In the middle of the circle of cottages where a ruined house stood as a centerpiece, Allen was surprised to see the face of someone who should not have been there. A young woman with black hair and blue eyes, Charlotte. A regular patron of his other job, Coffee & Chronicles. Someone he had many trivial discussions with involving novels and other mundane topics. There had been nothing out of the ordinary in any of their interactions.

‘There’s no way that even she’s been a part of this world this whole time!’

In the midst of his confusion, the figure in front of him outstretched a hand to his chest as he descended from the air. Instantly, he was sent spinning back in a maelstrom of wind. Allen lost all sense of the difference between the sky and ground before crashing into the latter with an unnerving thud.

In a pile of dirt, Nera and Iyo stared worriedly while Allen’s body ached all over. His mind was as jumbled as his body had been while being tossed by the wind.

‘Maybe…this is similar to what happened to Iyo’s friend.’ Allen looked at his bandaged palm.

‘I could manage to still fight as long as it was a stranger, but I’m more of a hypocrite than I thought.’

“Allen, if you think this is a person being possessed, then you’re wrong!” Iyo shouted to Allen, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Allen asked after getting back to his feet.

“Sense it for yourself, there’s nothing but miasma.”

“That would be great if I could. How can you tell?!” Allen did not have time to hear another answer before that apparent doppelganger chased him down and thrust another hand at him like a lethal weapon. He dodged the initial blow but the vortex that then shot from it still blew him back the length of a basketball court.

He dug his feet into the grass to come to a stop but his entire body reeled from the impact. Air normally had little resistance but the pressure that was exerted from that compact cyclone made the air equivalent to a moving brick wall.

“Damn, that felt like getting hit by a truck.” Allen panted while his arms were sore from shielding his torso. He imagined that having his internal organs squished by that much force would not end well for him.

“He’s right.” Allen heard Nera call out from the roof of a cottage next to him. “My ears don’t hear that thing breathing or even a heartbeat. As for Iyo, he said that he basically scans anything he sees in great detail, too great actually.”

From the corner of his eye, Allen could tell that Iyo was keeping their opponent occupied the best he could by himself.

“That could explain why he wears those thick goggles all the time then. But what about me? I don’t have any power like that.”

Nera leaped down from the roof right in front of Allen.

“Iyo’s sensing power is not just a Grendel thing if that’s what you’re thinking, Crafters can do it too and…” The young woman pressed her index finger to his chest with a smirk. “And I’m mega sure that someone like you can do it too. I believe in you.”

It surprised Allen to hear that.

“Alright…I’ll try to figure it out.” A bead of sweat dripped from his temple into an eye and he blinked. Nera’s determined eyes had been replaced with horror in a fraction of a second.

A figure wrapped in cloths was reflected in them.

“How?!” They both uttered in unison.

A swift kick from the doppelganger sent Allen rocketing into the air.

“Aghhh!” Allen screamed at the top of his lungs as the distance between him and the ground grew to the size of a multi-story building. Nera rushed at the figure beside her.

‘What happened to Iyo?!” Allen yelled before spotting him all the way on the other side of the enclosure.

His confusion was gone with the click of the doppelganger’s silver boots. They vanished before Nera’s fist can land and they appeared right above him in the air. They raised a leg to slam him back down to earth.

Before he could reach the ground, another blow flung him to the side, and then another launched him into the air. A concurrent series of strikes propelled him into the clouds and farther away from anyone who had any chance of helping.

‘Why-”

“Is it-”

“Just-”

“Targeting me!”

Allen exclaimed in between this onslaught of attacks. In a moment of respite, he got a clear view of the horizon and his eyes widened.

“Is that the edge of Atelier City?!” A line of towering skyscrapers and lights stretched as far as the eye could see in either direction in front of the backdrop that was the evening sky.

He remembered that certain gateways existed that sent people to Expanses a great distance away. This one must have been located on the outskirts of the city which was filled with spacious forests.

‘It’s trying to lead me out of the Expanse to make sure I’m finished off for good!’

This information did nothing to help him as he was continuously thrown around in the air like a ragdoll caught in a tornado.

Even if he could confirm that he was not fighting a Specter possessing Charlotte’s body, he would not be able to land a counterattack of his own with how unpredictable and fast its movements were. Although, there was a possibility the sensing power Iyo made use of could solve both these problems.

He started intently at the racing blur only to be met with another unavoidable kick and then another.

‘Iyo’s worked through his eyes but I’ve always been more hands-on when it came to magic.” Allen glanced at his hands where he steadily gathered magical power and realized something intuitively after coming into contact with the miasma of his opponent that whirled around like the wind it generated.

Another series of attacks from all directions bombarded him.

“1..2…” Allen counted each one, trying to time the intervals.

“..3…4!” His hand caught the doppelganger’s leg.”Whew, I can tell now that you’re within my grasp. There isn’t a trace of something real within you. You’re just a cheap illusionist.”

The Wraith tried throwing a punch but Allen caught that too as they began plummeting to the ground.

“You don’t hold a candle to the real person, but I did learn a cool magic trick with so much firsthand experience of your power…”

Allen’s inky aura started to whirl around his arm at tremendous speeds. “I call it Subtle Iron Drill!”

He slammed his fist into the Wratih and his condensed mana drilled into its face, causing it to crumble away to reveal that there was only pitch-black miasma there just like Iyo had said.

That did not stop the two’s fall and a moment later, Allen and the Wraith both crashed into one of the wooden abodes and destroyed it. A large plume of dust rose into the air.

***

Allen awoke to someone pressing something cold against his forehead. He opened his eyes and his vision gradually focused enough for him to see that Xalia was squat beside him. A crowd of the Munchkins surrounded the two as well while he was laid out on the grassy plain.

“Wha..”

“Shush, drink this before you say anything else, daredevil,” Xalia commanded while dangling a glass vial containing a luminescent golden liquid over his lips

Allen relented without any strength left to protest after his thunderous crash. At the last moment, the Wraith had used its free leg to soften the fall with a whirlwind but the impact still racked Allen. He had multiple fractures all over his frame and blood was dripping from numerous scratches across his body, including a deep gash on his head. There were scratches covering Xalia’s body as well.

He drank the strange liquid and was astounded to find himself feeling immediately better. The aching of his bones receded and the bleeding from his wounds stopped. Newfound energy welled within him as if he had just gotten the best sleep of his life.

He sat up straight with amazement in his eyes.

“Woah, that’s freaking metal! I thought you didn’t have Mystic Skills.”

“I don’t, but that doesn’t keep me from having some handy magical items. Don’t worry about your compensation, you can pay me after we get out of here.”

“Well, that’ll have to wait til after we take care of this monster.” Allen got up to his feet again.

“Hmph, you keep getting up no matter how many times you’re knocked down. Are you that desperate to be seen as a hero by these deceitful cowards,” Xalia scoffed.

“That doesn’t mean much coming from you,” Allen rebutted.

“Ms. Xyletzia, why would you say such a thing?” The village representative was shocked by those cutting words and so were all the others.

Xalia stood up herself and tilted her head back. “Oh, I guess I’ll drop the act now then if I’m going to pull the veil off from yours. I may have told you that I was here because of your boss, but that was just because they left a Gateway in a public museum like an arrogant fool. I don’t work for them. Isn’t that right, Brooke Townsend?”

“Huh?” Allen looked over into the crowd of villagers to see that the gift shop attendant that they had met before was now among them. She had a strained expression on her face and two paintings in each hand.

“Please explain why you’re here instead of just not saying anything. You might not know this already but lying also is a no-go.” Allen asserted.

After a tenuous staredown, she sighed.

“I’m a victim just like them. I was roped into this by some awful people who were trying to steal precious magical artifacts given to normal museums while using the museum I worked at as a base of operations. I know this is wrong, but…I’m afraid of what will happen if I go against them.”

“Yes, it’s the same for everyone here.” The representative added. “We had no choice but to play along after being taken here and forced to use our art skills to make counterfeits for them to swap out the paintings with so they had more time to do whatever they plan to do with them.”

Xalia clapped after they were both finished. “Brilliant performance, even I’m impressed. I don’t know this for certain but I have a feeling that the Munchkins were expecting to be more willing participants of this operation at first and that Ms. Townsend is receiving a fairly steep sum to keep quiet.”

The silence that resounded after those accusations was all the answer both Allen and Xalia needed to hear. Allen then shrugged his shoulders and started in their direction where he could he could hear the sounds of a struggle that was still unfolding. He needed to get to where his partners fought for their lives.

“Hey, don’t you get what’s going on!” Xalia raised her voice for the first time that day. “What’s the point of being their ‘hero’ if they see you as nothing but a disposable meat shield?”

“There’s more to it than that. Regardless of how they were manipulated into this situation, they’re still trapped in it. I’m just going to rectify that.”

“By putting your own self in harm’s way? You’re not responsible for living up to the expectations of people who don’t even know you.” Xalia spoke with an annoyed voice.

Allen kept walking away. “What’s gotten under your skin? Aren’t I pretty much a stranger to you too?”

Xalia grinned.“Hmph, do you really think this bothers me? This feels personal to me because you remind me so much of how I used to be…” Her expression morphed into one of shock as those words were forced out of her.

Allen laughed out loud in response. “So, this place has finally gotten to you? Thanks for worrying then.”

Xalia crossed her arms. “Whatever, Just know that I used to be someone who tried to live up to that label of “hero” or “champion” or whatever you want to call it and got nothing in return because I didn’t have Skills. Anyone in this whole magical society shuns you if you aren’t a mirror copy and anyone outside of it like these ‘Munchkins’ will look at you like some kind of magician to fix their problems or a witch who they should fear.”

“Is that how you really think we see you?” A young woman Allen had previously seen Xalia talk to, possibly named Melissa, asked her that question.

“Yeah, I bet it’s all written in those books you have piled up over there for your warden to look at.” She pointed to a pile of tomes that were gathered by the attendant. “It contains all the secrets you’re too scared to say because you can’t cover them up with lies, right?’

Allen’s gaze swerved over to the attendant. “Why would you have them gather those books up at a time like this..,” The reason dawned on him as he finally took notice of the paintings in Brooke Townsend’s arms.

“She was betting on that Wraith wiping you all out and then showing her bosses those diaries to prove her innocence in this fiasco.” Xalia deduced with precision.

“Enough of this.” Allen turned around and closed his eyes.”It doesn’t matter if they aren’t 100% honest or trustworthy. They’re regular people stuck in a bad situation out of their control, and that’s enough for me right now.”

The Wraith suddenly appeared in front of Allen as if to finish him off. Nera and Iyo were trailing a far distance behind it.

‘I think I get it now. This Specter has been targeting me because it thinks I’m the weakest link. It’s brutally efficient or whoever controlling it is.’

“The reason I want to is not for any label like “hero” or “champion”, it’s because I want to become someone worth remembering. That’s my truth. That’s why I’m a part of the specter hunting group, Virtuoso.”

Allen began charging up another Subtle Iron Drill while the Wraith gathered up actual wind in kind.

Xalia heaved a sigh. “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn. I’ll at least say this too. Ms. Townsend referred to that Wraith as ‘Grimhildr’. You seem like a big book nerd, so just knowing that name might clue you into something.”

“Sheesh, that’s true but it still stings. Ugh, didn’t mean to say that either. I need to get out of here already.” His next move was to meet the Wraith head-on. He faced the whirlwind of the Specter with one of his own which allowed Allen to even the odds somewhat.

He was still fortunate to have his partners by his side and the three were able to corner the Specter that Allen now knew as Grimhildr. Iyo could not seem to use his power directly on it but his pure physical strength was still about half as much as Nera who was ridiculously strong. They almost cornered it when Allen heard a sudden declaration.

“Look out! Behind you!’ Allen heard Nera’s voice shout.

He looked around in a hurry to see what it could be. He was surprised to find nothing. Nera and Iyo were also confused. Not only that, Grmhildr had disappeared from their sight and now stood in the middle of the crowd of Munchkins.

At that sight, the trio wasted no time chasing after the Wraith.

“What happened? What was the false alarm for, Nera? You said ‘Look out. Behind you.”, Allen relayed what he had heard.

“What are you talking about? You two just turned around on your own out of nowhere. I definitely said to that monster ‘Looks like we’re getting out of here and leaving you behind.’”

“Hold on, this Wraith is the source of this Expanse’s truth-revealing power. It used that ability to twist words to its advantage just now.” Iyo reasoned.

“An extension of its wind manipulation, no doubt,” Allen added.

Before they reached Grimhildr, miasma had spread from it and latched onto everyone in its vicinity like thick ropes. They keeled over as the vitality was drained from their very flesh. The Wraith was feasting on their lives in order to win this battle.

“Stop that!” Nera snarled.”Those people are under my protection!” She launched herself at the monster but it enshrouded it and everyone around in a vortex of high-velocity air that repelled her back.

Allen and Iyo were met with similar failures. They tried repeatedly and the barrier never budged. Allen racked his head but despite recognizing that Grimhildr was the name of an evil witch in Norse mythology that disguised the hero, Sigurd, as someone else with magic to pass a certain challenge, he did not remember any weakness or death associated with her.

“Damn it, are you really going to let it end like this? I’m talking to you, Xalia. If you have some crazy potion that can magic this away then let us know!”

Xalia stood motionlessly with her hand holding one arm while her eyes stared intently at the disaster unfolding before her eyes. She struggled to keep her indifferent look as her lip quivered.

“I told you already, Allen Lee. I’m done trying to be a hero-”

“I didn’t ask you if wanted to be a knight in shining armor, I asked if you wanted to save lives!”

Xalia started to reply but her mouth hung open, fearing what would spill forth from it. She closed her eyes and heaved a massive exhale.

“Screw you, I came to this city to start over and become someone that could do what I wanted to do. I deluded these people into thinking I was on their side while I laughed at their misfortune secretly. I’m not as righteous as you think I am, I don’t want to be.”

Allen clenched his teeth and averted his gaze. There was nothing more he had to say that would not be him making up nonsense to try to convince her to help. That would not work here.

“But…you know something? I read some of those journals while everyone was distracted by that monster, and the only words I saw spoken about me were nice ones and that felt good.” Xalia dug her hands into the pockets of the blue jacket she wore around her waist.

“Heh, I got so hung up on myself that I forgot could enjoy helping people. …Actually, you guys look like you need my help, and could probably help me too. Think I could join that Virtuoso club of yours?” The young woman looked over at Allen with her usual self-assured grin.

Allen looked to the others for their approval and then gave her a thumbs up. “Sure, I got an alright feeling about you. You did get all scratched up getting me out of that wreckage before.”

Xalia chuckled as she started to walk toward the Wraith’s vortex. “Just felt like it.”

She then pulled out a wand-like stylus from the jacket around her waist with her right hand and three vials with her left hand.

“Mariner Craft, Page 4 - Burbuja Prounda” The witch chanted as she spun the Stylus in her fingers and the liquid in the vials streamed from potion containers then coalesced into a single multi-colored bubble.

“I thought you said you couldn’t use Mystic Skills?” Allen blurted out.

“I can’t use Mystic Skills, plural. There is only one spell that this witch can use. That’s why I learned to add extra spice to it. Now shush and let me work my magic.”

Allen and the others remained quiet while they waited with baited breaths. They could do nothing but watch as the people inside the whirling tornado had the strength sapped from them like someone wringing out all of the water from a sponge. Their skin began wrinkling as their bodies shriveled up from the miasma leeching their life. All the while, the vortex got wider and stronger.

Xalia continued with a second chant while circling the bubble she had conjured like stirring a sideways pot. “With the fillet of a fenny snake, in the cauldron boil and bake, eye of newt and toe of frog..”

The bubble became a tempest of its own filled with swirling colors that raged with volatile power like a volcano ready to erupt. Xalia appeared to struggle just to keep it from blowing up in her face as it swelled ten times in size before collapsing to the size of a marble.

“..Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble, then unleash your might and leave my foe to rubble!”’

Xalia let loose her concoction and the tremendous force shot forth from the bubble and pierced straight through the vortex formed by Grimhildr and left a gaping hole in its chest in an instant. The wall of wind dispersed and swept over the grassy plains like a sigh of relief. Fairly soon, the Expanse would fade away and everyone would return to normal.

“Metal.”

“Stellar.”

“Polished.”

Allen, Nera, and Iyo all expressed their amazement.

Xalia turned back to them with a knowing grin. “Pretty wicked for a witch’s first day on the job, right?”

Allen smiled back. In less than a week, Virtuoso had already come a long way in membership, and he enjoyed having front-row seats watching that unfold. He only hoped that things would be less hectic from now on, at least for a little while.

***

It was early in the morning at Coffee & Chronicles, the bookshelves had yet to be stirred while the first batch of caffeinated beverages were still hot. As an employee, Allen fulfilled his role by being slumped over a counter looking absentmindedly at nothing in particular. He was simply waiting for a customer to arrive or his shift to end, whichever came first.

‘Adding Xalia to the team was awesome, but the way things went afterward is leaving a bad taste in my mouth.’

Allen traced lines on the dusty countertop repeatedly in frustration. They dealt with the immediate threat and got a silver specter stone in the shape of a ring but neither the attendant nor the villagers had any concrete details on the identities of the ones behind the entire scheme. Virtuoso was also only able to get them in contact with the Luminaire District’s Bastion and whatever power it had in ensuring the situation did not escalate.

The young man sighed tiredly and tried to turn his attention elsewhere.

On the other side of the store, a young woman with dirty blonde hair was flipping through the pages of a book behind another counter. Allen raised an eyebrow at that. He had not seen her grab a book from the shelves, but he supposed she could have brought one with her.

“What are you reading over there, Amy? Any good?” Allen casually asked. He doubted they had a similar taste in literature to begin with.

“It’s the latest issue of Prestige Weekly. I heard there was going to be an article about Brycen Alypius’s latest movie in it..” She trailed off as she became more absorbed in searching through the magazine’s pages.

“Brycen who? I’ve never heard of the guy. Is he famous or something?”

Amy immediately looked up from the magazine in shock. “How could you not know who Brycen Alypius is?! He’s one of the top actors in the world. He can sing, dance, and is a bonafide superstar who does all his own stunts.”

The young man simply shrugged in response. “You just described a hundred different people. That doesn’t really narrow it down for me.”

“Alright,” Amy huffed before finally finding the right page then made her way over to him. “Look at this! You’re sure to recognize that handsome face.”

Allen’s co-worker shoved the flimsy tome into his face. Surrounded by a crowd of reporters or paparazzi, he was able to make out a tall man who looked to be in his late 20s with sharp facial features, warm brown eyes, and dark curly hair. All this came along with an expensive-looking turquoise suit that probably cost more than Allen’s entire apartment complex.

“‘I’ve never seen this guy before in my life, but I do feel a mild sense of disdain if that’s worth anything.”

“I know you’re always glued to some dusty old book, video games, or drawing even nerdier stuff but this is appalling. Do you even go to the movies?”

“Maybe if they made a single good book or video game adaptation…oh, looks like Mr. Superstar is going to be filming a book adaption here in Atelier City-”

“What?!” Amy shouted before pouring her nose back into the magazine, leaving Allen to his own thoughts for a moment.

‘I think I saw PANDEMØNI∩M is going to host a concert in the city to celebrate them contributing to that movie’s soundtrack.’ Allen decided to tell Nera this the next time they saw each other.

“Hmph, you sure are engrossed in that tabloid. Must be interesting after all.” Allen joked at her expense.

“It’s not a tabloid, and it’s definitely more interesting than those picture books you read!” Amy fired back. Her sharp canines were clearly visible from how loud she was.

“Those are graphic novels, not picture books.”

“What’s the ‘graphic’ part for then? Amy jabbed a finger in his direction and Allen looked the other way.

“...Well, they’re good pictures, a lot better than the ones obtained through harassment in that tabloid of yours.” Allen muttered the last part under his breath but not low enough.

“Huh, what was that? Speak up if yo-”

A ding from the front door cut their debate short. A figure with long black hair and blue eyes wearing a beige blouse entered in hesitantly. She had a nervous expression on her demure face.

“Sorry, is now a bad time?” Charlotte asked as she slowly walked in.

Amy stepped back quickly from Allen. “Of course not, I was just giving Allie here some pointers. Look around all you want.”

“Uhh…Yeah, some new stock came in the other day you might like.” Allen decided to ignore the embarrassing nickname that he just heard come from his boss’s mouth.

Charlotte nodded and sure enough found something that caught her eye after a few minutes of searching. She brought it with her to the counter. Allen looked down to see a brown book emblazoned with a golden sun and accordingly titled Throne of the Sun.

“Heh, this looks like a good fit for the summer.”

Charlotte let loose a light chuckle. “That’s true. Speaking of summer, have you been preparing for the upcoming festivals? Gotta make your art really stand out to all those talent agents, right?”

“Festivals…I hadn’t really thought about them recently.” Allen said to his own disbelief. The past week he had been absorbed in a chaotic series of supernatural incidents that he put getting scouted as an artist completely out of his mind. That was the very reason he had come to Atelier City in the first place.

“Oh, that’s pretty strange. Is something else keeping you preoccupied?” Charlotte asked with a frown.

“Uh…” Allen raised a hand from under the counter to rub the back of his head nervously. “I’ve been way too invested in a personal side project of mine I guess.”

Charlotte gasped and reached out her hand to his before pulling it back at the last second and covering her quivering mouth instead.

“What…what happened to your arm, Allen?”

“Huh?” A quick look at his thoroughly bandaged hands and arms made him realize what got that reaction from her. “This was sadly also caused by my little side project.”

“Hmm!” Charlotte grunted while simultaneously curling her palm next to the book. “Hobbies are important, but if this ‘little side project’ is making you skip out on preparing for the festivals and putting your body at risk then perhaps you should put it on pause.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“What are you doing that’s so dangerous and important at the same time?’ She inquired with genuine curiosity and worry. She was open to hearing a plausible explanation. Allen did not want to betray that expectation.

Allen laid his hands down as he answered, and Charlotte saw the image of a rocket made from all the lines he had traced earlier. “I’m trying to create art that can actually help people. I’ve been making tools for people who aren’t able to obtain their own to fix problems those tools are needed for. That’s led me to work with forging metal a lot recently. I’m inexperienced, so I’ve been getting a few burns here and there in the process.’

It was unclear whether this was the truth filtered into a lie or a lie still having truth visible under it. Either way, Allen did not feel good about it.

“Wow, that’s amazing. I’m sorry for doubting you, Allen. I was just worried after seeing all those bandages. I guess I got it from being sheltered so much myself when I was a kid.” She chuckled lightly. “I never thought that’d rub off on me.”

“Nah, it’s my fault for being so reckless. I’ll go ahead and ring you up.” Allen proceeded to scan the book in while Charlotte reached for the small purse that was draped across her shoulder.

Once that was they were done, Charlotte turned to leave but not without saying something else to Allen.

“Next time I come here…could you show me some pieces you’re proud of after you get off?”

“Huh? Sure, I can skim through some photos on my phone for them.”

“Ah, the photos on your phone? Yeah, that’s definitely an option.” Charlotte said with a strained grin before promptly leaving the store with the book she purchased pressed firmly to her chest.

Amy whistled from across the room which confused Allen but he had more pressing matters to worry about. He had delved deep into a rabbit hole of monster hunting without considering how much of a burden that would be. Not only that, he was starting to become unsure if he had actually decided the best route to keep from becoming a specter or was simply trying to live out some wild fantasy of his.

Allen slumped his shoulders.’Maybe reading the Necromincon will give me some alternatives. I’ll stay up all night searching for some if I have to.’