They unzipped their own hoddie and dropped it at the top of discarded clothes as they done the one they found, then headed for the exit.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

As the enby stepped through the gates of the clothes shop an annoying, high-pitched alarm went off and a middle-aged security guard came running.

“You didn’t pay for that, have you?” he pointed at the hoodie that still had the plastic chip attached to it, triggering the alarm.

The kid looked over the guard with an unamused look, then gave a relaxed smile.

“Oh, I get it,” they said. “My bad.”

They simply tore off the chip, slightly damaging the textile in the process, then threw it at the guard who instinctively caught it. The kid stepped back into the shop then walked out again. This time the alarm remained silent.

“See? It’s okay.” And they turned to leave again.

“Seriously?” the guard swore under his breath. “Come back here right now!”

He grabbed them by the elbow and tried to pull them back into the shop – but while the kid looked like a total pushover they wouldn’t even budge as the much larger man tried to force them. They looked at him again, the emptiness in their brown eyes now mixed with a bit of annoyance. They leaned closer to the guard and sniffed the air between them.

“Your soul is boring,” they said. “Why don’t you do yourself a favor and take a nap?”

“What are you tal-?”

At the middle of the sentence the guard’s eyes turned upward and he collapsed on the ground. In a moment, he started to snore loudly. The two cashiers also fell asleep on the counter.

Vess looked at the sleeping guard and touched the handle of the knife in their pocket. It would be so easy to slit his throat as appropriate punishment for trying to hold them up – but a murder could get unwanted attention from the gendarmy and even alert those greenhorn Enchanters that they were still alive.

It was frustrating – there was a time, maybe four hundred years ago, when they would crush this city under their heels in a single night. They would conquer the four Conglomerations in less than a week, then continue to claim the whole continent to themself – or just let it all burn, would depend on their mood really. They had to smile as the grand city of Capparocca came to their mind. The flames and screams of the Imperial Palace. The twelve mage-archons trying to stop them and falling to the Vessel one by one, who then proceeded to consume their souls and expand its power even further. The families who offered their own children as slaves to them, in hopes of having their lives spared in exchange. Vess accepted the offers then saw to it that the kids could watch their parents being slaughtered for their betrayal. Nobody could say they couldn’t be generous every now and then.

Not even the Royal Blood or the Enchanters could hope to defy them.

Then the Mistfall came, and magic was slowly pushed out from the Human World. They had to run, once a living force of nature, a god among mortals, now living in the sewers of reality, fighting for scraps with the mistfolk. Eventually the rest of the Order found them and put an end to their physical form, banishing them back into that accursed mirror.

And now they were here, stuck with the form of that stupid kid who accidentally woke them up from their slumber. It was a small price for freedom, but it would take them time to build up their power again. No point in taking unnecessary risks until then.

Still, the urge was there. The craving for the taste of blood and souls – even though most people didn’t even have enough glow to survive long enough for Vess to properly extract their soul. It was like trying to drink from a balloon filled with milk – they popped before you could get a good taste.

Hoping that a snack would improve their mood, they left the clothes store with the snoring guard and went to a jewelry shop nearby. Not wanting to waste any more time, they stood at the entrance and snapped their fingers.

Two guards, four cashiers and three customers fell over in the shop at once, unconscious. The red lights on the security cameras faded away as the cameras turned toward the ground. Vess walked in, up to one of the transparent glass counters. They smashed the glass with their bare fist.

The alarm was still working and went off immediately, but they weren’t worried. They would leave in a moment and even if the authorities could catch up to them, non-violent crimes were under the jurisdiction of the Civil Guard. Those guys were no problem even in Vess’ current state.

They scooped up a handful of small jewels – diamonds, rubies, emeralds, together with some glass shards and popped them all into their mouth, munching them on loudly. Crunchy food always made them feel better.

They filled the pockets of their new hoodie with gems for later, then left the shop, going to the next fire exit. Yet another alarm activated as they opened it, mixing with the blaring still coming from the jewelry shop. People had already started to run around and shout behind them – nothing like a little chaos to start the night off.

The fire exit led to a small side-street next to the mall. They stepped out into the chilly early-night air.

“Stop right there.”

Vess stopped. The calm, youthful voice had a sense of confident authority in it, something that, in their experience, was unique to people with both a weapon and the skill to use it. Of course, there weren’t many weapons that could threaten them, but they were still curious who would try. A mall-guard, having watched too many action movies? No, that wasn’t it.

They turned around to see a young man, maybe twenty, with half-long black hair, wearing a simple but elegant outfit of a black waistcoat, white shirt, and black pants. He was holding a construction of glass and bronze that only distinctly reminded Vess of any firearms they were familiar with. He was pointing it at them.

“And who you would be?” Vess inquired.

“Put down any weapons and magical Artifacts you have on you,” he commanded without raising his voice in the slightest, ignoring the question completely. “Put them on the ground and step away, hands on your head.”

“Magic?” Vess let their lips form a stupid grin. “That’s crazy dude. Magic is not real.”

“I’m not here to fool around,” the guy said. He moved his weapon just the slightest, probably to call more attention to it. “Someone was using magic to rob several shops in the past weeks. The method is typical, all potential witnesses spontaneously fell asleep, security cameras went out too. Everything leads to you. I don’t care about the theft, you can keep everything you took. I just want the Artifact you used for it. Hand it over and you can still get away with it.”

“Hmm…”

Vess sniffed the air and their expression suddenly turned from amused into hungry.

“Your soul…” Their eyes suddenly glared up with a blood-red light. They bent their fingers, their nails transforming into a set of sharp claws. Their grin revealed a mouthful of sharp teeth. “It’s interesting!”

The young man pulled the trigger immediately. A light built up in the glass tube, serving as the strange gun’s barrel, then it spat out what looked like a bright, white lightning bolt at Vess. To the mysterious figure’s misfortune, his weapon seemed to take a split second to charge itself before firing and that little delay was enough for Vess. They jumped straight up in the air and grabbed at the top of a nearby lamp post, then threw themself at the stranger. The lightning projectile blew up in the air, sending electric arcs all around the alley and making all the lamps blink.

Vess landed in front of the man. He tried to fire again, but the Vessel grabbed his wrist, making them miss again. The second energy wave made the lamps blow up with rains of sparks, leaving them in the dark.

Vess, who had no problem seeing even if it was pitch-black, tore the gun out of their opponent’s hand then kicked him in the shin, sending him kneeling on the ground. They raised the strange weapon to their eyes.

“What’s this, some kind of magic-gun? It’s not an Artifact but it fires pure essence projectiles. I’ve never seen anything like this befo-”

The man suddenly jumped up, a telescopic metal baton opening in his hand. He stared straight at Vess in the dark, a faint but noticeable golden light in his eyes.

“Essence-vision? No, he feels like a normal human. He must be wearing some kind of contact lens – that explains how he found me.”

It looked like that despite it was supposed to be lost knowledge to them for centuries, some humans managed to industrialize magic. Interesting.

The baton buzzed up with energy. Vess slipped the gun in their hoodie for further examination later, while casually holding up their free hand to block. The strike hit their lower arm, surprising them with a wave of pain.

They swore.

“More magitech weapons – I should’ve known. I can’t half-ass this guy.”

They dropped down, avoiding his next swing, and went for a gut-punch, forcing him to back off and defend. Vess let out a joyous battle-cry, their proverbial blood boiling with the excitement of a fight with actual stakes. They tried to tear at his throat with their claws, aching to taste his fresh-hot blood. The stranger quickly realized that his leverage was the longer reach his baton provided and tried to keep his distance, making calculated swings to keep the frenzied Vessel at bay.

The thing is, by the amount of sheer magic they could both ditch out, this guy could be a worthy match to Vess in their weakened form. But he lacked two things: centuries of experience and the true desire to kill.

In the middle of one of his swings, Vess simply caught the baton mid-air. Blood splashed through the air as the force of the hit tore the flesh open on their palm (“Do I have blood now?” it ran through their head. “Human blood? Eww, gross.”) but ignoring the pain, they grabbed their surprised opponent’s shoulder with their free hand and quickly disarmed them from their melee weapon too.

Then, just for good measure, they grabbed the man by his throat, raised him in the air and tossed him at the nearest wall. He fell on the ground like a ragdoll.

Before he could recover, Vess knelt on his back pushing him down and quickly searched him for any other surprise weapons. All they found was a simple black wallet.

“Who… or what the hell are you?” the man asked hoarsely.

“That’s my line,” Vess said, opening the wallet and throwing handfuls of bills on the ground. “Enchanters use Enchants. Warlocks use Artifacts. You have none of them and your style just doesn’t match any of those losers. Logic says you’re another kind of loser.

“You know, I always felt like that this whole magic war in this city doesn’t really add up. The Sorcerer has a plan, followers, resources. The Order has two gay cashiers and a few kids playing masquerade. Doesn’t seem like a real competition, does it?

“So, if not the Enchanters, then what keeps the Sorcerer from going through with his conquest? Guess I have my answer now. Obviously, there’s a third player at the table, someone who, unlike those cape-waving clowns, realizes the benefit of discretion. But of course, you already know that, since you work for them.”

Emptying the wallet Vess found an ID card with the name Francois Debone written on it. Instead of the city’s crest, it was printed with a logo.

They grinned.

“Well Francois, how about telling me more about your employers?”

The man growled.

“Go screw yourself. I’m not telling anything to someone like you.”

Vess kicked him in the side, making him turn face up. They looked the man over.

“Very well. I could make you talk, but it would take time and it would be messy. There’s something else I need more from you. You have something precious on you, something shiny…”

Leaning ahead, they raised their taloned hand and thrust it into Francois’ chest. Their flesh seemed to phase through his ribcage without issue.

“Something glowing.”

He gasped, feeling a cold pressure grow in his chest. Grinning, the Vessel pulled their hand out, holding something.

It looked like a soap bubble floating between their fingers, a globe of emptiness contoured by light. But instead of the rainbow surface of a bubble, it shined with a pale amber light and seemed to emit a cloud of particles of the same color, coming to life around it, then fading away immediately.

Francois wheezed but he was unable to talk. Soon his eyes went empty and cold. Vess held the orb of light in front of them. It rose a bit then floated toward their chest, vanishing in it, like a waterdrop melting into another.

The Vessel laughed as the familiar rush of power went through their veins. They didn’t feel this for more than two hundred years – even tapping into Flow’s soul before was nothing but a pale substitute to this. Suddenly everything, the air in their lungs, the concrete under their feet, the light of the indifferent stars falling from above felt more real. They were alive.

Vess looked at their injured hand and smiled, seeing that the wound already closed itself. They took a deep swig from the night air as it got colder and colder.

That was one.

<> 

It was lunchbreak in Pollstar Highschool. Flow and Matis both brought their own food and opted to eat it in the schoolyard at one of the many small tables placed outside, so they could get another look at Flow’s book report. Flow scratched down a few more sentences and added notes to earlier parts they wanted to change later, then passed their notebook to Matis. The boy adjusted his glasses and skimmed through the additions – Flow’s handwriting wasn’t exactly easy to read, but he managed.

“Seems good,” he said, taking a bite of his hamburger, careful not to stain the pages. “I like that you reference other sources too, it boosts your word-count and shows that you really got into the topic. Just don’t forget to cite them at the end. Now you just need to write a paragraph or too, summarizing your conclusions and you’re pretty much done.”

“Thanks,” Flow took the notebook back and put it away in their backpack. “I didn’t even know where to start without your help.”

“You’re welcome. You did all the work yourself, I just suggested some methods and minor changes.”

Flow stuffed half a pancake into their mouth. It probably wasn’t the healthiest to eat only sweets for lunch, but they couldn’t help it, their mom’s pancakes were just godlike. They couldn’t resist eating until they were full even if they wanted.

“Hey, actually I wanted to ask you about something else too,” they wanted to sound as nonchalant as possible, but they still felt nervous. “You and Igne attended the same elementary school as Natasha did, right?”

“Yeah, Polloop Elementary,” Matis confirmed. “Why?”

“Do you remember a kid called Nash?” Flow asked.

Matis thought it over for a moment, trying to recall, then nodded.

“Yeah, I haven’t heard their name in a while, but I know who you’re talking about. I think they lived in the same group home as Natasha and Richard did. They were a strange kid.”

“How so?”

“Well, they always made up fantastic stories. That was fine, but they were very insistent that it was all true. They used to prank others a lot, especially Richard from everyone – but somehow, they always seemed to get away with it. Sometimes they skipped class and vanished for the whole day, but somehow their grades were always good. The teachers were frustrated with them but couldn’t ever catch them cheating.”

Matis gave them a questioning look.

“How do you know about them? And why are you curious suddenly?”

Flow expected the question and considered it carefully before asking their own. There was a limit to how much they could reveal, both to protect Natasha’s privacy and their identity as an Enchanter, but they needed to say something to avoid getting too suspicious.

“Turns out they were friends with Natasha,” they answered. “I don’t think it’s my place to tell the whole story, but the short version is that after Natasha was adopted, they were separated and couldn’t get in touch since then.”

“Makes sense,” Matis nodded. “I think I saw them talk to each other a few times, even though most people thought Nash was some kind of weirdo and avoided them and Natasha was, uuh… Natasha even back then.”

“Can you remember what happened to them later?” Flow asked hopefully.

They knew from Natasha that Nash ended up in a children’s prison eventually, but there seemed to be a gap in the timeline Flow hoped to fill.

“I’m not sure,” Matis scratched his chin. “I know they weren’t around in later years – it’s almost like they just vanished after fourth grade, the same time Natasha switched to homeschooling. I never thought much about it then, but in retrospect it’s kind of worrying. I hope they’re okay.”

“I thought about trying to track them down,” Flow admitted. “I know that sounds a bit creepy, but I hope talking to them would help Natasha feel better about the whole thing.”

Which wasn’t a lie per se. Of course, they also hoped to learn other things from Nash too.

“That might be hard,” Matis said. “It was years ago, and I don’t even know their last name.”

Flow opened Herald and made a quick search for the first name Nash, then excluded everyone who seemed obviously too young or old. They showed their phone with the list to Matis.

“Well, do you recognize any of these people?”

The boy frowned.

“I’m sorry Flow, I don’t think I can identify someone from six years ago who I never actually talked to.”

“Right,” they said, slightly disappointed. “Sorry, I got carried away.”

“Look, I know you mean well, but did you talk about this with Natasha at all?” Matis asked. “I mean, her family has lots of resources, if she thinks this is a good idea then she could do more than us.”

Flow winced, remembering the girl’s story. That her adoptive mother refused to help Nash to the point that she escaped at night and ended up living on the street until she was found.

Realizing that he touched on something sensitive that Flow wasn’t comfortable to reveal, Matis sighed.

“Okay, how about this? I try to look into it when I have the time – I’m not promising I will turn up this person, but I can try a few things. But if you’re going to recruit me then promise that you’ll talk to Natasha and at least get her consent for us snooping around. Seriously, trying to help someone without communicating about it is a great recipe for disaster.”

Of course, he was right, but as usual, it was more complicated than Flow could let him know. It wasn’t just about Natasha’s emotions even though Flow truly hoped that she could reunite with her friend. But Nash also seemed to have some kind of knowledge about magic years before it became common knowledge thanks to the Sorcerer’s machinations. It could be a coincidence – or they might be even connected to the warlocks some way. The weak that lead was, as Enchanters Flow and Natasha had to investigate, especially that they didn’t have anything else in their hands.

Natasha said she wanted answers, and they obviously couldn’t avoid the question of finding Nash for long. But Flow hoped they could do some of the heavy-lifting and offer her facts instead of more uncertainty.

“Yeah, I will,” they said, blushing.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Matis said with resignation. “I’ll see what I can do but be careful.”

<> 

Nora adjusted the dials of her spectator goggles, trying to keep the device tuned to Francois’ essence trail. It was a much more complex construction than the more common essence lens and looked a bit funny when she walked around in them in daytime, but at least offered some protection for her identity. Pollapolis was huge, but she knew people here and if they found out about her being here too that could lead to some inconvenient questions.

Even after only a day, the trail was hard to follow. Luckily, she had Francois’ last report saying that he was heading to one of the many malls of the shopping district where he thought he could finally catch the suspect – then he went silent without warning.

The young agent stepped into the deserted side-street next to the mall and she shook in her whole body.

The street was empty with only a few trashcans standing around. The concrete was covered in glass shards from the shattered streetlights. Through the goggles Nora could see that Francois’ trail led here then ended, meaning that he came here and then never left – or at least not by any ordinary means.

She took a deep breath, trying to push the direst explanation out of her mind. She recalled her training, all the possible reasons for the trail to end – someone could use teleportation or a time-stop to move him. He could be pulled into the Lower Realms. Someone or something could simply mask his essence – even though that was unlikely and hard to pull off.

Whatever was the case, the destroyed lamps and the chaotic essence traces in the alley told Nora that someone was throwing around some badass magic here last night. Still afraid of what she would see, she hesitantly reached for the time dial on her glasses and turned it back approximately eighteen hours. The formless splashes of essence floating in the pseudo-space of the alley suddenly fused into two clear ghost images of the people who were here last night.

One of them, Francois, Nora assumed, stood near to Nora’s current position, pointing something at the other, smaller one, who stood before the fire exit of the mall. Nora slowly turned the dial ahead, and the scene played out before her eyes in slow-motion. The shorter specter jumped in the air, sailing toward Francois. There was a bright light, then another as Francois fired his essence gun, then the two phantoms clashed. A short brawl broke out, but the smaller one eventually subdued Francois, followed by some more movement which the meaning of Nora couldn’t make out from the few details she could see. Then the unknown phantom raised their hand and…

Nora couldn’t help but gasp and her hand froze on the dial as the unknown figure tore into Francois’ chest. She gulped and forced herself to turn the dial further, but all it did was let her see Francois’ shadow fade away. She let out a sharp breath and with shaking hands, grabbed her phone.

“Axel,” a gentle voice spoke.

“Director?” she asked obtusely, still under the effect of what she saw.

“Yes, I asked Samantha to direct your calls to me. Sorry for not warning you, but this investigation became top priority very recently.”

“I… see.”

“Do you have anything to report?”

Nora took a deep breath and as briefly and factually as she could she told everything she found out.

“So… my fears were well-founded,” they sighed. “The Vessel is in Pollapolis and worse, it’s on the loose. I’m sorry Nora, you shouldn’t see something like this, not in this age and time. Return to the HQ.”

“Chief…!” But she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. Object? Or just ask for more details? Everything felt wrong.

“Nora, you’re a junior agent. We already lost a man – it was a grave oversight to send someone of your or Francois’ level to deal with something like this. What happened to him is my responsibility. I can’t let the same happen to you or anyone else.”

“I… understood.”

“I’m sorry.” They repeated. “Were you and Francois close?”

“I know him from training,” she said blankly.

It’s not like they were the best of friends or anything like that. He was a nice person. Definitely didn’t deserve his soul being torn out and eaten by some abomination.

“I see. How about this? You have family in the city, don’t you?”

“Yes chief.”

“You’re on paid leave from now. Indefinitely, I will call you when we need you back. Go, spend some time with your family. Make sure they’re okay. Just promise me you won’t chase the Vessel.”

Nora let out a grateful sigh.

“Thank you chief.”

Millions of people lived in Pollapolis. The chances that the monster would target her family next were negligible. Still, the thought of just leaving without seeing or warning them while this thing was on the loose made her feel sick. The Foundation existed to protect people – at the very least, she wanted to protect the ones close to her.

“Hey, one last thing. Could you see the Vessel’s face? Logically it should be copying Francois’ appearance now, but you can never know, it’s a tricky bastard. Knowing whose identity they stole might be useful tracking them down.”

“It was eighteen hours ago, the trails are pretty cold. I could only see blurs. But I can always try to turn clarity up, even though it would take some time.”

“Magic, isn’t it? You’d think enhance buttons are movie nonsense but turns out all it takes is some messing with the foundations of reality to make them work.” They fell silent for a moment. “Sorry. This is probably not the most appropriate time for jokes.”

“Don’t worry chief, I appreciate it,” Nora said. She wasn’t in the mood to joke herself, but the regional director had a way to ease her tension somewhat.

“If you can get a useful image from the Vessel, send a snapshot to Samantha. Then go and enjoy your vacation – if that’s even possible under these circumstances. Thanks Nora.”

They ended the call. Nora turned back to the phantom silhouette of what she only could assume to be the Vessel. She didn’t touch the time dial, she didn’t want to accidentally see Francois’ face when he… at the last moment. Instead, she adjusted her glasses’ clarity setting.

While it was limited, the device was able to access and retrieve information from the Flux, basically letting the user peek through time and space itself. While it sounded cool in theory, and well yeah, Nora had to admit it was pretty cool, it took a hellish amount of processing power. If the Foundation’s technology was running on a less clean and efficient energy source than actual magic, the process would have created a nasty ecological footprint.

Even though that wasn’t a concern, getting detailed pictures of past events still took several minutes which was why the goggles were set to only detect essence by default – it moved through the different layers of reality much more fluidly than other things, like light did. It was efficiency at the cost of accuracy.

Nora heard rumors about goggles that allowed the user to gaze into the near future, but if any of that was true, it was top secret technology and someone like her wouldn’t touch it in a billion years.

Eventually the process was completed, and Nora could look at the actual features of the murderer of her colleague. It made her feel like icy water was running through her veins.

“Flow?” she whispered, staring at the grinning face of her sibling.

<> 

Late afternoon in the Ghost District, Nocturknight crouched behind a large AC outlet. Not wanting to risk revealing herself by peeking out, she closed her eyes, focusing on the noises surrounding her. Suddenly, a metallic clank! hit her ears. Grinning, she jumped at the top of the machine and turned toward the source of the noise, ready to jump at…

… the small tin can, spinning on the empty roof. Where did it-?

Whoos!

Only some weird sixth sense and her well-honed reflexes saved her from Ruthen’s strike. She dropped to the ground and rolled away, avoiding the broomstick barely.

“When did they get this sneaky?”

Their scarf waving behind them, Ruthen jumped after her for the next attack. Nocturknight rose to her feet, blocking the hit, but this time Ruthen was hell-bent to make use of her surprise before she could fully recover from it. They pushed their stick against hers with full force, sending them both crashing to the ground.

They landed on the concrete in a heap. Nocturknight pushed Ruthen’s stick away, disarming her opponent, but also dropping her own weapon. The broomsticks rolled away, out of their reach. It was all down to hand-to-hand combat and tenacity now. She grabbed their wrists and tried to get over them, pushing the silver hero to the ground. Instead of resisting, Ruthen rolled with the momentum, and threw her down from themself.

Nocturknight landed face down. She tried to jump up, but Ruthen was faster. They grabbed her right arm and left leg and bent them backwards carefully to not damage the joints, but strongly enough to keep her immobilized. It was a trick they saw from Emaril, and they weren’t sure they could replicate it until now, but they were willing to try.

“Give up,” they said, not even trying to hide the smug satisfaction in their voice that they could finally beat their partner.

Nocturknight growled. The strengthening wind snatched away her hat and it floated away in the distance. With her free hand and leg, she pushed herself up, managing to headbutt Ruthen in the face.

“Ow!” they released the girl as they reflexively reached to their aching nose under their scarf. Their Enchant should have blunt the impact, but it felt like they were hit by a rock. Nocturknight spun around on her palm and threw herself at Ruthen, forcing them on the ground. She kneeled over their chest, her kneecaps in their elbow joints, preventing them from using their arms. They could flail their legs freely, but even if they pushed against the ground with all their strength, they couldn’t raise their body enough to get rid of her.

“Okay, guess you win aga- wait, what are you doing?”

The girl grabbed their silver hair, forcefully raised their head, and smashed their skull into the concrete below. Even with their power protecting them this time, it was still a dizzying hit.

“Nocturknight, enough!”

She raised their head again for another strike.

“Natasha!”

Something in the girl snapped. She blinked a few times and let go of Ruthen’s hair. Then she fell on the side, releasing them.

“I… I’m sorry.”

She jumped on her feet and jogged a few steps away, turning her back on Ruthen. Despite the feeling of the world spinning around them they got up too, massaging their aching head.

“What the hell was that?”

She didn’t answer. She stared at her hand she used a moment ago to try to break Ruthen’s head on the concrete, just like you’d break a coconut on a rock.

Her fingernails turned black and while they already started to fade away, the dark markings were still clearly visible on her skin.

Ruthen stepped behind her and peeked over her shoulder.

“The Spear,” they said with sudden understanding. “So, guess it wasn’t a one-shot thing after all.”

“I was feeling the same like when fighting the Dream Beast,” Nocturknight said with a numb tone. “It was like I couldn’t hold back at all. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Ruthen sighed. “Did you know that the power didn’t go away?”

“I don’t know,” the girl said quietly. The markings vanished completely but she kept staring at her hand for a moment before letting her arm drop besides her body. “I felt different since the Slumbering Wilderness, but I thought… I thought I just needed to process.”

Ruthen nodded. They didn’t pry why didn’t she say anything, it was obviously hard enough for her to open up already. They didn’t want to ruin the little trust they earned by being too aggressive.

“Should we ask Artemis and Nox?” they asked instead. “They might know something about the Spear.”

“I’m sure they do. But I don’t think it matters.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember the Contract Artemis made with us?” she looked at them finally. “Or the one the Sorcerer used to warlovify Bianca? Even the Vessel made one with Richard to get out of that mirror. They seem like a big deal.”

“Yes?” Ruthen raised their eyebrow.

“I didn’t understand back then but I guess I do now. When I took the Spear, I also entered a Contract. Serafine said if I killed the Beast, I’d already have everything to defeat the Sorcerer and she couldn’t take it back from me.”

She looked at her hand again.

“I think this is what she was talking about. I meant to use this power against the Sorcerer. And I’m willing to do so.”

“The reason we fight the Sorcerer is that he tricks people into magic Contracts to turn them into empowered soldiers,” Ruthen snapped. “If Serafine really did the same to you, don’t you think that’s a damm good reason not to trust this power?”

“Well, the chips are on the table now,” Nocturknight shrugged. “The Spear is gone, and we can’t go back to the Dreamlands. We can’t just put the power back where it came from. I need to find a way to keep it under control.”

She reached under her coat, touching her pin. “Disenchant.”

Natasha looked at Ruthen seriously.

“Look, I’m sorry. Maybe it’s better if we both train on our own for a while until I figure out how not to lose my cool. But I’ll make it work somehow, I promise.”

With that, she turned and walked toward the nearest fire ladder.

Ruthen blinked after her.

“Hell no.” they said.

She turned back.

“No what?”

“Disenchant.”

Flow put their hands on their hips.

“Do you seriously think I’ll let you leave like that? You’re a mess.”

The girl stared at them.

“Flow, just a moment ago I was trying to punch a hole into your head. If anything, you should try to keep your distance from me.”

“Well, I don’t. You were under magic. We don’t blame Igne or Bianca for what they did when they were manipulated.”

“That’s different, that’s…” she hesitated.

“Why? Because that’s them and it’s you?” Flow raised their hands. “Look, I know we talked about this, but if you go ahead and help people you must understand that someone will try to do the same for you. And it would be ridiculous to not accept it, you won’t change anything if you try to shoulder all the responsibility yourself.”

They walked up to the girl. Looked at her for a moment, then turned their gaze.

“Don’t be dumb, okay?”

Natasha crossed her arms.

“What do you have in mind then?”

“I don’t know, I think I’d be just really worried if you were left alone right now. And guess we deserve a break from all the fighting and training and magic. Why don’t we just…” they shrugged. “…chill?”

She smirked.

“You just won’t rest until you make me watch that anime you’re so into, right?”

Flow laughed sheepishly.

“Well, we don’t have to. Thanks to Matis I’m way ahead of my homework, so I can afford a free evening. But we can do whatever you like.”

She considered it for a moment then shrugged.

“Heck, why not? I haven’t watched anime since elementary, should be fun. Let’s go to your place then?”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Flow chuckled. “Then, once my parents know who you are, next time you don’t have to sneak in through the window if you wanna visit.”

<> 

The Corvin family lived in a modest third-floor apartment in a building filled with similar compartments. Maybe one of the only benefits of the city’s economic crisis and the shrinking population was that housing was more affordable than any time in the last decade, as owners were desperate to get rid of their empty estates and invest the money somewhere more profitable. It didn’t help the many people who lacked any funds or income whatsoever, but they were lucky enough to be able to pick a place in convenient proximity from both the school and Flow’s mom’s new workplace. (Their dad worked from home, making the moving that much easier.)

The door opened to a small area with a shoe cabinet and some coat hangers, then the apartment continued in a corridor. On the left side opened the living room, then from there the larger bedroom, used by Flow’s parents. On the right side there was two doors, leading to the bathroom and the kitchen. The corridor ended in another door, leading into Flow’s own bedroom.

Flow opened the entrance and stepped in, followed by Natasha. The girl stayed a step behind them all the way as she looked around with a neutral expression, keeping her hands in her jacket pockets. She seemed to have calmed down a bit since the misfired training session, but her demeanor was cautious. Flow gave her the most reassuring smile they could and invited her further in.

“Hey everyone,” they called out, not sure if their mom already arrived or had to work late. “Sorry for not telling ahead, but I brought a surprise guest. It was kind of a last-minute thing.”

“Oh, I think they’re back,” they heard their dad from the kitchen.

A young woman stepped out, wearing a mint green blouse and light gray dress pants. While they were far from identical, Natasha could immediately see some striking similarities between her and Flow – the shade of her brown eyes and her hair, which she wore long in a ponytail, and the gentle complexion of her face.

“Nora?” Flow looked at her with surprise. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

The girl just stared at them for a moment, with an alert expression that was hard to decipher. Then she stepped closer, crouched down, and held Flow’s face between her palms, studying their face closely.

“Uh, Nora, is everything all right? You start to freak me out a bit…”

“You’re okay,” she said quietly, like even she couldn’t believe it.

Then her eyes slowly turned toward the pin on Flow’s hoodie.

“Yeah, of course I am. What’s going on?”

They heard a chuckle and saw and older man following Nora from the kitchen. He kept his graying brown hair in a medium cut with a small stubble. He was wearing thin glasses, a plaid shirt, and a slightly worn jean.

“You have to forgive your sister Flow,” he smiled. “She dropped in a few hours ago without warning, and all she did in time was basically asking about you. Guess Nora didn’t realize that leaving the family nest meant being separated from her little sibling too, huh?”

Nora quickly collected her composure and stood up.

“No need to tease me,” she looked at her father with exaggerated grumpiness. “You moved away so quickly, I had no chance to come and help. Of course I was worried how Flow could take it, they were always…”

She cut herself mid-sentence and blinked at Natasha, like she just realized the girl was there.

“I think we should do this another time,” the ginger girl looked at Flow. “You must have a lot to catch up on, I can come over any time.”

“Oh my god, sorry, I’m being rude,” Flow’s dad shook his head. “You must be one of Flow’s new friends they keep talking about. Bianca?” he guessed.

“Natasha.”

“Right,” the man grinned, and offered his hand for a shake which Natasha hesitantly accepted. “I’m Norbert, please no Mr. Corvin or anything like that. Sorry for the chaos, there are some unexpected factors today, but isn’t that what makes life exciting? No need to drop your plans if you got any.”

“We just planned to hang out because we got all our homework done for the week. I wanted to show Natasha this show I like.”

“Natasha…” Nora kept looking at the girl, like she tried to place her face. “Wait, aren’t you Agatha Alexton’s daughter?”

She tensed up but kept her voice neutral as much as she could.

“Yes, I am. How did you know?”

“Well,” Nora shrugged apologetically. “Your family is famous. But sorry, it must be annoying to get unwanted attention from strangers.”

“So, what’s up?” Flow looked at their sister. “I thought you couldn’t visit for a few more months. Do you stay for a while?”

“Yeah, if mom and dad okay to open the couch for me,” she chuckled. “They messed up some administration around my internship, so I’m basically on paid leave indefinitely until they clear it up and I can work again. There was no point to go back to uni for a few weeks in the middle of the semester, so I thought I check on you all.”

“That’s some generous company for you,” Norbert said before turning to Natasha. “You see, they’re going to have plenty of time to catch up, so go on and have fun. From what Flow told me you’ve been tutoring them almost every afternoon in the past few weeks, so both of you could use a break – and I was planning to abduct Nora and interrogate her about all the hot gossip from Capricopolis anyway.”

“Great, sounds like I’ll better take a shower before that,” she joked. “We can chat more during dinner when mom is home.”

<> 

Nora closed the bathroom door behind herself and opened the shower. She wished there was a less wasteful way to cover her tracks, but sometimes the classics worked best.

Of course, her business phone had a magic filter that prevented any unauthorized eavesdropping even if she used in a room full of people, but she still needed the excuse of a shower to get some alone time.

“Thank god, I started to get worried,” Samantha sighed on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, sorry about the delay. I needed some time to calm down.”

“I can imagine. Francois… is he really…?”

“Yes. Sorry.”

“Fuck,” Samantha whispered, not caring much about proficiency. “I know we’re trained for stuff like this, but it’s usually collecting Artifacts, maybe knocking out the people who stumble upon them and don’t want to give them up, not actual monsters. Isn’t that’s what elite agents are for?”

“Yeah, but by the time they realized it was something much messier than a petty thief abusing an Artifact it was too late. Even management can mess up sometimes.”

“Fuck.” Samantha repeated and Nora heard her taking a swing from her bottled water.

“Look, could you tell the chief that clearing up the picture didn’t turn up anything? There was too much residual essence in the alley that messed with the goggles.”

Great. It was her first serious assignment, and she was lying in an official report right out of the gate. If they second checked the alley and found out, worst case they could charge her for negligence and give her a warning, but probably would write it down for the traumatic experience she just had and let it go. Still, not a great start.

“Yeah, sure. I’m glad you’re off the case honestly, let the heavy hitters go hunting for the bogeyman. And guess that means you’re on vacation now.”

“Well, yeah… officially I am.”

“Officially?”

“I was about to ask for a favor. Could you send me all the info we have about the Alexton family and their business? And also a list of all the unlocated Enchants?”

“That’s a pretty darn long list. There were hundreds of Enchants and most of them were lost during the Mistfall. We only have like a dozen of them and they’re all under high security. What are you need that for?”

“Just doing some research in my free time,” she lied.

“You’re a terrible liar, I’m always telling you. What even gave you the idea to work as a secret agent?”

“We are not secret agents Sam,” Nora chuckled.

“Are we acting on the behalf of a group?”

“Well, yeah…”

“And are we allowed to reveal our activity to the general public?”

“Okay-okay, I get it.”

“Just saying, you should be proud of it. You are a secret agent, that’s something other people only have weird fantasies of.”

“If you say so. Can you send me the data then?”

“I know what you’re up to. You’re in Pollapolis, that’s where the reports came from about those kids claiming to be Enchanters. You want to track them down instead of sitting on your butt and recovering from what you saw.”

“Hey, the chief specifically told me not to go after the Vessel, but nothing about looking into other things while I’m here.”

Samantha chuckled.

“Look at you Miss Not-A-Secret-Agent, your first mission and you’re already going rouge. But guess if you really find a solid lead on some of the lost Enchants, nobody will care that you worked around orders a bit. And if not, well, nobody will find out that you tried. Okay, I’ll send you the list. But if this ends up kickstarting your career, you buy my coffee for the rest of my life.”

“Deal,” Nora smiled. She heard the clacking of a keyboard.

“And what about the Alexton thread? Do you think they might be involved?”

“I’m… not sure. Do you remember Natasha Alexton, the girl Agatha Alexton adopted like six years ago?”

“Yeah, it was a tabloid sensation for a while, then the girl vanished from public. Probably better for her that way if you ask me. What about her?”

“Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Okay…”

“Turns out she’s attending the same school as Flow.”

“Oh?”

“And the two of them were hanging out a lot lately.”

There was a moment of break. Then Samantha spoke again, with exaggerated seriousness and audibly struggling to hold back her laughter.

“Nora Corvin, tell me you’re not using Foundation resources… no, scratch that, tell me you’re not using me to run a background check on your sibling’s little crush.”

“I’m serious Sam. Look at how much supernatural nonsense was going on in Pollapolis lately. The Sorcerer, the warlocks, then now these self-proclaimed Enchanters and the Vessel. Alexton Networks is a huge factor in the city, and we have investigated them before.”

“And what makes you think that the girl is involved?”

“I don’t know if she is, okay? But I talked to her, and she got this… vibe.”

“A vibe?”

“Like she has something to hide.”

“You talk just like my overprotecting brother,” Sam joked. “Okay, I’m looking at the Alexton casefile. It’s true that the family and their associates have been found involved in the trade of items that proved to be Artifacts. But they have a huge business network and there wasn’t evidence that they knew what they were dealing with. There are some reports that are above my security clearance, but they all go back way before the adoption. Believe me, the girl’s biggest crime is probably being spoiled rotten by her dirty rich mother.”

“Could you still send me the file?”

“Sure, check it out yourself. But then please, let those kids be kids.”

“Sure. Thanks Sam, I owe you one.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” she said before ending the call.

Nora opened the files she was sent. She put the Alexton reports aside for now and looked at the Enchant index. There were a lot of entries, but searching for the right keywords, she managed to find the two she was looking for.

Broken Whole

Status: Unknown

Associated Power: Disentropy

Associated Emotion: Regret

Description: The Enchant appears as a pin, approximately 25 millimeter in diameter, made of a metal resembling silver. The pin has a circular shape, with a section of the circle detached (see picture).

Lost Star

Status: Unknown

Associated Power: Singularity

Associated Emotion: Despair

Description: The Enchant appears as a pin, approximately 25 millimeter in diameter, made of a metal resembling silver. The pin’s shape is an isotoxal square star (see picture).

“Sure.” Nora closed her eyes. “Let them be kids.”

<> 

Matis passed on the usual afternoon meeting in Caffe Velvet, and sit in an out of the way place, telling a white lie that he had some studying left to do. While Flow didn't explicitly ask him to keep the investigation after Nash secret, Matis got the feeling that it was a delicate matter and he should think twice about who he let on.

He still wasn't completely comfortable with delving into something that seemed to be very personal to Natasha without her exact consent as well. Maybe he should've just refused, it's not like Flow could hold it against him. But to be perfectly honest, other than wanting to help a friend, he was also motivated by his own curiosity. From all he could remember about them Nash was a pretty... extravagant person in their own way. And if his seemingly ridiculous suspicions about Flow had any basis, and they decided to loop him in this much, well...

Not like he uncovered much. The most interesting piece of information he managed to dig up was an almost ten years old news article about a child who was found on the streets. They had no clothes or papers and couldn't seem to recall any information about their family and home. They barely spoke to anyone, likely a sign of a traumatic event. The theories ran wild from kidnapping to man-trafficking, but the authorities failed to discover anything, and no relatives appeared to claim the child.

The article didn't mention the kid's name, given they could tell, but it briefly noted that they were placed to the Rising Feather group home until their family is found.

Rising Feather. Matis knew the name well, most of the school-aged kids from there attended Polloop Elementary School. Natasha and Richard used to live there too.

The home was closed years ago as the new foster care system was put in place with the support of the Knightfall Foundation. There wasn't really anyone Matis could contact to confirm his suspicions and ask for more information, but some of the school's student records were public. It was easy to confirm that Nash Poll enrolled the same year when the unknown kid was found, attending the same year as Natasha. Poll, that was a common placeholder last name for people with unknown identity in the Polla area.

Nash's records continued through the first four grades then abruptly ended. According to the school, they never entered the fifth grade and there weren’t any records about them being suspended or expelled either. It was as if they just vanished, and nobody asked any questions.

Matis sighed, sipping his juice, and staring at the results on his phone. It seemed ominous to say the least how little they could find about this person. There wasn't any Nash Poll on social media either. Of course there was many possible explanations. Maybe their family found them eventually and now they lived under their original name somewhere. Or they just suddenly moved somewhere else and didn't like to be online under their public name. But as things were, he only found more questions and he had no tools or resources to dig any deeper.

“Hey, not bad. Did you dig up that much in a single day? What a clever boy.”

Matis looked up. He was so focused on his phone, he didn’t notice when the girl arrived and sat across his table. She had short, wavy hair and dressed in a beige miniskirt and a white polo shirt decorated with the image of an autumn tree.

“Can I help you?” Matis stared at her.

“Hm, no, I don’t think you can, or even want to help me. But you already seem to be helping someone else and that’s what interests me and my boss.”

“Sorry, I don’t think I follow you,” he said cautiously, hiding his phone in his pocket. The girl gave him an amused smile.

“You’ve found out a lot with very little to work with in a short time, so let’s say I’m giving you a reward. Curiosity is a virtue worth curating, don’t you think?”

She put her own phone on the table now, showing the scan of some kind of official document. It seemed like a report addressed to the gendarmy, regarding a case of illegal trespassing. It was issued by the Knightfall Foundation.

“This incident never made it to the public, so you didn’t have a chance to find out about it. Six years ago, two brats sneaked into the Knightfall Center after closing hours and went into some of the restricted areas that is for staff personnel only. One of the perpetrators, Nash Poll was caught on the spot and according to some agreement between the Foundation and the government they were placed under special custody.”

The girl swiped the tap screen, navigating to another document. Matis stared at the phone silently – he wanted to demand who she was and how she was connected to all of this, but the chance to learn more about what happened to Nash made him shut up for now.

“This report is from Stardust Correctional Institute for Minors,” she explained. “This is where the trail ends. Stardust was closed years ago, and somehow, all the documentation regarding the kid’s further fate was lost in the process. We never managed to get any closer to them than this.”

Matis looked up at the girl.

“Why are you telling me all this? I don’t buy that you just want to help. You and someone you’re working with want to find Nash – but you obviously know more than me already, so why do you think I could help you?”

“I told you already that you can’t. Your little friend however, who set you up to do this investigation for them – I think they have the perfect bait.”

Matis blinked as his brain connected the dots.

“Natasha,” he said. “Nash is hiding from you on purpose, and you think you could use Natasha to make them reveal themself.”

“See, I knew you were smart. The girl was off-limits to us under Alexton’s protection for a long time, but things seem to be changing recently.”

“Then why come to me, why not her?” Matis asked.

“She has the most chance to find who we need, but she lacks the information. We have the information, but she won’t trust us if we just go and give it to her. So we need a delivery guy – you.”

She swiped the phone again, this time opening a picture of a man with brown eyes and short, graying hair, wearing a tidy white shirt.

“This is Edward Tims, our only remaining clue. He was the social worker in charge of Rising Feather at the time of the incident. All the documentation regarding Nash’s transfer to Stardust was swiped under the rug but he must remember what happened exactly. However, it’s very likely that he’s under surveyance by whoever is hiding the kid right now. We don’t want to alert that slippery eel by contacting Tims – but what if it was their best friend looking for them?”

Matis clutched his fist on the table.

“So let me get this straight, you want to use me to trick Natasha, so then you can use her to trick Nash, or the people who try to hide them? And you just expect me to play along?”

“Why not? Your friends are searching for the same person as we do, I’m just offering you a lead.”

“I don’t know why, but a lot of people seem to be interested in Nash suddenly. And for some reason I don’t think that from all the parties involved you’re working for the good guys.”

He threw a few bills on the table, covering his order and leaving a generous tip, then turned to leave. Maybe he should stay and try to find out more about who this woman is and what she knew, but he couldn’t really trust anything she said, and he just wanted to be away from her. He also had to figure out what to say to Flow and Natasha – simply telling them everything, including this strange encounter could just end up playing at her hands if they were desperate enough to find Nash.

He was about to step out to the street when the handle slipped from his hand and the door slammed itself before him.

“Oh my,” the girl said behind him, still sitting. “You’re being very rude to a very pretty and dangerous girl right now, you know?”

Matis turned around and looked back at her.

“Who are you?”

“I can’t blame you, guess most people won’t recognize me in my casual outfit.”

She stood up as a wave of power pushed her table and seat away from her. Purple glow covered her body and her clothes changed into a purple dress, high heels, and a domino mask. A black-and-purple umbrella appeared in her hand, and she leaned on it like a walking stick. The other people in the caffe stared at her, their mouths left open.

“Seriously?” Destracta sighed. “Whenever one of those lame fakers shows up, everyone keeps screaming ‘warlock’ in panic. Now you see the real deal and you just stand there in silence? Here, how about this?”

She knocked her umbrella on the ground, and suddenly all the cups and plates in the room launched themselves into the air. They were soon followed by the tables, then, leaving people falling to the ground with loud thuds, came the chairs.

“Warlock!” someone screamed finally, and everyone ran for the nearest exists.

“That’s more like it,” Destracta smiled, content with the chaos she caused. “Now,” she turned back to Matis. “Why don’t I continue to convince you somewhere more private?”

Matis pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of Destracta, then pushed another button, right before the phone flew out of his hand to the girl.

“I know I’m gorgeous, but you really should ask permission before taking pictures of someone.” She crushed the device in her hand.

Matis found himself hovering slightly above the ground. With a smile, Destracta walked past him and left the building, the boy helplessly flying after her.

“Say whee!” she said, as they both took off flying.

<> 

Natasha tapped the tablet, freezing the image of two teenaged girl in sailor blouses having a conversation in a classroom on the screen. She looked up from the bed at Flow who was sitting on a cardboard box next to it, bending over to see the tablet in front of her.

“Look, I don’t wanna be pushy, but are you sure you’re okay like this? Just because it seems very inconvenient.”

“It’s not like a chair would be much better,” they shrugged. “And I invited you, I don’t want to make you sit.”

Flow’s bed was more than enough for a short person like them, but it was simply not big enough for two, and even if it was, well… there was a subtle but definitive difference between sitting and lying next to someone. To watch the show conveniently, they had to set the tablet on one end of the bed, meaning that they would have to share very little room if they both wanted to sit in front of it, something none of them suggested.

Flow made a mental note to get some more furniture for their room – at least an armchair or two, and maybe a coffee table, so they would have more options to sit down and put stuff on. At some point they might invite more people from the gang too – having more than one friend at a time imposed some logistical challenges they never thought they might have to face. Of course, for upgrades like that they would have to get rid of the towering pile of unpacked boxes first. For now, they offered Natasha to lay on the bed with the tablet while they were sitting on one of the boxes next to her.

“And, how you like the show?” Flow changed the subject quickly.

“It’s…” the girl seemed to hesitate. “Interesting. Not what I was expecting but I like the story I guess.”

“Oh, what were you expecting?”

“I don’t know, just… not this. Guess I wasn’t taking you for someone who likes horror stories.”

Flow blinked.

“Honestly, I never considered Automated Girl a horror.”

Natasha gave them a look.

“Seriously? The protagonist discovered that her best friend was dead for years and her parents replaced her with a clockwork android made after her image. Also, that all the adults in the town conspired to hide it from the children that their community is controlled by some malicious alien power that gives people the knowledge to build more androids. Then, when she tried to tell her brother about it, he went berserk and tried to kill her, then he seemingly lost all his memories about it by the next day. And we’re only three episodes in.”

“Well yeah, there are some creepy stuff, but there aren’t many jumpscares and stuff like that. Or at least, not more than in an action show.”

“You know that horror doesn’t equal jumpscares, right?”

“Hmm.” Flow leaned back on their box, putting their hands behind themself. “I remember when we were kids, Al tried to get me to watch horror movies with him, but they were always full of jumpscares and I hated them. He told me that there are other kinds of horrors, but at that point I just refused to watch anything labeled as horror and after a while he stopped nagging me about it. He was the one who got me into this show later – maybe he just decided to pick stuff he thought I might enjoy and didn’t tell me if they were horror anymore.”

“Really?” Natasha frowned. “That sounds a bit patronizing. If you didn’t want to watch horror, he should respect that, even if it’s based on some misconception of the genre from your childhood.”

“Maybe,” Flow shrugged. “But he did a lot of heavy lifting in our friendship to find stuff that we could do together, so I can’t really blame him for pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone a bit sometimes. Honestly, I think for a long time I was relying on him to do that, maybe to an unfair degree. I didn’t like feeling separated, but I didn’t want to take risks by exploring new things myself, so I just tried the things he said would be fun. And he never pushed me if I didn’t end up liking them.

“Anywaaay, maybe it wasn’t the best pick to watch this show when I wanted to help you calm down. We can try something else if you’d like.”

“No, I’m interested now. And watching these fictional people dealing with their own existential dread is not a bad way to distract myself from my own.”

Flow’s phone beeped and they looked at the notification. Suddenly, all the blood ran out of their face.

“You’re okay?” Natasha frowned.

Instead of answering, Flow turned the screen toward her, showing the picture Matis sent them. It was the grinning Destracta, surrounded by flying tables and chairs.

Natasha jumped up in the bed. Her relaxed posture gone, she was immediately tense as a spring.

“Did he mark the location?” she asked urgently.

Flow tapped the image, checking the location Matis was logged in from when he took the picture.

“Biscuit, a small café near the school.”

“Let’s go,” the girl nodded.

They rushed out of the room, running right into Nora in the corridor.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I left my book in the school,” Flow said quickly. “We’re trying to get back before they close for the night.”

“A book?” she eyed them. “Can’t you just get it tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah, I could, but it’s the book I’m doing a report on, and I want to check a few things tonight.”

“Oh? I thought you were ahead of schedule with your homework.”

“It’s so annoying,” Natasha sighed without batting an eye. “I try to get them to take it easy, but they just had a eureka moment and won’t settle down until they can check if it fits into their essay. But what can I do, I promised to help.”

Flow was almost amazed at how easily she pulled out the lie – at least until they thought about the possible reasons of why she got so good at lying.

“Okay, let’s go, or they really close and we’ll be traveling for nothing.” Natasha grabbed Flow’s wrist and pulled them toward the door, reminding them of their very first meeting.

“Sorry, I’ll try to get back in time for dinner,” Flow promised as the two of them left.

Nora leaned her back on the nearby wall, sighing.

<> 

“A young woman with a noble heart, the first time facing how gruesome her world really can be,” the Sorcerer whispered, looking at Nora’s image on one of his magical windows. “Then immediately, she watches her beloved sibling jumping head-first into that dire danger.”

The view changed, Nora’s surroundings vanished and now the screen only showed her, in the middle of a variety of colorful lights and cumuling dark clouds.

“All those vast, stirring feelings, they could be forged into a powerful Artifact.”

The man in the shadows leaned back, inspecting the girl’s emotions a bit further.

“No. The Foundation has too strong a clutch on her, she still believes in their ideals. As things are now, she’d never accept my Contract. However…” His fingers drummed slowly on the wood of his staff. “Her loyalty is wavering between the Foundation and her family. She’s secretly afraid that eventually she’ll be forced to choose between the two. Yes. If I could just push her further down on that road… give it some time and I can work with that.”

Another window opened, showing Destracta. From the background, the Sorcerer could tell she was on a rooftop, probably on one of the many abandoned buildings in the Ghost District the warlocks used as meeting spots – and sometimes for target practice for their powers.

“Hey boss,” the girl waved at him. “I got the kid you wanted. You were right, no matter how nicely I asked, he didn’t want to help us, so I brought him to the place you told me.”

“Did you make a scene?”

She grinned.

“Did I ever not make a scene?”

“Excellent. Proceed as planned, I will observe the confrontation from afar.”

“All right. I don’t get it though, why did you order all three of us on this job? Last time when they fought Windy, he kicked their asses to the next century, even though they had reinforcement. If I was handling them alone it would be at least a bit of fun.”

“Dear Destracta, when you joined me, I promised you could have all the fun you wanted. Was there a time when I didn’t do good on that promise?”

“No,” she gave a smirk. “But I want to be clear on this. Blasting empty buildings, giving a good scare to the losers of this city to shake things up, showing it to the rich assholes who fucked up the economy? That’s all good. But killing children is just not my kind of fun, you know?”

“Are you asking for permission to go easy on them? Do it if they prove to be so easy to overcome as you think. But I’m expecting you to put in all the effort necessary to test their abilities. If they fail, kill them or spare them, it holds no importance to me.”

“And the two freaks? How can I know that they will play nicely?”

“I made it clear to Scarlet Wind and Killer Kat that this is your mission, and they are there to assist you. Now it’s up to you to uphold the authority I entrusted on you. That surely won’t be a problem, right?”

Without waiting for an answer, the Sorcerer waved his hand, closing the window. He turned back to the one with Nora. Her phone buzzed and she looked at it. The device had good enough magical protection that the Sorcerer couldn’t just simply summon the image of the screen on his window, but he didn’t bother finding a way around that – he had a good enough idea what it was. News of warlock attacks always spread quickly, and this time a teenager was abducted. He saw the girl’s fingers whitening on the phone as her feelings, rendered visible by the Sorcerer’s spell, grew even more turbulent.

“Emotions can be harvested for power, that’s how all magic works,” the man continued his monologue. “But it’s amazing how many masters of the art neglect the fact that it goes both ways. Take an existing emotion, add a bit more energy to it – like dripping water into a glass until it overflows. Subtlety is the essence, but it can go a long way.”

He touched the window and transferred some power to Nora, bolstering her emotions even further. Now her aura looked like she was standing in the center of a thunderstorm, black clouds with sudden sparkles of impulsive energy.

Her eyes flashed with sudden resolution.

“Mom?” she called out. “Can I borrow your scooter?”

<> 

Ruthen and Nocturknight hopped onto the empty street in front of the Biscuit. A big square around the building was surrounded with red tape but there wasn’t anybody around.

“Where’s the gendarmy?” Ruthen looked around. “It looks like they just closed off the area, then left without investigating.”

“No idea, but it’s better not having to deal with them. I’m still not sure what’s the city’s official stand on magical vigilantism.”

They entered the café which was a mess of broken tableware and harried furniture. After a quick search, Ruthen found the shattered remains of a phone.

“Disentropy!” they called out and the phone quickly repaired itself in their hand. “It’s Matis’ phone,” they looked at Nocturknight.

“Any clues where she might bring him?”

“No… I think he barely had time to send that picture.”

“Dammit,” she kicked a broken chair with frustration. “Why do the warlocks even target Matis personally? Did they figure out he was Sandstorm?”

“That’s possible, but… there might be something else,” Ruthen looked away, hugging one of their arms with the other. “Today I asked Matis a few questions about Nash and he said he’d try to find out more about what happened to them. Maybe… if Nash is really connected to the warlocks somehow, Matis might get their attention by snooping around for me.”

She stared at them for a moment, then shook her head with visible anger.

“Why? Why couldn’t you just ask me?”

“I was planning to. But I thought I could figure out as much as I could beforehand, so… it might be a bit easier on you.”

She looked at the ground and just stood there for a while with clenched fists. Ruthen was thinking about walking up to her, but they were also too scared of her reaction to move an inch. Eventually, she looked up, walked to them, and stared at them with burning eyes.

“Listen to me.” Her voice was a bit too quiet, her tone a bit too neutral, like she was putting so much effort into containing her anger that her complete behavior became strained. “I didn’t tell you all that because I wanted you to play protector for me. I chose to be an Enchanter and partially I did it because of Nash. I subscribed for this, but Matis didn’t.”

Suddenly, they grabbed the neck of Ruthen’s cloak and pulled their face closer to hers.

“Don’t you ever again make decisions for me or put anyone in danger to ‘defend’ me. Or we’re done working together. Do you understand?”

Unable to say anything, they nodded.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” they forced out when the girl kept staring at them.

She let them go and turned away, still clenching her shaking hand into a fist.

“What’s done is done,” she said. “We have to figure out where Matis is, and quickly.”

“Why don’t you just use magic? Isn’t that supposed to be your whole thing?”

They turned around to see that one of the tables and chairs were set back on their legs and, even though they were alone a moment ago, someone was now occupying the chair, resting her legs on the table.

“A catgirl,” Nocturknight stared at the stranger. “Yes, guess we have the kind of day when catgirls are expected.”

“Felimorph,” Narwia corrected. “Even though I do have to pretend to be a housecat nowadays, so guess you’re not entirely incorrect.”

“Are you with the Order, like Artemis and Nox?” Ruthen asked.

She made a weird grimace.

“I’m Narwia Solena, professional reaper and devil hunter. I’m more of a freelancer, but yeah, sometimes I do co-ops with your Order.” She grinned. “In fact, Artemis just put me in charge of your combat training from today.”

“Oh really?” Nocturknight put her hands on her hips. “And where the hell were you until now, when we got our ass kicked and kept almost dying?”

“Hey, don’t blame me. I was watching you from day one, but those two bozos thought you weren’t ready for my… methods, until recently.”

“Guess there’s no time for a crash course now.”

“You’re planning to use it, don’t you?” She looked Nocturknight over. “The power the forest which gave you. You can barely keep it in check right now, but you think if you just turn your head away and let it loose around the warlocks, somehow everything will work out all right.”

Ruthen peeked at Nocturknight from the corner of their eye.

“If I have to. I’d rather keep it as an ace in the hole, but based on our last fight with Scarlet Wind we might need everything.”

“All right,” Narwia slapped the table. “Let’s do it, if nothing else, it should be fun. If you manage to save the kid and survive, I’ll say you’re ready for my training course.”

“Whatever. Any ideas where we should head?”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to find out. Here, I picked this up on the way from the shop.” She threw a pin in the shape of a compass’ needle toward Nocturknight. “The Enchant of Longing. It gives you the power to locate any object or people you know and get a peek at their surroundings.”

The girl put the pin on her coat.

“Direction!”

Her eyes went glassy white, with blurry reflections from somewhere else.

“I can see him. Matis is in the Ghost District with Destracta.”

“We better hurry,” Ruthen said. “Even with roof swinging, it can take up to an hour to get there.”

“Just to make sure you understand the situation, you know this is a trap, right?” Narwia asked. “She’d have to hang a transparent over her hideout, saying ‘I have your friend, come and get him’ to make it any more obvious.”

“We know, but what should we do?” Nocturknight asked impatiently. “He got in trouble because of us, and even if he didn’t, should we just shrug and let him to his fate?”

“Okay then, in that case let me give you a ride.” She pulled one of her sabers and spun it skillfully. “My people have some privileges most mistfolk doesn’t, but we can only interact with the Human World in animal form. But there’s nothing preventing me doing this!”

She swung her sword and the empty air seemed to ripple around the blade as she opened a rift from nothing.

“Don’t fall behind!” she said as she jumped into the portal.

“Shouldn’t we at least text Artemis and make sure that we can really trust her before following her wherever she leads us?” Ruthen looked at Nocturknight.

“If she’s deceiving us then she’s most likely working for the warlocks. In that case we just beat her and make her lead us to Matis.”

With that, she jumped into the rift too. Ruthen followed them with a sigh.

They landed back in the Biscuit, but something was off. Really off. Instead of the light of the late afternoon sun, everything got an unnatural grayish hue. The walls and even the ceiling was missing, the space of the café seemed to continue infinitely. The view was repetitions of the same room, but rotated in different degrees, coming back to normal, then rotating again – it made Ruthen’s head spin to just look at it.

“What the hell is this place?” Nocturknight looked around.

“Wrong. Hell is quite different, but I can give you a tour there too if you ask nicely.” Narwia said. “These are the Lower Realms, but depending on who you ask, they might be called Limbo, Umbra, Purgatory, or liminal spaces. A series of sub-realities separating the Human World from total nonexistence. Space and time can be a bit wobbly here, so try to not get lost. But if you know your way around, you can get to places quickly and you don’t even have to cast a spell.”

“Let me guess, only you can help us to navigate here,” Ruthen said.

Narwia’s ears twitched with confidence.

“As I said, don’t fall behind.”

<> 

Nora watched silently as Ruthen and Nocturknight vanished in the portal, then removed her spectator. She was alone in the ruined café where the essence trail ended. At least she knew they were alive, but they must have gotten help from the Mist World. It made sense, she thought, the Foundation long suspected that the missing Enchants were held by the mistfolk, but they had troubles tracking them.

She wouldn’t be able to follow them further on her own.

“Hey Sam,” she said as soon as the other picked up the phone. “We’re still monitoring city-wide essence activity to keep track of the warlocks’ shenanigans, right? Did you get any interesting readings in the past hour?”

“Do I wanna know what you need that information for?”

Nora smirked under her nose.

“What about this? Next time we meet, I make you some of those pancakes you liked so much on the office potluck party.”

“Curse you, Agent Corvin, you have found my only weakness! Some fresh-hot warlock coordinates coming.”

She looked up the coordinates in the locator app. One of them matched with her current location in the Biscuit. The other pointed toward the Ghost District.

She sighed, realizing she might be late for dinner.

<> 

“I don’t see why you keep me here,” Matis complained, crouching in the small shadow he could find on the rooftop. When Destracta took him, he expected her to threaten or hurt him to make him go along with her plan, but instead she just brought him to the Ghost District and refused to let him go.

Not like he wanted to complain about not being tortured by a supervillain.

“I’m not going to help you, and when Ruthen and Nocturknight find us, they will kick your ass,” he said, trying to sound confident.

Of course, he was there when the Enchanters fought Scarlet Wind. He knew that if Destracta is anything like him, he might be in trouble even if the heroes get here in time. But he decided to put on a brave face and didn’t want to risk blowing his cover about being Sandstorm either.

Destracta chuckled, covering his mouth with a gloved hand.

“You really believe in them a lot, huh? It’s kinda cute. Maybe after I crush your heroes before your eyes you could consider rooting for us instead. My boss might even help you to make an awesome Artifact for yourself, then you could have your own powers.”

“I don’t think kidnapping people is the best recruiting strategy,” someone said. “You guys need a better HR management.”

Ruthen was standing at the edge of the roof, their scarf and cape waving dramatically in the wind. Next to them stood Nocturknight, sending a stern look to Destracta.

“Ready?” Narwia asked back in the endless corridors of the Lower Realms, brandishing her sword to let them back into the normal world.

“Yeah,” Ruthen said, checking a last time if they had all the Enchants they needed for the plan. Then they turned to Nocturknight. “Even though I’m still not a fan of the idea to let you fight alone. Even temporally.”

“And I’m not a fan of the idea of using that Enchant again,” she countered. “Guess we just have to trust each other’s judgement.”

Ruthen nodded and Narwia opened the portal for them.

“Good luck to you. I’ll be watching from this side.”

“Finally, I was starting to get bored, and it’s not good for the city’s infrastructure when that happens,” Destracta said, raising her umbrella. “I will try to not end this too quickly.”

“Sorry, but unlike you, we’re kind of in a hurry,” Ruthen smirked under their scarf. “Momentum!”

⌛

Destracta blinked and when her eyes opened, the silver haired hero and Matis were nowhere to be seen. In Matis’ place, right in front of her, there stood Nocturknight, blinking just as confusedly as her for a moment. Then she smiled.

“Hi there,” she said.

Then she punched the warlock in the face with full force.

⌛

The rooftop vanished from Matis view as he was suddenly standing in an empty street. He realized he must be still in the Ghost District but had no idea how far. Ruthen was standing next to him, looking a bit exhausted.

“Sorry, I’d bring you farther away, but I need to save my energy for the fight.” They gave Matis their phone. “You should be able to find the way home from here. I’d ask you to help us as Sandstorm again, but we don’t know how powerful Destracta is, and I wouldn’t like to put you in danger.”

“More than I already did,” they added silently.

“It was a good idea to send that picture to your friend by the way. It helped us to confirm that you were the victim and Destracta the attacker, so we could find you more quickly.”

Matis looked at his phone.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay on your own? I don’t want to be pushy about going with you, I don’t know how much help I’d be. But I heard Destracta talking to someone, and I’m not sure I understood everything correctly, but I think she might not be alone.”

“What?”

“She probably has Scarlet Wind and someone else ready as reinforcements. I wanted to warn you when you arrived, but everything went so fast.”

He saw Ruthen going paler under their mask, but they tried to keep their cool.

“Thanks for telling me. Guess that means I’m in an even bigger hurry than I thought. Take care!”

They wrapped their scarf around a nearby girder and flung away.

They felt very tempted to use Momentum again and cross the distance back in literally no time, but they couldn’t drain themself completely by the time they got back. Narwia didn’t show up from nothing to teleport them either – maybe now that the Enchanters made contact with the warlocks, she couldn’t interfere without breaking some rule. Or she just wanted to see how they do it on their own, Ruthen wasn’t sure.

In theory, if it worked at all, Ruthen’s plan should be working against three warlocks just as well as against one. But it all hung on Nocturknight being able to hold them back until they got back.

They had to hurry.

<> 

Destracta stroked the bruise on her cheek with a frown.

“That was entirely unnecessary. But fine, this will make me feel less bad for what I’m about to do with you.”

A red portal opened, spitting out Scarlet Wind and a taller, older boy wearing tight fitting black leather clothes, a black domino mask and black cat ears sticking out of his messy dark hair. He even had whiskers and a wagging black cat tail, while his eyes glowed red.

“What are you two doing here?” Destracta growled. “I didn’t ask you to interfere just yet.”

“We have orders to assist you in the fight,” Scarlet Wind said.

“You have orders to do what I say!”

“To hog yourself even that little fun we get? You’d like that, don’t you?” the catboy grinned.

“He would come, with or without me. And for myself, I see no reason to prolong this fight.” Scarlet Wind added.

Nocturknight snarled.

“Three of them? Guess that’s it for being cautious.”

Scarlet Wind raised his hand, materializing a globular cage around Nocturknight.

“Killer Kat, rid her of her charms,” he ordered. The other villain sprung toward the cage with delight.

“Singularity!” Nocturknight cut the cage in half from inside, freeing herself easily.

“You should know by now that you can’t trap me like that!” she jumped out from the hold of the bars.

“And you should know not to give us more ammunition,” Destracta stung back. “That’s ‘fighting telekinetics 101’.”

She took control of one half of the cage, while Scarlet Wind moved the other. The two large pieces of mental hurled at Nocturknight. She jumped up, on top of one of them and holding herself with one hand, she cut the other in pieces.

“You’ll need more than some flying junk to get me!”

She pushed herself upwards, then stomped back on the remaining cage, sending it down right toward the running Killer Kat. The steel bars embedded themselves into the concrete, trapping the cat boy.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

A flying knife crossed the air, millimeters from her face. She jumped back, but the attack wasn’t targeted at her. The knife flew right into Killer Kat’s chest.

Nocturknight jerked her head to see another Killer Kat standing behind her, grinning. The one in the cage let out a small laughter and vanished, turning into black mist. The knife clanked on the concrete.

“People tend to know that cats have nine lives, but for some reason, you keep assuming that we can only live them one by one,” he said as he pulled another knife to spin around in his hand.

“So that’s your power, huh?” Nocturknight noted. “Making copies of yourself – up to nine clones at a time, I assume.”

“Figuring out my power doesn’t mean you can survive it.” He looked at the two other warlocks. “Here’s the deal. Let me take care of her, then you can have the silver one all to yourself. I’ll help you if you want or I stay out of your way. But let me handle this as one blade user with the other.”

“That’s enough!” Destracta stepped ahead. “You’re under my…”

Scarlet Wind held out his hand.

“No, let him. You obviously have issues with going full out.”

“Because there’s no point going full out!” she stomped. “We’re supposed to…”

The boy gave her a cold look.

“We’re supposed to push them to their very limits, to reveal if they fit the world we are building or not. If we weren’t supposed to use our full power, then the boss would just send someone weaker… or let you do it alone.”

“This is my mission!” Destracta insisted. “So, it is my call!”

“Do you think so? Then feel free to stop us.” He let his hand down but kept staring at the girl. “As I see, the Enchanters are not the only ones here who are being tested.”

Shaking, Destracta balled her fists.

“This is not what I agreed to.”

“You agreed to serve,” Scarlet Wind said simply. “You should be happy that the Sorcerer found you useful despite your obvious weakness, and that you have people who are willing to dirty their hands.”

Nocturknight snarled. She felt tension in her body, in her mind, as a power kept building up, pushing her to fight. She knew if she didn’t get out of here, she’d reach the point where she snaps and wouldn’t be in control anymore, like during training. But she didn’t want to give in just yet.

Yes, she wanted this power, to use it as a tool, a weapon against the Sorcerer, and she went through hell to get it. But it also scared her. Every time she relied on it, it became easier, more natural to slip back into that weird fugue state. Last time she almost didn’t even notice it before it was too late – whenever the memory of Ruthen’s head smacking against the ground and her muscles just moving reflexively to hit them again returned her, she felt the taste of bile in her mouth.

And here she was now, planning to unleash it on her enemies. To use it for her own ends.

Who was she kidding? She’s the only one being used, as always. She knew she couldn’t avoid it. You always get caught, you always drop out of the game eventually. But she was determined to fight with her own strength as long as she could, to buy Ruthen as much time to return and attempt their crazy plan as possible. After all, all that training must amount for something.

Scarlet Wind turned back to Killer Kat, seemingly not paying any more attention to Destracta. “Killer Kat, proceed.”

“Singularity!”

She switched to her blade boomerang, throwing it at the warlock. His body split in two and both copies managed to dodge the attack. One of them stayed in place while the other jumped over Nocturknight, making a somersault. In the middle of the jump, he spawned two more copies in the air.

Killer Kat B landed on the top of the cage, while C and D left and right from Nocturknight, flanking her.

“Excuse me if I’m taking my time with you, but cats are known for playing with their prey,” B taunted.

“You don’t have to convince me that you’re a sadistic bastard, I just watched you kill your own copy. Wasn’t that a bit harsh?”

“We’re not just identical, we are the same,” Killer Kat A said.

“Losing one of us is like cutting a fingernail,” Killer Kat D added.

“You’re not supposed to cut a cat’s claws though,” Nocturknight pointed out. “You really should try to keep your analogies in sync with your gimmick, or it ends up breaking the mood.”

She threw her boomerang, trying to get both C and A with the same attack, but the clones dodged with cat-like reflexes. Meanwhile D jumped at her knife flashing, trying to make use of the opening.

“Singularity!” the boomerang still needed a few more seconds to return than she could afford to wait, so she dismissed it, summoning her sword again. Spinning around, she cut clean through the attacking clone in the air. Her stomach twirled, for a moment expecting blood and guts to spill on the roof, but he just vanished in a poof of black smoke.

Killer Kat B jumped up from the half-cage, trying to surprise her from the air, but Nocturknight simply side-stepped the attack. The clone landed in front of her, swinging his knife. The Enchanter caught the blade in the air, feeling a little tickling as her powers absorbed the cut – but it felt like almost nothing compared to when Scarlet Wind almost impaled her with a spear. She tore the knife out of the surprised warlock’s hand and grabbing his shoulder, smashed him against the cage. She drove her sword through his chest, getting rid of another clone.

“What’s up?” She turned toward the remaining Killer Kats. “Don’t tell me that cloning yourself splits your power in half or something. Poison Rose was a lot more threatening than you are.”

“Don’t get cocky. Cocky people get caught,” she reminded herself. “They still have the upper hand – there are three of them and I’m only fighting one. All that bickering about Destracta not wanting to go all out could be just a ruse to let me drop my guard too.”

The catboys grinned, but instead of two, now there was seven of them.

“The little black mouse getting full of herself, doesn’t she? Time to show her how this game is played.”

They all charged at her at once. Nocturknight pushed away herself from the ground, landing on the highest point nearby, at the top of the half-cage. The Killer Kats surrounded the cage, trying to climb after her, but she easily kicked them back to the ground and even managed to cut down two more clones. It didn’t seem to take much effort to create more, but it satisfied her to see them turn into mist.

“It was dumb to let me have the high ground,” she teased.

But the catboys just laughed in unison.

“The little mouse is in the trap,” one of them said.

“Now Windy.”

Nocturknight realized her mistake a moment too late. Scarlet Wind snapped his fingers, and the cage vanished, letting her fall on the ground, in a ring of bloodthirsty catboy clones.

“Fuck. They managed to trick me after all.”

“You are caught little mouse. Game Over.”

Five Killer Kats brought down their knives on her. They were too close, there were too many of them and they moved way too fast for her to react. Only if she had a moment more to do something, to slip away, to fight back, to run… despair and frustration overwhelmed her to the point where it turned around into nothing, leaving only emptiness and inertia, the certainty that she couldn’t do anything and there was nothing she could ever do.

“Enough,” Destracta growled, swinging her umbrella. The knives bounced back from the air, like they met an invisible barrier.

Nocturknight’s eyes shot open as a shockwave of energy rushed out of her lying body, sending the surprised catboys flying through the air. Vibrating black smoke seemed to hug her body as she raised to her feet. Her mind felt calm and clean, reality split into a myriad of options, none of them weighing more than a feather. Her despair a moment ago seemed distant and childish as now she saw clearly the world as it was: a bowl of strawberries she could pick from freely, or a videogame she could explore any way she liked, without the threat of failure ever weighing her down.

“Why was I even afraid of using this power? Everything feels so much easier now. I hope I can stay like this forever.” Her lips curled into a smile.

She could do anything.

She could have everything.

“That power isn’t coming from an Enchant,” Scarlet Wind noted as the girl’s skin was covered in back markings. “Does she have an Artifact?”

“Who cares?” One of the Killer Kats snarled as he jumped up, his face distorted with anger and bloodlust.

“She’s dead meat either way!”

The clones jumped diagonally in the air, all at once. Their bodies formed a dome above Nocturknight’s head, ready to rain death on her with their hungry blades.

The girl tightened her grip on her sword and stayed in place.

“What’s she planning?” Destracta frowned. She might get one or two of them staying in place, but not all – they’re coming at her from every direction.”

“This Enchant’s power is called Singularity,” Artemis explained to Natasha some time ago. “It is a straightforward spell but quite powerful if you know how to use it. It focuses your power into a single line or point, creating a blade that can cut through anything.”

“That seems… simple.”

“Anything Natasha,” the man smiled. “Anything is an important word, one not to be taken lightly when dealing with magic. You picked that Enchant intuitively, probably because you could feel it resonating with something in you. I believe you’ll achieve great things with it.”

It all seemed so obvious now, all the untapped potential she missed before while focusing the more mundane uses of her power.

The power to cut through anything.

To cut through objects.

To cut through people.

To cut through light.

To cut through worlds.

To cut through energy.

To cut through lies.

To cut through time.

To cut through space.

Her smile widened just a bit as she swung her sword once.

“Möbius Hack”

Four of the five Killer Kats turned to mist in the air, while the fifth fell on the roof, holding his bleeding right arm.

“What… the hell just happened?”

“You killed that copy I trapped before,” Nocturknight said calmly, looking at the remaining catboy. Her black scleras almost made the warlock shiver. “That tells me two things. One, you can’t just snap your clones out of existence like the kid does with the objects he’s creating. If you make a clone, it stays around, unless it’s killed. Two, you really don’t want your clones to get caught, do you? Your power is a security risk, because if only one of you gets captured, he can be pressured to reveal information – information about the Sorcerer, and about what you’re trying to achieve by wreaking havoc on the city.” She grinned, raising her sword. “And I’m really interested in all of that.”

She jumped ahead, crossing the distance between them in a second and grabbed the flabbergasted Killer Kat by the neck. His body immediately split in two and the new copy tried to push Nocturknight away from the other, but all he got for his effort was a sword hilt right into his face, cracking his nose and pushing him to the ground.

Nocturknight held up Killer Kat A before herself with one hand and kept running, building up her momentum. Then she pushed herself away from the roof, aiming for the next closest building.

“She’s got my copy!” Killer Kat B screamed in a distorted voice, blood spilling from his nose. “Stop her before she gets away!”

“What, don’t you want her all to yourself anymore?” Destracta deadpanned.

“She’d be minced meat already if you don’t interrupt me you bitch!”

“My mission, mi rules kitty cat.”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Scarlet Wind declared, snapping his fingers.

Nocturknight was halfway through her next jump with her stunned prisoner when a shadow covered her mid-air. She peeked up to see an enormous tanker truck falling from above, coming from nowhere.

“That little…”

She let go of Killer Kat and spun around in the air, cutting into the tanker just as it was about to crash into her. The vehicle split in two and her nose was filled with the unmistakable smell of gasoline as thick fluid soaked her clothes, hair, skin, and eyes. Blinded, she fell on the rooftop below her just a moment before the remains of the truck crashed into the building as well. Metal grinded on concrete and steel, and all it took was a small sparkle before the top of the skyscraper lit up like a giant torch. Missing decades of maintenance, the abandoned building’s structure gave in and the whole thing came down in flames.

<> 

Matis looked at the locator app to find the fastest way home, but apparently all public transport was cancelled in the Ghost District. It made sense, even though Ruthen put him down pretty far away from the scene, he could hear the noises and feel the slight trembling in the ground as the warlocks and Enchanters were going at it with full force – he really hoped Ruthen would make back in time to help Nocturknight.

For what it meant for Matis himself, he had to take a big walk before he could find a tram or bus that could bring him home.

A scooter rolled into the empty street. He took a step back and looked at the driver who got off the vehicle and removed her helmet. She was immediately familiar, even though Matis didn’t think they have met.

“Hey,” she looked at Matis. “This is not the best place to hang out right now, I hear there’s a warlock attack going on nearby.”

“Then what are you doing here?” he asked.

“That’s… a long story. You’re Matis, right? Flow’s friend. I’m their sister Nora. If you want, I can give you a ride.”

That made sense, now that she mentioned it, Matis recalled seeing her among Flow’s contacts on Herald. Still…

“I… thanks, but I think I’ll be fine.”

She gave him a concerned frown but shrugged.

“If you’re sure,” she said. “Just be careful and try to get home as soon as you can, okay?”

She put her helmet on and prepared to leave, but Matis stopped her.

“Wait. Sorry just… look, I was already kidnapped once today. I just had to make sure before going with you that you wouldn’t push if I said no.”

The girl stopped, lifting the helmet’s visor.

“That’s smart and understandable.”

“Actually, if it’s really not a problem, it would be cool if you could get me out of the Ghost District.”

“Sure thing. I got the feeling that we’re both a bit out of our water.”

<> 

Having lost Killer Kat from her sight and her weapon slipped away too, all Nocturknight could see was a blur of fire and depth. Somehow, panic avoided her, like falling two hundred meters into seemingly certain death was everyday business to her. She spread her arms and legs to stop her body from spinning uncontrollably, then rolled around mid-air to face the fast-approaching ground. The black cloud hugged her like a second long coat, almost looking like black wings sprung from her back.

It was like the world under her split into a web of points and lines, representing all the power that kept it all together: the gravity, dragging her down, the air resistance creating the wind that tore into her clothes, the complex physical and chemical reactions that kept her body and all other living beings working.  She was aware of the electrons coursing through her neurons and the ones marching in the city’s electric grid too. She could feel the incredible power of subatomic bonds that kept the building elements of this world together. All that energy, screaming and clashing. All trying to have its own way, but being thwarted by each other, keeping the world in its designated shape, not more capable of changing than a clock suddenly turning ticking backwards.

And beyond them, superior to them all, there was magic. It was clear as day and night now to Nocturknight, she knew that she was a being of magic, an unlimited source of the energy that could not just defy but dictate the nature of this world. In all her life she was unaware of all that power at her fingertips – she let it disperse and scatter away, together with her fleeting thoughts and silly emotions that gave her nothing but trouble. Most people were the same, unable to use what is rightfully theirs and letting them be thrown left and right by the waves of the world – all because they lacked the focus, the control, the awareness.

Nocturknight landed half-kneeling among the still burning wrecks off the building, her right fist digging deep into the ground. Part of she knew that she’s supposed to be out by now. Even if her Enchant could protect her from a fall like that, it should’ve drained her dry, but all that changed was the dark cloud growing even bigger around her.

She raised up, smiling, as she wiped the pieces of soil from her hand.

“Looks like rules are out of the window now.”

“Nice show you put up there.” From above the smoke Destracta descended to the ground, the tip of her umbrella knocking on the broken concrete. “Don’t you feel like a bit of a hypocrite though? You kids are coming after us because we’re using magic to play by our own rules but look at yourself. You couldn’t deny if you wanted how much you’re enjoying this. Tell me, what makes you, in your head, any better than I am?”

The short girl grinned as she leaned forward, like a big cat preparing to pounce.

“You want me to justify myself? Isn’t that something losers do? You, your friends, your boss – you started this game. Winning it is all the justification I need. Singularity!” She summoned her bladed staff, spinning it skillfully in one hand.

“Friends…” Destracta thought cynically, but instead of letting her disdains show, she smiled.

“This is the part when you cheesily threaten to kill me if I don’t give up?” she teased.

“Kill? Don’t be ridiculous, I need answers from you. I will leave just enough of you to make it talk.”

With that, she jumped at the warlock.

“Hm, she doesn’t seem to be bluffing.” Destracta mused. “Did she just step up her game, or is she really that far gone? Maybe it would be best to put her down before she becomes an even bigger threat that she is now. The last thing this city needs is another Windy. Still, why should be I the one playing executor?”

She swung her umbrella, throwing Nocturknight to a nearby building with a telekinetic blast. But instead of thumping with her back at the wall helplessly, she crouched down on the vertical surface and pushed herself away immediately, jumping over Destracta. The warlock spun her umbrella, sending debris at her at the speed of fired bullets, but the Enchanter managed to cut in half or batt away all of them with her staff before bringing the blade down on her.

Destracta held up her umbrella in a parrying position, but she stopped the blade telekinetically before it could cut into the material.

“Seriously kid, you have no idea what you’re playing with.” She growled, keeping the blade trapped by the power of her mind.

“I know that you’re playing with your life if you don’t give me answers. Who is the Sorcerer and where can I find him‽”

Destracta burst out laughing.

“Do you really think you stand a chance if you go after him? Girl, this might be a game to you, but then he’s the Game Master. Maybe you’re better off if I kill you know, I’ll sure be gentler than he would.”

“Well then,” Nocturknight snarled. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She kicked at Destracta’s stomach, breaking her focus enough to gain back control over her blade. The warlock sent a telekinetic burst at her immediately and flew into the air to keep some distance from her opponent’s short-range attacks.

“I’m not sure how this will end for you, but worst-case scenario, I’ll just interrogate your friends I guess.” Nocturknight spun her staff. “Möbius Hack!”

With a rumble, the four nearest building around her separated from the ground, slowly tilting toward the floating Destracta.

“That was your plan?” She held up her umbrella, stopping all four mid-air. “I collapse buildings for breakfast, you won’t woo me with some more collateral damage!”

“You’re exactly where I need you!” Nocturknight said, preparing another strike.

Destracta gulped. Could she just spam Möbius Hack? An invisible, super-fast, super accurate multitarget attack with no limit – that seemed a bit too much to handle even for her.

Nocturknight jumped into the air, toward Destracta. The warlock felt a wave of relief, she couldn’t just use that attack all the time after all, at least not without a short break. Waving her umbrella, Destracta sent the four houses flying toward Nocturknight. She landed at the side of one of the buildings and swiftly ran up on it diagonally. Then cut another one in half with her staff and ducked at the last moment before the third would tear her head off. The fourth giant projectile missed wildly. But it all bought the time Destracta needed. She stretched out her will, grabbing at the staff telekinetically, and did the most intuitive thing, pulled it toward her empty palm.

It was easy – no blade, no cutting. Destracta pulled on the staff strongly – and Nocturknight clung to it strongly as well. By the time the warlock realized her mistake, the hero was hanging in the air right in front of her.

“Thanks for the lift,” she grinned. “Now say goodbye! Singularity!”

Destracta’s power failed as the object it tried to control vanished from existence, just to give place to a long sword she had no time to grab onto as Nocturknight swung it at her.

It cut right through her umbrella, and it fell into two pieces.

“Wait,” Nocturknight’s eyes widened as she started to fall. “How are you still in the air?”

She landed in a crouching position, growling.

“A bait? I was sure I got your Artifact but guess that umbrella wasn’t it.”

“My… Artifact?” Destracta asked dumbfounded. For a split second she was sure the girl would cut her in two pieces, but here she was, alive and well. “You mean… my pledge?” She couldn’t help but laughed. It was a clear, honest sound, composed of mostly relief, but after a few seconds she regained control of herself. “Stupid, do you really think I would keep the source of my power on myself? Like a big target, ‘shoot here to completely screw me over’ written on it?”

“What? But if it’s not with you then how…?”

“That’s what sets a true warlock apart, little girl,” she waved her index finger playfully. “Our bond to our Artifact is strong enough to channel its powers from afar. We don’t need to carry them, like some amateurs.”

“Aren’t you tired of babbling just yet?”

A red portal opened, and Scarlet Wind and a Killer Kat hopped on the ground. The catboy looked at Destracta with an annoyed frown.

“God, I wonder if I ever see the day when you won’t spill strategical information to the enemy, just for the sake of conversation.”

“What’s the point of being a villain if I can’t enjoy playing the tropes?” She shrugged. “Or you want me to be a sour little lemon like Windy here?”

“He might be not much fun to be around, but at least he gets shit done,” Kat countered.

“This has been going long enough,” the youngest warlock said. Seemingly he didn’t care for the insults thrown at him. “Your job was to push her to the point where she’d have to choose to either apply lethal force or perish herself, but you both just let her play around with you instead. Everything so far was pointless.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Killer Kat objected. “We were told we’d be fighting some baby Enchanter, the boss said nothing about she’s being able to do anything like this.”

“What we should know in advance and what not is only for the Sorcerer to decide,” they boy said. “We just have to follow his orders. Time to wrap this up.”

“You know what?” Destracta raised her hands. “Be my guests.”

A large steel beam floated to her, and she sat on it with crossed legs.

“I told the boss clearly that I’m in this for the fun and slaughtering children is not my kind of fun. Go, have at it if you want that kind of mess on your hands, I’m done for the day.”

“Very well,” Scarlet Wind said. “If you refuse to follow order then dealing with you is beyond my jurisdiction. Killer Kat, get ready.”

The catboy split into five copies. One stayed behind, while four of them stepped ahead, grinning.

“This trick again?” Nocturknight growled. “I’ll just make shashlik of your clones again, haven’t you learned anything?”

“Last time we didn’t take you seriously and you caught us off-guard,” one of them said.

“This time we’ll make full use of the help of our dear friend and colleague.”

“Your turn Windy!”

The boy snapped his fingers and four metallic raptors with glowing red eyes appeared from thin air next to the Kat clones. They quickly jumped at the back of their new mounts. Next, Scarlet Wind summoned giant sabers to equip the clones, then they all charged at Nocturknight on their robot dinos. They shouted with joy and bloodlust.

She ducked down and quickly cut the legs of the fastest roboraptor. It collapsed to the ground and its rider flew off right into a nearby wall with such speed that he turned into smoke right away. She then jumped at the back of the next one and pushed the surprised Killer Kat down, under the feet of another raptor.

Nocturknight looked for a way to take control of the machine, but quickly realized that it was hopeless. They weren’t controlled by the rider but Scarlet Wind himself. The one carrying her stopped immediately, making her a perfect target for the two remaining clones closing on her from both sides.

“I just have to time it right.”

Two heavy blades swung, and she jumped high from the raptor’s back, made a somersault and landed on the ground. The blades slashed through the empty air, cutting into the two over-eager clones. They vanished.

Destracta burst out laughing.

“Nice going Kitty Kat! She could fool you with a laser pointer if she wanted.”

The warlock in black growled.

“Give me a moment and I summon up an army. She can’t keep up with our attacks forever!”

“No need, just make sure you stay out of the way,” Scarlet Wind said.

The remaining three raptors all turned toward Nocturknight.

“You’d rather have your dumb robots do a warlock’s job?” Kat asked with hurt pride.

“She only took down one robot, but she took down countless you,” Destracta pointed out with glee.

“Either join the fight or shut up!” Killer Kat snapped at her.

“No way, I have way too much fun watching this. All I wish that I brought some snack from the café.”

Nocturknight thought as she turned around, trying to keep all the robots in her sight. As the three raptors moved in perfect sync to attack, she noticed her best chance of defending – then quickly realized her mistake.

“No. I already fell for that bait once, I won’t do it again… but would he believe if I pretended I did?”

She grabbed the fourth, dismembered raptor’s body from the ground and spun it around by its tail, ready to knock the attacking machines away with it. As the dinos came in, metal fangs barred, Scarlet Wind snapped and the spinning robot body vanished from Nocturknight’s hand, leaving her defenseless. She smiled and jumped.

“Never get yourself into a position where you can’t get away. That’s how you play the loser’s game.”

Seeing that she dedicated herself to defending with a rather heavy object, Scarlet Wind sent the raptors in from an angle that didn’t anticipate quick movement in the last moment. Nocturknight landed on one of the beasts’ head and with a flash of her sword beheaded another. The one she was riding now quickly spun around, offering her as easy prey to the other to chomp on. But she managed to slip onto that raptor’s head just as its teeth sank into the nape of the previous one, taking it out. She raised her sword high and skewered the remaining robot’s head from above. The bright red lights went out in its eye sockets as it collapsed to the ground.

“Not that easy as it looks, huh?” Killer Kat glared at Scarlet Wind.

“I can’t run away to gain time, he will just stop me like last time.” Nocturknight thought, trying to find the best strategy. “I can’t neutralize their powers, they don’t have their Artifacts on them. Scarlet Wind is the most obvious threat – his power doesn’t seem to have any easily exploitable limits and he’s dedicated to go through with his orders at all costs. I can’t stall much longer, unless I find a way to take him out.”

She jumped down from the pile of defeated robots and dashed toward the two warlocks.

“Killer Kat?” Scarlet Wind spoke calmly.

“Huh?”

“Get out of here.”

With that, he stepped back and vanished in a portal.

A second later a black sword came down in the same place, cutting a deep gash into the ground just next to the catboy. He screeched and split into three copies, all fleeing to different directions. Nocturknight cared not for them and spun around just in time – as she anticipated, another portal opened right behind her, raining metal arrows at the hero. She spun her sword, deflecting all of them.

“I didn’t forget your second power this time!” She shouted and turned around, expecting another portal from another direction.

Instead, the first one stayed open, and a black, spiked chain shot through it, wrapping around her weapon holding hand. She felt the spikes pushing against her skin through her coat as something tried to pull her toward the portal, but she felt no pain.

Maybe Scarlet Wind prepared a trap at the other side. Or maybe he’d just pull her half-way through then close the portal, cutting her into pieces. It didn’t matter. She won’t be dragged around on a damn chain by someone who lucked out and happened to be stronger than her. She planted her feet firmly and grabbed the chain, feeling the spikes scratching the scars on her palm. She pulled the chain with all she got.

After a second, holding the other end of the chain, a slightly surprised looking Scarlet Wind fell out of the portal to the ground. The portal closed.

Nocturknight held the her sword’s edge at the neck of the boy, slightly touching the skin.

“Don’t move. Or I dice you.”

He looked her over, then the surprise on his face turned back into his usual stolidity.

“Fine. Then do it.”

A scarlet portal appeared on the ground, starting to swallow the boy’s body.

Nocturknight’s looked at him getting away, as time seemed to slow down in her head. She pulled the sword back from his neck.

Then, before he could vanish, she took momentum and swung the blade down.

A silver scarf wrapped around her waist, pulling her away before the attack connected.

Scarlet Wind vanished and she found herself at Ruthen’s side.

“What are you doing‽” she screamed, tearing off the scarf. “I almost had him!”

“Look at me!”

They firmly put both of their hands at her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. She realized Ruthen must have stood on tiptoes because now they appeared to be roughly the same height as she was.

“Hands off!” she commanded, pushing them away. “I did just fine without you!”

“Yes, you did,” they said. They let off her shoulders as she asked, but they didn’t step away from her. “You held them off and bought enough time for me to get back. You were amazing. But you have to snap out of this thing now. Please, let me help you.”

Nocturknight just stared at them for a moment, like she was trying to recognize the warm brown eyes under the silver locks and the mask. Then, still holding her sword, she put both hands on her head. Growling, she fell on her knees.

The vibrating black mist went haywire around them, like it turned into a mini tornado. Slowly, the black markings separated from her body and raised into the air around her, like a tattoo collection came to life. Panting heavily, like she was struggling with something, eventually Nocturknight let out a scream. The black marks glowed with white light and vanished, washing the black mist away. She looked up weakly, her eyes normal again.

“Hey, you’re back,” Ruthen smiled. They knelt to her. “Are you all right?”

The girl didn’t answer.

“I almost killed him.”

“Hey…” Ruthen said, now with a bit more worry and uncertainty.

“I almost killed someone.

“He’s not a monster from another dimension. Not a creepy mirror thing came to life.

“He’s a human, like me. A child. And I wanted to chop his head off.

“I knew what I was doing. I was aware of everything. I remember making the decision.

“He was at my mercy. In my power. And I decided it was better to kill him off than let him out of my control again.”

“Nocturknight?”

She finally looked up, her face sickly pale under her mask.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“I used to know what kind of person I am, right?

“I’m a rat.

“A pest, living in the shadows, feeding on whatever I can get.

“The world doesn’t need me, and I don’t like the world, but I’m stuck here.

“All I got is my life, so until I lose that too I can take everything else I need.

“That’s how I always was.

“But if it was different… if I wasn’t always so weak…

Beggars don’t become knights if you give them a blade. Poor people who arm themselves and attack others are called thieves and murderers.

“This is the person power turns me into?”

And I’m sure that they knew way sooner than I did…

…that I am a murderer.

“Me neither,” Ruthen said quietly. “But I’ll help you figure it out. I’m sorry I left you alone. But I’m here now.”

Scarlet Wind stepped out of yet another portal. He was wiping his neck with a white handkerchief, cleaning a tiny trail of blood where Nocturknight’s blade scratched his skin.

“That should be conclusive enough. We can retreat now.”

“What‽” one of the Killer Kats raised his hand from behind a pile of flaming debris. “After all this trouble won’t we even destroy them? We didn’t even fight the scarf-slinging one!”

“Think a little,” the boy looked at him. “If we wanted them dead, there was a billion simpler ways to go about it.”

Ruthen balled their fists.

“They didn’t want us dead? Makes sense, they know our identities, they could ambush us any time, so why use Matis and set up a trap like this? Just what the Sorcerer is really after?”

“We fulfilled our orders,” Scarlet Wind continued. “We’re leaving.”

With that, he opened another portal and turned to leave, expecting his comrades to follow without further questions.

“Just wait a minute!” Nocturknight jumped up. She seemed to wobble on her feet and her hands were shaking but she stood her ground. “Maybe you got whatever you wanted, but we still have questions.”

“Your questions are irrelevant,” Scarlet Wind said without turning around. “You will be given further information when the Sorcerer sees it fit, not before that. We all got our roles, and yours is done today.”

“Are you really expecting us to wait for the guy we’re fighting against to reach out to us?” the girl snarled. “We told him already, we’re not playing his side.”

“There are no ‘sides’ for you in this battle. You’re either useful or not. You have no power to defy him – you don’t even have the strength to defy us.” He finally turned around and looked Nocturknight in the eyes. “At least not without using that power again. That’s the road you’re going to go down?”

“Ruthen, are you ready?” the girl whispered.

“You sure you want to continue like this?”

She looked at them, her eyes radiating stubborn dedication.

“I went through all of this so we could try this crazy plan of yours. I’m sure as hell not going to turn back now. You said you have that pin figured out, right?”

“Yes, it should work all right this time.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Destracta frowned.

“Then do it.” Nocturknight said.

Ruthen nodded, focusing on the Enchant hiding beneath their scarf.

“Trance!”

Then everything turned upside down.

<> 

It felt like gravity flipped and they all fell into the sky beneath them. The Ghost District vanished and Ruthen suddenly landed on something flat and solid. They found themself standing on a tall stone pillar, surrounded with white mist. They couldn’t see the bottom of the pillar, but they heard the breaking of waves far below, like they were standing above the ocean.

Around Ruthen, silhouettes of other people could be seen through the mist. Nocturknight, Destracta, Killer Kat and Scarlet Wind all stood on their own pillars, looking around with varying degrees of confusion.

“What was that?” Killer Kat demanded, staring down from his pillar. “Where did you bring us?”

“This is nowhere,” Scarlet Wind said, quickly assessing the situation. “I know that Enchant, we are in a lucid dream together.”

“Good, you’re catching up quickly,” Nocturknight suddenly seemed much more confident than a few moments ago, standing in the middle of her own pillar, crossing her arms. “In case you didn’t know, here are the rules: you can’t hurt us. We can’t hurt you. And none of us are leaving until we… or more like them…” she pointed at Ruthen with her thumb. “… don’t release us from the dream. Now, ready for some chit-chat?”

“We just want to know more about the Sorcerer,” Ruthen raised their hands. “Why does he target innocent people, and why do you help him? From what we know he might not be even human. Our sources say he had manipulated people for hundreds of years. Why do you trust someone like him?”

“What?” Destracta blinked. “Who told you that?”

“That’s stupid, he’s definitely human,” Killer Kat shook his head.

“Why are you so sure?” Destracta looked at him. “All he ever let us see is his shadow.”

“Shut your trap! You’re giving them information, exactly what they want!”

“You just did the same,” the girl rolled her eyes.

“These are the elite villains terrorizing Pollapolis?” Ruthen thought in disbelief. “It’s like they’re completely unable to cooperate. What use the Sorcerer have from collecting a bunch of loose cannons like them?”

“It’s not that complicated,” Killer Kat growled. “If the boss wasn’t one of us that would make him a mistfolk, right? He told us that the misties robbed us humans from our magic centuries ago, so he’ll help us gain it back to defeat them. If he was one of them, why would he tell us not to trust them? It makes no sense.”

“That was the story he used to buy you?” Nocturknight gave him a half-amused, half-disappointed look. “Sounds like something he’d tell you to get your debit card number.”

“Shut up, traitor!” the catboy raised his fist. “It wasn’t us who sold ourselves for the mistfolk to fight against our own kind’s redemption. Losers like you have no right to criticize us!”

“Even if the Artifacts weren’t as dangerous as they are, all you used them for is to hurt and threaten others, while we were cleaning up your mess and helping others,” Ruthen said. “Arguing that we’re actually the bad guys here won’t do much good to you.”

“This whole encounter doesn’t do anything good to anyone,” Scarlet Wind said, resting his hands in his pockets. “If we could reveal anything that would threaten the Sorcerer, he wouldn’t let us know the information the first place. You’re wasting time, jumping at shadows.”

“Nice logic, if you assume he’d never make a mistake,” Nocturknight said. “As you might pieced together already, I don’t have such a high opinion of him as you do. If you want to be free, tell us everything you can. How he approached you, what did he offer, what things he asked for. There must be a clue we can follow.”

Destracta groaned.

“Are you serious? Do you have any idea how long would that take? I don’t have time for this idiocy.”

“Didn’t you think that volunteering to be a supervillain would get you into some inconvenient situation eventually?” Nocturknight countered.

The older girl smirked.

“You know, I’d say I’m starting to like you, but you also annoy me to hell. I can’t accidentally kill you here, right? Then how about this?”

She raised her hand. The rumble of the ocean below grew stronger, and a giant pillar of water appeared from under the mist.

“Hey, you can still use your power!” Killer Kat grinned, then split into two. “And so can I!”

“Of course,” Scarlet Wind confirmed. “We can’t die or kill since none of this is real, and the Enchant magic prevents us from waking up. None of that means that we can’t still use our own magic.”

“Great!” Destracta cheered. “So you want to keep us here until we grow bored and spill the beans? How about we keep beating you up until you have enough and release us?”

She waved her hand sending the giant tidal wave at the Enchanters. The two heroes jumped from pillar to pillar, trying to avoid the worst of it, but Ruthen suddenly felt their feet slipping on the wet stone. They missed their step, lost their balance, and fell into the invisible dept.

“Ruthen!” Nocturknight called out, water dripping from her hat into her face.

Suddenly, Ruthen fell from above, landing on a nearby pillar with a groan.

“Are you okay?”

The silver haired hero spit out a mouthful of water and took a starfish from their hair.

“Yeah, only my pride got hurt,” they joked. “For a moment I really felt like I was drowning though.”

“You know, that was a lot of water,” Destracta said with a smile. “Usually moving such a big mass takes at least some effort, but just now it felt like it was all weightless.”

“Are you saying that being in a dream means that the normal limits of our powers don’t apply?” Killer Kat grinned. “Let’s see!”

Suddenly Killer Kat clones appeared on all the empty pillars around them, as long as they could see.

“Okay, you were right,” Ruthen said. “Using this pin was a bad idea.”

“I’ll make sure to rub it under your nose later,” Nocturknight said, summoning her sword. “Let’s go!”

Killer Kats rained on them with cheerful screams and flashing knives, while tentacles formed from water reached after them from below, trying to trip them or pull them underwater. The heroes threw one clone into the depth after another, but they never seemed to run out of reinforcement, and every once in a while, either Ruthen or Nocturknight messed up and ended up pushed into the water.

“I bet I can get their death-count to sixty per minute,” one of the Kats grinned, watching his clones’ assault on the two teenagers.

“Amateur!” Destracta laughed. “Try thirty per second!”

“You’re so full of it, they don’t even respawn that fast,” the catboy complained. “Hey Windy, won’t you join? This is a lot of fun.”

“Ridiculous,” the boy sighed. “But if by any chance it helps us get away from here any faster…”

A giant metallic dragon descended from above, big enough to block out the whole sky. It had glowing scarlet eyes and released a column of red flames from its mouth, incinerating the two Enchanters and at least hundred Killer Kat clones as well.

“Hey, watch out!” one of the remaining Kats shouted.

“Calm down, being expendable is your only good quality,” Destracta teased him.

This time Ruthen and Nocturknight landed next to each other in one of the burnt pillars.

“Dammit,” Nocturknight swore under her breath. They both came back to life without a scratch, but that didn’t make the experience of being burnt alive any more pleasant. “We came so far to learn something useful, I don’t want to just give up.”

“Hey, did I ever tell you how much I suck at videogames?” Ruthen asked. The girl gave them a quizzical look. That made Ruthen chuckle. “What I mean I’m kinda used to having my ass kicked and dying a lot on every minor obstacle. So, if you want to press on, let’s go. They’re bound to get tired of it at some point, and then we win.”

“All right,” the girl nodded. “But I’d rather fight back than just be thrown around like a ball. They might can make our time here harder, but so can we do to them. Let’s start with that dragon!”

She jumped toward the sky, readying her blade. Logically the thing was way to big to suffer significant damage from a sword, even if it could easily cut through its steel skin. It was a problem of proportions, a mosquito with a very sharp stinger was still just a mosquito. But Nocturknight figured that if the warlocks could just go and ignore the limits of their own powers then so could she.

The dragon spun around and slapped her out of the air with its metal tail.

“Of course. I counted on it being at least somewhat slowed down due to its size, but why would something like that matter in a dream. God, maybe it’s actually nice to have some rules and common sense to rely on during a fight.”

She crashed into one of the stone pillars. It crumbled under the force of the impact and the girl vanished below with the debris. In a moment she reappeared, landing on an undamaged pillar, just to be immediately ambushed by a giant water-hand reaching out from the ocean. Nocturknight cut through it, turning it into a splash of water for a moment, but it quickly reformed while two others joined it. Meanwhile, Ruthen managed to rope op half a dozen Killer Kat clones jumping at them and throw them down from the pillar, but more kept coming from all directions, laughing at Ruthen’s hopeless efforts to reduce their numbers.

“Do I really do good by keep going?” they asked themself, gritting their teeth. “I want to win. I want to stop the Sorcerer and want to help Natasha find her friend. But shouldn’t I stop her from going overboard and hurt herself?” They looked at the girl for a moment, basically screaming as she cut down one enemy after another. Her look seemed foggy, like she was losing track of what was happening around her. “She told me not to make decisions in her place, but sometimes I have to make judgement calls, right? Like when I gave the coin to Scarlet Wind. But… if we always give in when the warlocks put us under pressure then we’ll never make a difference. God, I wish I knew what’s the right thing to do!”

Scarlet Wind’s dragon opened its mouth, charging up another flame attack.

“And to save the day, here comes…”

A dark gray spot fell from the sky, landing at the top of the dragon’s head.

“Narwia?” Ruthen’s eyes widened.

“That’s right! You get a cookie!”

She stabbed both of her sabers into the metal skull and jumped to the side, opening a large hole in the dragon’s jaw just as it was about to breath fire. The escaping flames engulfed the dragon’s head, then continued to spread to its body until the blazing wreck fell into the ocean, crushing countless stone pillars in its way. Narwia landed on an empty pillar, watching her hand’s work with satisfaction.

“What are you doing here? I thought the Mist Law…”

“That’s for the Human World, it says nothing about dreams,” the felimorph grinned. “That reminds me…” She took her thumb and index finger into her mouth, whistling loudly. “Hey boys, I found the right dream!”

Giant crystal spikes rained down, decimating Killer Kat’s clones until only one catboy left. Nox jumped down on the same pillar he was standing on.

“Mist scum!” the warlock balled his fists. “I’ll show you…”

“No, you won’t,” the large man said calmly, grabbing the other’s shoulder before he could move. In a moment, Killer Kat’s body was covered in a sparkling crystal shell, only his head stuck out at the top. He fell on the ground, unable to move.

“There, that should help you calm down a bit.”

Artemis in the meantime landed on a pillar next to Destracta’s, holding a whip and a short sword. He swung the whip toward the girl.

“Sorry, I’m not into that stuff,” she held up her hand. But the whip still wrapped around her, tying her up tightly. “Hey, why can’t I TK that thing?”

“Sorry dear, my weapons only obey to me.”

“That won’t help you with this!”

A giant tidal wave rose, ready to swallow the shopkeeper, but Narwia jumped there in the speed of light, cutting the mass of water in half. It went around the pillars harmlessly.

“You guys might feel like big shots in the Human World, but we got a few hundred years of practice on you when it comes to magic,” Narwia gloated. “Just to make it perfectly clear, the only reason we didn’t take you down ages ago is that we can’t act in your world. But if you really think you can declare a war on the Mist World, boy, got I news for ya. I don’t know what your boss’ real plan is, but he clearly sees you as nothing more than cheap cannon folder. Maybe give some thought to that before following his orders so blindly.”

Destracta growled and turned away.

“Let’s call it a day, shall we?” Artemis turned toward Scarlet Wind.

“Agree,” the boy said, before allowing himself a slight, annoyed frown. “We were about to leave when your people decided they want another round.”

“Let me remind you that you’re the provokers in this situation,” Nox said. “You can’t really blame them for trying to take the initiative and preventing you from causing more trouble.”

“So that’s it?” Nocturknight asked with shaking hands. “After all that we’ll just let them leave? We have nothing to use against them the next time!”

“Believe me, I understand how you feel,” Artemis said gently. “But you can’t win a war in a day. Look at it like this. Today you proved that the two of you can fight the warlocks on equal terms. That means you can protect people from them until the day you can defeat them for good. That’s not something to scoff at, right?”

“And besides, while technically you did die a bunch of times, it was all just a dream,” Narwia said cheerfully. “So I’m willing to consider you having passed my test. That means your real training starts from tomorrow. Now let’s bounce already! I must feed my cat, or he gets pissy. Like literally, I don’t want to buy new shoes again.”

She spun her sabers, opening a portal in the air.

“Wait just a minute!” Destracta objected. “If you leave what happens to us?”

“You wake up,” Nox said. “We already recovered our allies, but your bodies are still in the Ghost District where you fell asleep.”

With that, the three mistfolk and the two reluctant teens crossed the portal.

<> 

“If they were just lying there with us, sleeping, couldn’t you take them too?” Flow asked quietly, sitting in the salon of Artemis’ shop. “To lock them up or something?”

They felt gloomy, unable to see the day as the victory Artemis claimed it was. They had no idea how Natasha must feel – she was awfully quiet since they retreated.

“Sorry, that wouldn’t work,” Nox said, opening two cardboard boxes, revealing steaming hot pizza inside. “Unless they wear an Enchant by their own will or come to one of the intersections between worlds like this shop, we can’t interact with normal people. That is, we can’t go around and kidnap them in their sleep. Even if they’re dangerous villains, the Mist Law still protects the warlocks too.”

“Unless they wear an Enchant… so if we give Enchants to people we trust, like we did with Matis, they could train with us too? If the Sorcerer really prepares for some kind of war, we might have to consider building a dedicated team of temporal wielders instead of one-time jump-ins. But do I really want to drag more of my friends into this?”

“Besides, the Law is also there to protect us. Even if we found a way to bring the warlocks to the Mist World, the Sorcerer could take advantage of that to come here too. We might deal the warlocks easily, but he could be an entirely different case, so we must consider carefully if we really want to bring the battle to our doorstep. I know it sounds selfish, but the Mist World is your last refuge too if he decides to go after you with full force.”

“Pizza?” Natasha said, speaking the first time after the battle. She seemed somewhat dizzy, and Flow really wasn’t sure if she was ready for everything they had to discuss. But they had a hunch that if they asked, she would just wave them off. “What about with the usual tea and cookies?”

“Boooring!” Narwia puffed, taking a large slice, and digging in without waiting for the others.

“After the day you had, we felt like you could use something more filling,” Artemis joined the table. “And besides we wanted to think of Narwia too.”

“Damm right. If you invite me over, you better at least put some meat on the table.”

Flow stared at the pizza she ordered, topped with ham, salami, bacon, and a thick layer of molten cheese.

“How does that work?” they asked. “Isn’t cheese usually bad for cats?”

“Bingo, but let me tell you a secret,” she said, munching on her food. “I’m not a cat.”

“I see. You’re not a cat… except when you are?”

“You catch up quickly. It will be fun to work with you.” She turned to Natasha. “You on the other hand…”

The girl gave her an empty look.

“Do you have a problem with me?”

“It’s not you Natasha,” Artemis assured her. “But before we can proceed with your training we have to talk about the Nightmare’s Shadow.”

“So that’s what it’s called.” the girl said. “I had a feeling that you knew more about it.”

“We had to check our facts too, but after today it’s pretty obvious that your soul was indeed infused with that power.”

The girl blinked and looked down at the table with a hard to decipher expression.

“My soul, huh?”

Knowing that souls were real things, real beyond some vague philosophical reasoning and they could be tempered with was just part of the things she had to put up with being an Enchanter. But it was slightly different knowing that it was her soul someone messed with this time. What did that even mean? Did she fundamentally become a different person because of that?

“Okay, well, what do you know exactly?” Flow asked. “All Emaril could tell us seemed like gossips and vague myths.”

“That’s ironic, but not entirely surprising.” Artemis said. “At its golden age, the Order of the Enchanters wasn’t just guardians of law and people, but also knowledge. Much of that knowledge was lost to both humans and the dreamfolk when the two worlds drifted apart, but we still have copies of the ancient archives. Nox?”

The man brought a large, ornate tome to the table where it made for a comical view sitting next to the pizza boxes and Artemis’ tea set.

“This one story goes back way before the Order though, so there are parts that even we can only speculate about.” Nox said, opening the book somewhere in the middle. Flow wondered if he has memorized the whole index. “But we know that it all started several thousand years ago, well before the humans and the dreamfolk first met. Back when the Prime God Nightmare decided to pay a visit to our reality.”

Flow looked down at the book, seeing that both pages was covered in a large illustration. It looked like black smoke, or maybe black flames, with eight eyes drawn in the center. They were differently sized: the two largest made up a normal pair of eyes, with one smaller above, and two even smaller below both. They immediately remembered the decoration on the Spear.

“Sounds like a cheery fellow.”

“Prime God?” Natasha scoffed. “Being a regular god sounded too modest for the guy or what?”

“There are several gods,” Artemis said, turning some pages in the book to another illustration.

“They’re usually residing in their Divine Domains in the Astra, looking over the souls of the departed by…”

“Sorry,” Natasha interrupted. “It’s not like I’m not interested but I’m not sure that this is the day I want to learn what’s beyond the Big Curtain. Can we cut to the part that concerns me?”

“Of course,” Artemis said. “To put it simply, gods and other Celestials’ job is to uphold the laws of reality. Prime Gods are different – they make the laws.”

“They are the big letter Gods.” Nox added. “They can do anything.”

Flow shuddered at the implications.

“Usually there’s one Prime God per reality, each looking out for the world they created,” Artemis continued. “But from what we know about him, Nightmare is kind of an outlier. He likes to travel across realities and mess around with other God’s creations.”

“And they’re just… okay with that?” Flow asked, trying to get their head around the whole thing. “If he’s not the big letter God of our world, then who is that?”

“We don’t know much about the deity responsible for the creation of this reality.” Nox said. “They’re probably more of a reclusive creative type, letting their subordinates take care of most things, but honestly your guess is as good as mine.”

He turned to another picture, this one having the eyes in a smaller size in the middle, surrounded by several objects. Flow saw a spear, a sword, a pair of gauntlets, a hammer, a shield, a cloak, and an axe, all decorated with the symbol of the eight eyes.

“His reasons or motivations are unknown, during his visit Nightmare left several armaments scattered across the Dreamlands. It’s not the weapons are however that are important. They just serve as containers to the power we call Nightmare’s Shadow after its creator. Once the weapon is touched by someone this power deems worthy, it clings to their soul instead, changing that person’s connection to magic and reality itself.”

“But what does that mean? What this thing is doing to me?” Natasha asked, growing impatient with all the riddles. “Does it try to control me?”

She thought of the moment when she swung at the lying Scarlet Wind. Her instincts told her she was in control – in fact, back then she felt more in control than any time in her life before. But maybe that was the trick to it. If you want to manipulate someone, make them feel like they call the shots, right? Maybe it wasn’t her after all, not really…

“No, not really,” Artemis said. “To understand how Nightmare’s Shadow works, first you must understand that all the souls in the Cosmos are basically equal. Not just mortal souls – Celestials and even Prime Gods have souls that essentially work the same. They’re like ethereal perpeetum mobiles, constantly generating essence, the basic energy fueling both life and magic. Each soul generates the same amount of essence at the same speed – what differs from person to person is the ability to focus and control it, which is the base of casting any magic. This skill can be honed throughout several reincarnation cycles and is what we refer to as a person’s ‘glow’.”

“The usual way to strengthen one’s glow is through self-inspection, by developing a better awareness and thus control over one’s emotions and impulsive thoughts – which are how our conscious minds experience the natural flows of our essence,” Nox said.

“That, and also kicking lots of asses using magic,” Narwia added. “I always preferred the second approach if you wondered.”

“Yes, we know,” Nox sighed. “However, Nightmare’s Shadow offers a rather different path to those it chooses.”

“It gives a glimpse of the perspective of a truly omnipotent being,” Artemis said. “This changes how the user experiences their objective and subjective reality, by creating a distance between them and what they deemed important before.”

“Nothing feels real anymore,” Natasha said, her eyes lost in the distance. Flow looked at her with concern.

“Exactly. Usually, a certain amount of emotional and mental pressure helps people to perform better. You become more aware, more focused when you feel the stakes, that’s how Enchant magic works too. It always kicks in when you’re in danger or under pressure. But if your brain is stuck in that high alert state it becomes a hindrance. You can’t act from the fear of failure, no matter how low the stakes are.”

“Yeah, guess I know that feeling,” Flow said, folding their pant legs between their fingers.

“There’s another state of the mind that could be described as the exact opposite of this – when you can’t perceive the stakes of the situation at all. This removes all your mental blocks and lets you act on your best abilities without doubt or hesitation – or also could kill your motivation to do anything at all. At the peak of the first state, you’re driven by the feeling of I must, while in the height of the second the mind is dominated by I can. Most people have a unique range on that spectrum that they keep swing back and forth during their lives, always searching for the ideal point that lets them keep going, relax, and enjoy their life. Nightmare’s Shadow pushes your mind into the absolute state of can without any of the must. This, incidentally, provides an extreme amount of control over your essence.”

“There’s a history of people trying to learn to see ‘the bigger picture’ – that is, to see themselves as they are, a small part of an unfathomably large universe and thus achieve mastery over essence by leaving their earthly callings behind. Those mortals who succeed are able to ascend to the level of Celestials, becoming saints and divine emissaries. But that path starts with letting go of your personal grudges and desires. The Shadow rather bends the universe around you, showing it as an extension of you, not the other way around.”

“Yeah, that’s how it felt,” Natasha said staring at her hands. “Then it was all me, huh? The power just made me able to hurt others, but it was me who decided to do it.”

“You shouldn’t go too hard on yourself because of it,” Nox said. “At the end, nothing terrible happened. All of us have violent impulses – Narwia here could tell you about it,” he turned to the felimorph who snorted with a full mouth.

“In contrast to what your people tend to believe about them, souls don’t have a moral dimension.” Artemis said. “They keep you alive but it’s ultimately up to you what to do with your life. In a way, Nightmare’s Shadow works like that too. I know it can be very overwhelming but what’s important is that you can learn to control it.”

“But how‽” the girl snapped, throwing her hands in the air. “During today’s training session it took me over too – and I almost seriously injured Flow! Whenever I fight or use an Enchant it appears in the back of my head, trying to push me over the edge, and every time it becomes more intense and it’s much harder to resist or to come back. How am I supposed to train if pushing myself runs on the risk of driving me into a frenzy?”

Artemis exchanged a look with Nox.

“There’s a way to make it easier – to help you contain the Shadow until you learn how to keep it under control by yourself. But it takes a tough decision, and from what I know about you, I must be honest, it might be especially hard for you.”

“What is it?”

Nox put a small wooden box on the table and opened it, revealing a transparent white ring.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Narwia grinned.

“Aren’t Artifacts too dangerous to use?”

“It’s not an Artifact but a mistfolk construction. It works like a buffer that absorbs the essence generated by the Shadow when it takes over. This limits the feedback loop and makes it easier for you to think straight.”

“Uh…”

“When the dark power kicks in it sucks it up, so you don’t go crazy,” Narwia said.

The girl picked up the ring. Suddenly, its surface turned completely black, and a pulse of energy shot out of it. She dropped it back in the box.

“What happened?”

“There’s a catch to it,” Nox said. “You can’t put it on yourself – someone else has to do it.”

“Why is that?” Flow frowned.

“Because the Shadow’s power runs on dissociation. It distances you from the things you believe in, the things that important to you – and especially from the people around you. You must pick someone you trust deeply so your bond can power the ring. It will suppress the Shadow until the same person removes it, or until the power contained in the ring reaches the breaking point – but you won’t be able to take it off by yourself. Either you believe that the person will respect your wishes unconditionally, or that they will make the right decision when you can’t, both requires trust. And that what makes the ring work.”

Natasha stared at the ring for a long moment.

“All right then.”

She reached for the box and slowly pushed it before Flow on the table.

“I guess you have to do it for me.”

“O- okay, but…” they blinked at the girl. “Are you sure?”

She looked at them, but all Flow could read from her face was exhaustion.

“I told you already. There’s nobody else. The last other person I could trust with something like this was Nash, but we still have no idea what happened to them. Sorry, I really don’t want to drop this responsibility into your neck. But I need to get this thing under control somehow if we want a shot at winning, and this seems to be the only way.”

Flow nodded quietly and took the ring from the box. As they touched it, it immediately returned to its original clear color.

“Uh, which finger you want?”

The girl shook her head, raising her left hand, palm open.

“Take your pick.”

Clumsily, Flow pulled the ring at her little finger. She pulled her hand back, looking at it.

Narwia grinned at them.

“Well, congratulation on-“

“No,” Flow looked at her. “Don’t.”

“I don’t feel any different.”

“That’s kind of the point,” Nox said. “Look.”

He pointed at a tiny black spot forming at the side of the ring.

“The more pressure you are under the harder the Shadow will push you to release it, and the bigger section of the ring will turn black. If it turns black completely it will break, and all the absorbed essence will be released immediately.”

“You go kaboom.” Narwia translated. “Probably taking down the whole city district with you, so maybe don’t do that.”

“Before that happens, you either have to take hold of your emotions to stop the power from accumulating, or Flow has to take off the ring, so you can release the excess essence.”

“But then you’ll go back into muhaha-murder mode,” the felimorph pointed out.

“Then what’s the point?” Natasha shook her head. “If it just delays the inevitable…”

“No,” Artemis said. “It gives you a buffer, so you don’t get immediately overwhelmed. It gives you control, so you can pick where and when you want to confront the threat. And most importantly, it gives you time to deal with the pressure instead of snapping. It’s not a complete solution by itself, but an aid to give you the chance to learn how can you live with this power. If you can keep the ring completely clean, that means you reached the point when you can keep the Shadow under control by yourself. You’ll be able to call upon its power, but only by your own terms.”

The girl stared at the tiny black dot that slowly but visibly grew a bit larger before her eyes.

“And if that never happens?” she asked eventually.

There was a short silence.

“Then,” Flow spoke eventually, looking at everyone in the room. Their voice sounded thin, but there was a tiny metal string of resolve ringing in their words. “Then we’ll find another way. And until then, I’ll help you.”

<> 

“There it is,” the Sorcerer said quietly, waving his hand. The image on his screen froze, showing Nocturknight falling through the sky in Ghost District, surrounded by black mist. “After all this time, finally. A Soul of Shadow. Now I just need to confirm the Heart of Glow before I can forge the key to the kingdom.”

“So that’s what you really wanted.”

Destracta peeked over the dark silhouette’s shoulder, looking at the screen.

“It wasn’t about seeing if she could kill someone or not. You suspected she had that power, but you wanted proof.”

“I want many things Destracta,” the man said in a calm tone. “The secret to greatness is understanding that taking an action that serves only one of your purposes is a waste.”

“You could warn us you know,” the girl pouted. “That little bitch almost got Kat and Windy.”

“You knew everything you needed to know for this mission. Did you give the boy the information?”

“Yes, he knows about Tims. But seriously, throwing a lead in front of them such an obvious way… why would they take the bait?”

“Did you ever throw rocks into a pond when you were a kid, just to see the waves forming?” the man asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

“And did your rocks ever cause a tidal wave?”

Destracta rolled her eyes.

“No, they didn’t boss.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m making the decisions.”

The girl crossed her arms, giving a doubtful glance to the shadow.

“Tell me something,” she said. “The things you said back when you picked me and gave me powers. That you want to free people from the Mist Law and bring back the magic we were robbed of. Was any of that true? Or did you just spouted some fancy lies to get a handful of dumbasses to do your dirty work?”

The man finally turned around. She couldn’t see more of his form, except that two eyes appeared in the shadows covering his face, burning with orange-red light.

“Let’s say I was lying,” he said, his tone the same as before. “Don’t you think that lying to people is a rather polite way of getting what I want, considering what else I could do?”

Four shadows raised from Destracta’s feet, surrounding her from all sides. They were vaguely humanoid in shape, but their hands seemed to be replaced with giant scythe blades.

“Just so you know, I’m still considering this mission a failure on your part.”

“Why?” the girl demanded with an angry frown. “I got the message to the boy, you got the proof you wanted, and I’m sure you didn’t really want the Enchanters dead. So what else you could possibly want from me?”

“You were given exact orders which you failed to obey because of your moral considerations. That’s fine but you were also unable to keep the men I put under your command in control.”

The Shadow Reapers closed their circle tighter around her.

“If you can’t give orders, nor follow them, then what role exactly I need you for in my organization? If I’m just using you, as you suggested, maybe you should be more concerned being useful in the future, don’t you think?”

Suddenly, the shadows around her melted into nothing and the Sorcerer turned away again.

“… in theory, of course.”

“Of course,” she breathed.

“That’s all Destracta, thank you. I’ll be calling you.”

“Right. See you around boss.”

She quickly walked through the gray portal that opened between the shadows.

<> 

“Enchant me!”

With a flash of light, Flow transformed back into Ruthen on the empty streets of the Ghost District.

“I’m taking the skylines today,” they told Natasha. “I’m super-late from dinner and I still should check on Matis too. I hope he got far enough before all hell broke loose. Hopefully my parents are busy enough questioning Nora that a short detour won’t make much of a difference.”

“What did you tell them anyway?”

“There was a big fight between the warlocks and the Enchanters in the Ghost District, so the janitor insisted that we stay in the school until things calm down,” they shrugged. “At least people know that we were together at the time, so you can say the same thing if you need an excuse too.”

“Yeah, but Miranda doesn’t really question how I spend my free time. She’s not paid for it.” She visibly suppressed a yawn. “Anyway, I’ll just take the tram. I had enough rooftops for a day.”

“Will you be all right alone?”

“Yes, don’t worry.” She looked at her ring. “Listen… about the stuff I said before the fight…”

“It’s okay,” Ruthen waved it off. “I know you weren’t on top today, and besides, you were right to be angry. I shouldn’t act behind your back like that, even Matis told me that it was a bad idea.”

“Maybe. But I still could have handled it better. And freaky magic aside, it was me talking to you like that, so I want to apologize.”

The silver hero smiled under their scarf and raised their fist in the air.

“Together?”

The girl stared for a moment, then fist-bumped them.

“Together.”

Something beeped and Ruthen pulled out their phone.

“It’s Matis.” Suddenly they scowled. “What the…?”

“Is he okay?” Natasha looked at them with concern.

“Yeah, he’s fine. That’s not the weird part of it.”

They looked at the girl with a puzzled expression.

“He says he’s waiting for me at my place.”

<> 

Flow found Matis sitting on the living room couch, holding a mug of hot chocolate. They looked up at them, smiling.

“There you are. And I was thinking I was the one who was kidnapped,” he joked.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay,” they sighed. They exaggerated a bit to keep up appearances, but they were genuinely relived that Matis got away from Ghost District in one piece. “After getting your message I ran to the Biscuit and met Ruthen and Nocturknight. They said they would track you down with some magic pin thingy and take it from there, but I wanted to stick around, in case they bring you back.” They scratched their head awkwardly. “It was kinda dumb, why would they drop you off at the place you were kidnaped from instead of your home, right? I think I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

It was a wildly different story from the one they told their parents. Flow really hoped this gamble wouldn’t bite them back, but there was nothing they could do – they didn’t expect Matis to show up in their home when constructing their original excuse.

“It got a bit more complicated than that,” the boy said while Flow sat down next to him. “The warlocks put up a fight, so Ruthen got me as far away as they could, then they went back to help Nocturknight. After a while I ran into your sister, and she gave me a ride.”

“Nora?” Flow blinked. “What did she do in the Ghost District?”

“Guess you have to ask that from her personally. She offered to bring me home, my home I mean. But I wanted to talk to you anyway, so she brought me here first. Your parents even invited me for dinner – your mom’s pancakes are a killer, you know?”

“You wanted to talk? Don’t get it wrong, I’m glad to see that you’re fine, but it must be very important if you came here instead of home after what happened to you.”

“I think it might be much more important than I thought,” he gave them a weird look. “It’s about Nash. I couldn’t find where they vanished to, but there’s a guy, Edward Tims. No idea where he lives or works now, but six years ago he was a social worker in Rising Feather. He was in charge at the time when Nash was sent to a children’s prison for a break-in. The institute has closed since and all the records went missing, so Tims might be the best person to ask about what happened exactly. Now, Natasha probably remembers him, and she might have already checked that lead. But some people definitely think he’s the key to find Nash.”

“Some people?” Flow raised an eyebrow, trying to keep up with all the information.

“Yeah, this is where it gets wild. The person who told me all this and directed me toward Tims? It’s Destracta.”

“What?” Flow’s eyes widened.

“That means the Sorcerer must have an interest in Nash – that confirms our suspicions that knew something important. But if the warlocks are already known that we’re after them… this is getting complicated.”

“Wait,” Flow said, their eyes widening. “Does that mean… the warlocks came after you because I sent you to this hunt after Nash?”

It was a hard act to pull off – they were already feeling guilty for endangering their friend, but they had to hide it as Flow couldn’t possibly know what the warlocks wanted from Matis. And now, they had to reproduce that feeling when they first find out and play it of as it was their genuine first reaction – to deceive the same person they put into harm’s way. It all made them feel dirty inside. There must be a better way to keep up secrecy – Flow just didn’t know what it could be.

“It goes beyond that,” Matis said. “She wasn’t very subtle – she basically admitted that she’s after Nash and she wants to use Natasha to lure them out of hiding.”

“But if it’s a trap then why would she tell us that it’s a trap?” Flow shook their head.

“No idea. My guess is that they expect Natasha to be so hell-bent on finding her friend that she’d go after the lead anyway. Say, you know her better than anyone else… do you think that she’d hold on this search if she knew that she was playing at the warlock’s hands?”

“I… I have no idea.”

At least that was true.

Matis frowned.

“This is a tricky situation. I want to help her as much as you do, but I also don’t want her to get hurt – her, or you. Maybe… maybe we should wait. Until we know more, or at least give some more thought to it before telling her.”

Flow stared at him.

“You want me to keep it secret from her?”

Don’t you ever again make decisions for me or put anyone in danger to defend me. Or we’re done working together. Do you understand?

Matis gave them a sad smile.

“Look, I’m not stupid, okay?” he said gently. “I know there is more behind this Nash thing than you’re telling me – but I don’t think you enjoy keeping me in the dark. I don’t want to make it harder to you, so I’ll just assume you have a good reason not telling me more and try to respect it.”

“I…” Flow stuttered.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. Then you don’t have to lie, and I don’t have to wonder if you were honest or not. I think that would be better for both of us. But you can’t always tell what’s the right thing to do. Sometimes you must make a judgement call, then deal with the fallout of whatever decision you made. Look, I can’t tell you what you should do, I just want you to consider it carefully.”

Flow nodded silently.

“Do you remember when I told you I was afraid one day Igne will overreach themself and get hurt? I’m also worried it happening to you. So be careful, okay?”

“Matis, I…” they stopped. “When did you say that exactly?”

“Oh, maybe it wasn’t you? I’m not sure. But I really mean it.”

He put his empty mug on the table.

“Well, it’s very late and my parents will probably freak out. I should hurry home. Could you thank your family for being so nice to me?”

“Uh, sure. Take care.”

He watched Matis leave the room and soon heard the entrance closing behind him. They stared ahead of themself.

“I remember him saying that about Igne – to Ruthen. Could it be an honest mistake? Or… did he just try to trick me into revealing myself?”

Nora quietly stepped into the room and stood in the door.

“You missed dinner, but there’s lots of leftovers,” she said. “Do you want any?”

“Oh, uh, the janitor who kept us in the school heated up some frozen pizza, but I get something real later. Sorry for running off like that, I didn’t expect the warlock attack.”

“Yeah, those wacky warlocks, huh? You can never see them coming.”

Flow couldn’t tell from her tone that she was trying to be funny or cynical. Their sister stepped to the couch and dropped next to them.

“I really did miss a lot, huh?” she said. “I was so worried how you’d adapt to a city like this, but your life seems so busy now, it makes me wonder just what happened to my half-recluse sib.”

“You make it sound like more dramatic than it is,” Flow shrugged. “I had to come out of my shell someday, but it’s not like I became a different person. Sorry for missing your welcome dinner but we still can have game nights. Al’s not here, but maybe he could join in online.”

She chuckled.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to sound like it’s a bad thing. I’m happy you have an easier time going out now – and that you got people to look out for you. But honestly, I’m also a bit jealous of them. I always liked our relationship, that I was the first to know if you were happy, or had issues, or needed help. It made me feel like that I always could be there for you. Guess dad was right. I should know that things would change after I move out – I just didn’t realize how much they already changed before today.”

Flow looked at her, not sure what to say. They thought about all the people they made friends with in such a short time. Matis, Igne, Bianca. Artemis, Nox – and Narwia too, they guessed. And Natasha. They realized they wouldn’t want things to go back the way they were before. They just wished life and death situations weren’t this much involved – and that they wasn’t forced to lie all the time.

“You’re my sister, that won’t change,” they said, whishing they could come up with something less cheesy. “But it doesn’t have to mean that you’re holding my hand. We can be an important part of each other’s life without you having to worry about me all the time. Who knows, maybe… maybe I can even pay you back for always being there for me, you know? The way you, mom and dad and Al supported me all the time when I was going through stuff is the reason I want to be able to be there for others as well. Because I know the difference it can make. It doesn’t mean I won’t come to you if I need.”

She laughed.

“If you keep saying mature stuff like that it will be hard to keep up with the protective big sis role, that’s for sure.” She sighed. “Honestly, I’m such a hypocrite. Here I am, feeling hurt that I don’t know everything about you anymore, but how I’m expecting you to open up if I don’t do the same? Maybe we really should take some time to catch up with each other.”

“Like, right now?” Flow raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?” she shrugged. “I feel like we both have things that would eat on us if we couldn’t share with someone.”

She took out her phone and pushed a few buttons, muting it.

“Why is she so serious suddenly? Did something happen to her while she was away?”

“Maybe,” Flow said. “Either way, if you’d feel better if we talked, I’m here.”

“Guess I’ll start then,” she said, putting away her phone and taking out the case she kept her documents in. Then she seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Here I go, screwing up everything probably…”

She put the case on the table, opened. Flow looked into it and saw an ID card with Nora’s data. In the background, there was an emblem, a stylized shield and sword, with some text warped around it.

KNIGHTFALL FOUNDATION

Your friends and protectors

Flow blinked.

“I don’t get it.”

“That’s my work ID,” Nora said, like that was explaining everything. “I shouldn’t show it around, but that’s an issue for another day.”

“I thought you were interning with a company at Capricopolis. Are they associated with the Foundation?”

“No. There is no company. It’s true that I was in Capricopolis for training, but I was training to join the Operative Department at the Foundation.”

“I never heard of it,” Flow said.

They had guesses, based on all the gossip surrounding the Foundation. But it was way too absurd to discuss all this with their sister.

“Yeah, you’re not supposed to. I’m not supposed to talk about it. I can’t believe that I’m not even a full-fledged agent yet and I already broken basically all the rules there is.”

They stared at her.

“You said agent?”

“Yes Flow,” she sighed. “I know how it sounds, but yeah. I’m a secret agent. I’d show my gun too, but it’s closed away in my room – kinda awkward to walk around with it home. Also, it doesn’t look like a real gun since it’s a magic gun.”

Flow stood up, pacing around in the room, then turned back toward her sister. She still sat on the couch, looking at them, waiting for an answer.

“A magic gun,” Flow repeated. “So what, you’re a magic secret agent now?”

“Yes that describes it,” she shrugged. “Look, since the warlocks showed up, magic became an open secret, but the Knightfall Foundation was researching it years, decades prior to that. Their purpose is to find safe applications of magic to improve the human state throughout the Globe. But our activity also involves securing dangerous forms of magic. Collecting magic items that can go out of control. Deal with people who abuse it for bad reasons. That’s what the Operative Department is for.”

“That’s what Enchanters do,” Flow thought. “Artemis told us that there were other groups remaining from the old Order, working separately from him and Nox. Maybe one of them decided to create a public front in the Human World to make their activity easier way before the Sorcerer showed up? It would certainly make sense, but mistfolk alone can’t run such a huge operation, they can only interact with the Human World limitedly. They must have human allies, a lot of them. But that they found Nora, just before the Order found me… what are the chances for that?”

“I… I don’t know what are you expecting me to say to that,” they shook their head.

“I know, it’s a bombshell,” she said. “But I want to be honest with you Flow, so you can do the same to me. Because seriously, there are some things we need to discuss.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for starters, how about this?”

She held up her phone. Flow stepped there and took it, looking at the picture on the screen.

It was the picture Matis took at the top of the Botanic Garden that went viral on the internet since that day. It showed Ruthen and Nocturknight a moment before jumping down from the roof. It was subtitled with Matis’ comment that became the picture’s unofficial title, and recently started to be the basis of several memes online.

New heroes in Pollapolis??

They looked back at their sister who stared at them pleadingly.

“Come on Flow,” she said. “Please, just talk to me.”

< ⋁ >

Natasha touched her keycard to the electronic lock and entered her apartment, stepping directly into the spacious living room. It was dark, but the outside wall of the room was made of reinforced plexiglass, letting in the lights of the never sleeping Pollapolis. It offered a breathtaking view too.

“Miranda? Sorry for being late.”

She always felt like this place was way too big for a teen living alone, but admittedly after having to share her living place with others in the group home, she never quite got used to having lot of space for herself. And compared to the over the top mansion she shared with her adoptive mother and an army of staff for the better part of the last six years, this place almost looked modest. While she felt like the apartment was just another way Mrs. Alexton could show off her obscene wealth, she was happy to be able to move out of the mansion. Besides the fact that it was at the outskirts of the city, making it practically impossible to go to school from there, she’d rather be literally anywhere else than in that prison of a house.

And besides, most of the time, she wasn’t completely alone. If she didn’t have other plans, Miranda often stayed after her working hours, even spending the night in the guest room – she said it was easier than commuting, and this way she was there if anything ‘came up’. To Natasha’s concerns she let her know that she booked generous overtime for staying, which the girl full-heartedly approved. The maid always kept a professional tone and behavior around Natasha, and she never brought herself to strike up a more casual conversation with her, but secretly she was grateful to her for being her.

“I sent the maid home an hour ago,” said a cold male voice.

Natasha froze, squinting to see more of the figure standing in the dark room. The man touched the light switch, covering the living room in sharp, white light. He was tall, wearing a simple but formal outfit, with grey hair and a cold, contemplating gaze.

“It was a while, wasn’t it Miss Alexton?”

“Tims?” the girl stared at the man she didn’t see in years. “How the hell did you get in here?”

“With the key provided by your mother of course,” he showed up the small plastic card, identical to the one hanging on Natasha’s keychain.

“My mother?” she asked, her voice turning cynical. “Doesn’t she think that it’s a bit too late to send me back to you? Even though I admire that she finally made up her mind.”

“Very humorous,” the man said without a smidge of mirth. “But I’m not a social worker anymore Natasha. The new foster system that’s supposed to be superior to the social homing it replaced left many professional caregivers like myself without a living.”

“Heartbreaking. What are you doing here?”

“I have a new job, in the employment of your mother. Even though she’s away to look after her business right now, you didn’t think she’d let you without proper supervision, did you?”

“I already have Miranda,” she crossed her arms.

“Her job is housekeeping, not to act as your guardian.”

“Wasn’t that supposed to be my mother’s job?”

The man ignored the question.

“Because of my history of working with you, Mrs. Alexton thought I was the most qualified to look after you until her return. A wise decision, seeing how late you are home. I was under the impression that classes in Pollstar Highschool ended at 3 PM at the latest.”

Natasha grew tense.

“Yes, they do. I was spending time with a friend after school, then I got stuck because of the warlock attack.”

The man took a digital device, looking like an old-fashioned PDA from his pocket, typing something on it.

“A friend who’s name is…?”

“Why do you care?”

The man gave Natasha the look he’d probably use when discovering a stain on his white shirt.

“I see your attitude haven’t changed much since our time together. Which is a shame. You’re not just a liability of the social system anymore but part of the Alexton family. Your actions will shape the public’s opinion on the family, the company, and your mother. I’m here to make sure you take that role with the necessary responsibility.”

He returned to his PDA, typing in more notes.

“From tomorrow, I expect you to be home at 4 PM the latest. It’s lights out at 9 on a school night and 10 at the weekend. If you’re planning some activity after school hours or in the weekends you’ll notice me three days ahead, with the names of the people you’re spending time with.”

He hit a few more buttons.

“We will review your academic performance at a later time, but I’m convinced there are several areas you could improve by spending more time studying instead of fooling around in the city all afternoon. Any questions?”

“Yes, a few,” she said, not even trying to hide her angered expression anymore. “How I know that really my mother sent you? For all I know you stole Miranda’s key and broke in and I should call the Civil Guard.”

“I’m sure they’ll be delighted to hear from you again,” the man said with a cold smile. “If you wish, I can arrange a digital meeting with Mrs. Alexton by tomorrow – then she can personally confirm that I’m acting with her full authorization.”

The teen and the man stared at each other for a moment.

“No,” Natasha said eventually. “That won’t be necessary.”

He nodded and turned away.

“Great. If you need anything you’ll find me in the guest room, but I expect you to not disturb me with trivialities. I have some luggage to unpack.”