A swarm of crows circled the prison cells, their dark wings cutting through the stale, torchlit air. Kyro, Tharic, and Rena stood motionless, listening to the eerie voice echoing from somewhere unseen.
"Explain yourself," Rena demanded, gripping the hilt of her katana. "Come out of hiding."
The voice answered with a chilling chuckle. Most of the crows dispersed in a black flurry, leaving behind a single one perched on a rusted cell bar.
Rena narrowed her eyes. That crow—it was the same one she'd seen right before they were thrown into this forsaken place.
"You…" she muttered.
The crow twisted and shimmered, feathers giving way to flesh. In a flash, Zaire stood where the bird had been, her shinobi mask hiding a sly grin.
"My, my," she said softly. "Not as sound asleep anymore, now are you?"
"Hybrid?!" Kyro blurted, startled by another inhuman transformation.
Zaire turned toward him, eyes gleaming. "So you were the one making all that noise earlier."
Tharic stepped protectively in front of Kyro, spear in hand. "Enough games. What do you want from us?"
"I have no personal business with you three," Zaire replied coolly. Her gaze shifted to Tharic. "But I've been given orders. Lord Tavin has requested your presence at once, before you all taken to the capital."
"The capital?" all three echoed in disbelief.
Zaire gave a small nod.
"Why? What have we done?" Kyro asked.
"That's not my concern," Zaire said, shaking her head. "I wasn't told why. Only that you were to be brought in."
She lifted a hand, whispering words under her breath. The cell bars shimmered with a dull violet light, melting and reforming into glowing chains. In an instant, the three of them were bound together, their wrists shackled and tethered to Zaire by a single line of living metal.
"What the hell—?!" Kyro struggled against the cuffs.
Tharic grimaced, examining the runes engraved in the iron. "Ugh… they're fused."
Rena immediately scanned for a weak point, but Zaire caught her in the act.
"Don't even think about it," she warned. Her voice grew colder, her aether leaking into the air like thick smoke. "Try to break free, and I'll use other methods."
Rena froze. She could feel it, Zaire's aether was potent, far stronger than Yusef's. Engaging in a fight with her might cause more trouble than good.
"Even with Tharic's growing strength and Kyro back in fighting form, a confrontation here would be suicide."
"It's best we follow her lead," Rena murmured.
She exhaled sharply. "You're right. No point in dying before we even know what's happening."
Zaire's eyes softened beneath her mask. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other. Now, with me, let us move quickly."
She tugged the chain, leading them down the decaying corridor. The deeper they went, the more the prison seemed to rot around them—bodies slumped against walls, blood pooled in corners, the air thick with iron and decay.
"What is this place…" Kyro muttered, voice trembling.
"This prison…" Rena began, scanning the crumbling stonework. "Isn't this Oakhorn Keep?"
Zaire nodded faintly. "Was Oakhorn Keep. But without any Sylmorians nearby to maintain it, the Keep fell into ruin. Unfit for prisoners, or anyone, really."
Rena frowned. "Yet it's clearly being used again. By you."
"I'm not stationed here," Zaire replied curtly. "I was only sent to retrieve you. As for why this place is active again... ask Lord Tavin."
Tharic tilted his head in curiosity. "Then where is your normal assignment?"
Zaire's fingers brushed the black sigil etched into her cheek. "My position is stationed at the capital. Under the Third Order."
"The Third Order?" Kyro asked. "We were told there were only two."
Zaire smirked. "That's because the Third Order operates solely within the capital."
"Very rarely would any of us have to step outside because of the high importance of our work at the capital, but alas, here I am because of Lord Tavin's wish."
"Being part of an Order…means you're an Aether Hunter, doesn't it?" Rena pressed.
Zaire sighed. "Call me what you will, Hybrid, or Aether Hunter. Those labels mean nothing."
"The way you think of Aether Hunters is not the way we operate now, at least those of us stationed within the three orders. Our purpose is all that matters: saving Sylmora, at any cost."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Rena asked quietly.
Zaire didn't answer. She kept walking, the chains clinking in rhythm with her steps.
"Answer me," Rena insisted once more.
"Why so curious?" Zaire finally replied, glancing back. "Shouldn't you be glad someone's trying to protect this land?"
"Protecting isn't the same as stealing aether from others like you guys still do, despite what you want us to believe," Rena said sharply, remembering her fight with Yusef.
Zaire's eyes hardened. "It is"
"So then why-"
Zaire interrupted once more to say the same thing, "For our grand mission, and that's to save Sylmora. That's all I have to say."
Rena wanted to push further, but something in Zaire's tone made her stop. She wasn't going to elaborate further or give her the answers she sought. At least not about this.
The group climbed a narrow staircase infested with rats and cobwebs, every step creaking beneath their weight. Dust drifted through the stale air like ash.
When they reached the third floor, Zaire halted. "This place is falling apart," she muttered. "Going any higher would be reckless. We'll take the passage from here."
"Third floor…" Kyro thought, his heart racing.
"What good luck this has to be. Now is my chance."
Zaire tugged on the chains and pushed open a door.
CREEEAK.
The hinges groaned, revealing what used to be a cafeteria, now a nightmare of rot and filth. Blood painted the walls, trays of moldy food lay scattered, cockroaches crawled through the grime, and mosquitoes buzzed in clouds thick enough to choke on.
Tharic covered his nose. "What is that—"
"—smell…" Rena finished, gagging.
Zaire sighed. "Seems Lord Tavin hasn't gotten around to cleaning this place."
Kyro forced a weak laugh. "Well, that's one question I'll be sure to ask him."
Then—
"There!"
The voice echoed inside Kyro's skull again. He grabbed his head, pain surging through his temples.
"AHHH!"
"Kyro!" Tharic looked over to him. "What's wrong?"
Zaire stopped mid-step, watching him carefully. "Again…?"
"Focus," the voice whispered in Kyro's mind. "Look ahead…"
He forced his eyes open—and saw it. A dull, faded purple crystal pulsing at the far end of the room.
"That… must be it!" he whispered to himself, pointing forward.
Zaire, Tharic, and Rena all turned toward the same direction—toward a faded purple crystal on the ground beside an overturned cafeteria table. A crystal, dull and cracked, pulsed weakly amidst the grime.
"What is this boy rambling about?" Zaire asked, her tone edged with irritation.
"He needs that crystal," Tharic said urgently. "Please, let us go to it, quickly!"
Zaire's eyes narrowed. "I don't waste time chasing after curiosities that don't concern me. Not unless one of you explains what's happening."
"Why, you—!" said Tharic.
Kyro staggered forward, clutching his head.
Rena intervened before Tharic could say anything rash. "The boy's been hearing a voice," she said evenly. "It told him to look for something on this floor. That crystal… it might be what the voice wanted him to find."
"I see." Zaire stepped forward, tightening her grip on the chains that bound them. The links rattled sharply against the stone floor.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Tharic barked, pulling back against his restraints.
Kyro stumbled again, his body trembling as waves of pain coursed through him. Every step made the group slow; their movements uneven.
Zaire turned, voice sharp. "Hey, foolish boy, control yourself!"
Rena exhaled and met Zaire's gaze. "Why don't you go check it out yourself? If it's harmless, maybe letting him have it will calm him down. That way, it can perhaps help us get to Lord Tavin quicker rather than dealing with someone unable to walk properly."
Zaire hesitated. The silence hung heavy between them before she finally spoke. "Fine. Just this once."
She wrapped the chain around a nearby cafeteria table leg and anchored it with a flick of her hand. "Don't move. Not even a single step. Or else—"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Tharic interrupted impatiently. "Just hurry up now."
Zaire gave him a cold look before turning toward the crystal. It sat half-buried in dust and cobwebs, smeared with old, darkened blood. She crouched beside it and ran her fingers along its surface. No pulse of energy. No resonance. Nothing.
"Strange," she thought. "It's completely inert, a lack of anything. Such a hollow object…and yet that's what the boy wants?"
She brushed away the grime, the faint glow barely flickering beneath her touch. Then, standing, she returned to the three of them.
"It seems harmless," Zaire said. Her tone was casual, almost dismissive. "If this will stop the boy's whining, he can have it."
She tossed the crystal in Kyro's direction. It hit the ground with a sharp crack, splintering slightly as it rolled to his feet.
"Right there!" the voice echoed in Kyro's mind—louder, clearer, demanding.
He screamed as the pain exploded once again inside his skull.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
He dropped to his knees, clutching his head, his body convulsing in agony.
"The crystal, you wanted it, right?! Take it!" Tharic shouted, desperation in his voice.
Zaire crossed her arms, unbothered. "Hmph. Seems your trinket only made things worse."
She turned to Rena, tone hardening. "If you have any better ideas, now would be the time. Otherwise, I'll silence him myself."
Rena looked at her helplessly. "I wish I had another answer…"
Then, a low hum began to fill the air. Soft at first—then growing, resonant, alive. The crystal began to pulse with violet light, faint cracks glowing like veins of lightning.
Zaire's expression shifted to alarm. "But how is that possible? It shouldn't have any aether at all…"
Kyro opened his eyes. The crystal's glow enveloped him, and suddenly, the world began to melt away. The prison walls faded, replaced by streaks of white and purple light twisting and coiling around him.
Kyro slowly let go of his clutch on his head as the throbbing headache started to disappear.
"The pain…" he murmured. "It's gone."
He looked around as the world dissolved into motion, a swirling tunnel of stars and colors stretching into infinity. Time itself seemed to warp, bending in every direction.
"This place again…" he whispered. The same strange vortex. The same sensation of falling through reality.
Then, just as suddenly, the light coalesced into form, a study room materializing around him. Wooden walls. A desk scattered with notes. The scent of ink and dust.
"And back to the same memory too…" he thought to himself.
Before him, the familiar figure from before stood with their back turned, writing something on a chalkboard.
"Now," the figure said, voice deep and deliberate, "let's discuss souls—and how they tie together the final threads of our grand design."
Kyro tried to move, tried to speak, but again, his body refused him.
"Ugh… I thought being manually brought here would change things…I guess not…"
"Still cannot talk whatsoever…"
Then, to his surprise, his mouth moved on its own again, words spilling out beyond his control.
"Yes," Kyro said aloud. "The threads of our grand design… The Tempus Gate!"