"Hello?" Eira called out again, louder this time. "I'm talking to you!"
The man in the stall didn't flinch. He just kept fiddling with a pile of dusty trinkets, his thick oversized cloak swallowing half his body.
Eira narrowed her eyes. That was the third time she'd called him.
"Are you deaf or just pretending?" she muttered under her breath.
Finally, the man sighed and turned around. His face was lined, his beard patchy, and his eyes sharp despite the weariness in them.
"You should've given up after the first time, miss." He said flatly.
Eira crossed her arms in defiance. "I'm not the type that gives up easily, sir. Are you Johuy?"
He studied her for a moment, his gaze flicking to her short hair, and eventually her muddy boots, then tilted his head. "Depends who's asking."
Eira fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Seriously? That's the most cliché shit I've heard since I was born."
The man smirked faintly. "You're not from Arthwalt."
Eira blinked. "Why do you say that?"
"Just a feeling." He said. "You talk like someone who hasn't been broken yet."
She raised a confused brow, but didn't respond to that. Instead, she leaned forward. "I was sent by Betai. I'm part of her dancing troupe."
At the mention of Betai's name, the man's demeanor shifted instantly. His shoulders relaxed, and his eyes softened.
"Well, damn, missy," he said, chuckling. "Why didn't you just say so earlier?"
"I thought you'd answer without needing a name drop…" Eira replied.
He waved her into the stall. "Come in, come in. Quickly. And keep your hood up."
The inside looked like a magician's den. Crystals hung from strings, calabashes lined the shelves, and strange symbols were drawn into the wooden walls, glowing faintly when Eira passed them. The air smelled of dried herbs and something faintly dusty.
Oddly enough, Eira felt calm.
"Sit." Johuy gestured to a stool. "Drink?"
Eira took the seat but shook her head. "Thanks, but I'll pass."
He shrugged and downed the mug himself. "So, what can I do for you, miss…?"
"Eira. I'm here for the purest crystal you've got." Eira replied.
"A pure crystal ey?" Johuy raised an eyebrow. "Planning to forge an artifact?"
Eira smiled, and shook her head. "No. It's for a trinket I want to make for my grandmother."
He nodded and disappeared into the back, muttering curses as he rummaged through piles of junk. Eira heard things crash, clatter, and break.
Eventually, he returned with a small cloth bundle. He unwrapped it carefully, revealing a crystal so clear it looked like frozen light. It was even clearer than the one she almost got at the mines.
Eira's breath caught. "It's…perfect."
"Of course." Johuy's voice boomed with pride. "It's the best you can find. Here." He handed it over to her.
"Oh my God. It must cost a lot. How much?" Eira asked.
He waved her off. "Since Betai sent you. It's free."
Eira hesitated. She felt that Betai wanted to cover the costs with her own money. She didn't want that.
"I—I don't want Betai spending her money on this. It's my personal business."
Johuy laughed, the sound rough and dry. "Funny. I don't want Betai spending her money either. So we agree on one thing."
Eira smiled. "You must be a good friend."
Johuy's face softened. "We go way back."
She noticed the look of quiet longing in his eyes. She understood instantly. Johuy loved her.
"Thank you." Eira said with a big grin.
"If you ever need help…" Johuy said, "Just come find me. And watch over Betai, will you? Make sure she eats well, and doesn't work herself to death."
"I will." Eira promised.
She turned to leave, but everything froze.
A translucent blue message blinked into view before her eyes, hovering midair.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Congratulations. Crystal acquired.
Proceed to Holy Sabriscox Cathedral for refinement.
A digital compass will guide you.
The message vanished, replaced by a glowing compass in her peripheral vision. It flickered, then dulled, its needle spun wildly before steadying, pointing west.
She wanted to rest, the compass pulsed insistently, and the familiar static in her skull told her the system wouldn't shut up until she obeyed.
So she followed.
—
The cathedral was monstrous.
It rose like a blade into the sky, its spires jagged and cruel. Statues of fallen angels lined the walls, looking dark and scary.
Eira stared up at it, heart pounding. "This looks more like a demon's palace than a cathedral." She muttered to herself.
Wind howled through broken windows. A massive door loomed ahead, carved with a mural of humans kneeling before fanged figures in crowns.
Eve was one petty, disrespectful bitch.
She swallowed the disgust that rose in her throat, and stepped through the massive doors, just as the compass directed.
The moment her boots crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut behind her with a deafening boom. She spun around.
The door was gone, replaced with a wall.
Eira froze. "Shit."
She clenched her fists in alarm, but then decided to trust the system.
She turned back to the room, and her jaw dropped.
The interior wasn't a cathedral, It was a lab.
A massive, futuristic lab.
It looked like it had been dropped straight out of a science fiction world. The stone walls shimmered with embedded holographic panels, code lines flickering across them. Machines whirred softly in the background.
Transparent tubes pulsed, and robotic arms clicked and purred in smooth, mechanical grace.
It looked like something out of the 30th century.
Eira's heart soared. She rushed forward, eyes wide, and hands trailing over the machines. She recognized some of them—data processors, chemical analyzers, neural scanners. But others were completely alien.
She felt like a child in a toy store.
But she stopped herself. She needed to focus.
She was here for two things: refining the crystal and decoding the memory elixir's ingredient.
A system message blinked on screen.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Insert Crystal into Refining Chamber.
Add stabilizer compound.
Begin process.
Eira followed the instructions, placing the crystal into the chamber and adding the stabilizer from a labeled vial.
The machine whirred to life.
While it worked, she turned to another console. Her fingers flew over the interface, summoning a virtual environment, encrypted and invisible—an isolated pocket the system couldn't trace.
Then she typed in the elixir code her mother had left her.
The screen blinked.
Ingredient required: Ambergris.
Source: Marine beast.
Location: Velecroy Pine Sea.
Eira frowned. Ambergris? Of all things.
She read and memorized everything, instantly.
The refining chamber beeped behind her, sharp and loud.
Inside, the crystal had split into three miniature shards, each floating and spinning in midair. Holographic runes circled them, pulsing in slow rhythm.
Eira reached out carefully, plucking them one by one. They were light as air.
Another message popped out.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Insert crystals, and enter the chamber.
She slid the crystals into the ports of the chamber and stepped inside. The door sealed behind her with a hiss.
A white beam of light zapped across her temples, and pain exploded in her head.
The last thing she heard before everything went black was "Data Transfer Initiated. Neural Link Established…"