CHAPTER FOUR

Price of Lies

An hour had slipped by since they rejoined the group, with Marcus being hard at work ever since. He cradled two monster corpses in his hands and held two more secured between his arms and torso. He eased through the gel-like barrier of the Sphere, feeling a sudden chill on the other side as the heat of the desert was exchanged for the more modest Dutch climate.

He spotted his sister and Benedict chatting with a government official, no doubt negotiating about something. Marcus kept moving, nonchalantly dropping the lifeless monsters next to a row of others. He noticed Julien, Kay, and Jessica nearby, hosing off themselves and the Glass they’d gathered while occasionally messing around.

‘Idiots,’ Marcus thought as he watched Jessica shove the hose through a gap in Kay’s armor while Julien turned the valve open even further.

Marcus turned on his heel, moving back through the Sphere’s strange barrier. The desert’s fiery breath greeted him, but he ignored it as best as he could. He spotted Sebastian carrying three monster corpses with one arm.

“You alright?” the big German asked, eyeing him.

Marcus gave a quick nod. “Yeah, just a few bruises. What about—”

“I don’t give a shit about your bruises. I was asking about your Mana exposure. You good?” the Breacher asked as he reached Marcus, pausing next to him.

“I don’t know for sure. I mean, I feel fine at the moment,” Marcus admitted, his eyes taking in Sebastian’s blood- and debris-covered armor. “What about you?”

The man’s eyes narrowed briefly before he responded, “I’m always good. I’m not some weak Alpha who faints at a hint of Mana in the air.” Sebastian spat on the ground between them, then moved towards the Sphere’s edge, carrying the corpses with ease.

A few paces later, the man abruptly stopped, with Marcus noticing a subtle shift in the man’s demeanor.

“I don’t know what my brother saw in you back at the junkyard. But you did alright today. You didn’t bitch and moan like Julien. You kept your composure, even helping me with the corpses though no one asked.”

Marcus studied the one-armed Breacher before speaking up. “You just tried to give me a compliment, didn’t you?”

“No. It just means my brother was right not to let me snap your neck back then,” Sebastian said before moving again, slowly passing through the Sphere’s edge.

Marcus stayed put, observing the Breacher’s distorted movements on the far side of the barrier. ‘I have no clue what goes on in that man’s head,’ Marcus thought, shaking his head before turning to search for the nearest monster corpse. Crouching, he picked up the nearest corpse, noticing the Glass piece lodged in the back of its skull. Marcus’s finger traced the Glass’s outline briefly, feeling its pull. For a moment, he considered burying it, but then he dropped the corpse and grabbed a few nearby monsters without Glass still inside them. ‘And then what? Sneak inside the Sphere at night after a long bike ride without getting caught? Or send in Specter with both Orbs, praying it doesn’t get noticed?’

After shifting the bodies on his shoulders, Marcus navigated through the ocean of white sand toward the Sphere's edge, spotting several spent bullet casings. As he neared the barrier, he observed Sebastian passing through it again. As he neared the barrier, he observed Sebastian passing through it again. Just as Marcus was about to step through, Sebastian’s gaze shifted towards him, and their eyes locked.

“The junkyard... why did you do it?” Sebastian asked.

“I’m not sure what—”

“Yeah, you do,” Sebastian insisted, stealing two of the corpses from Marcus and balancing them on his shoulder. “I don’t need to know what you were doing there. Just why.”

Marcus paused at the question, his gaze drifting past the distorting Sphere’s barrier. He spotted his sister and Benedict still talking, with Luuk in the background dressed in civilian clothes. “For my sister... my family,” he answered.

They stood there, each gazing at their sibling, momentarily lost in their own emotions. Finally, Sebastian nodded and left the Sphere, followed by Marcus, who quickly snatched up two more corpses. As he passed through the barrier, Marcus again ignored the sudden temperature drop, following the one-armed Breacher to the nearest pile of corpses and dropping the bodies like sacks of manure. He saw Sebastian heading back towards the Sphere to fetch the remaining monster corpses. Marcus considered helping but decided the man would be fine on his own, seeing as there were barely any left.

Instead, Marcus emptied the Glass pieces from his pockets, dumping them into a container filled with water for a quick rinse. He approached a government official, placing the Glass on a table. Marcus watched as the man carefully documented each item before sliding them into individual containers.

“There’s less Glass than corpses,” he muttered to himself, eyeing the total amount.

“Smaller monsters have more unstable Glass than the bigger ones, so it occasionally disintegrates when they die or when we pull them out,” Kay said as he made his way over towards Marcus. “It’s a balancing act between risk and quantity. Still, it’s a decent haul today.”

As Kay prattled on about the haul from a previous run, Marcus stared at the Glass pieces in a single crate, mentally calculating the potential upgrades they could provide.

“Come on, let’s get you hosed off,” Kay said, pointing to where Jessica and Julien were.

Following Kay to rejoin the others, Marcus flinched as cold water suddenly hit him, washing away the remnants of sand, blood, and gore. Carefully, he peeled off his helmet, gauntlets, and breastplate, then took off his thick boots and shin guards. He meticulously cleaned each piece, knowing his sister would chew him out if he didn’t. Marcus then stripped off the top part of his protective overalls, wringing it out as a red stream dripped from the fabric.

Feeling somewhat cleaner, he ran his hands through his short black hair, fingertips tracing the marks on the side of his face. ‘I’ll never get used to these,’ he thought, instantly remembering the day of the Tech Expo. Opening his eyes, he found Kay and Jessica staring, their gazes lingering on the Marks across his torso, arm, and head.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Jessica said with a grin, nodding toward Marcus’s overalls clinging to his lower half before Kay elbowed her in the ribs.

Snatching the water hose from her, Kay aimed it at her while making a hissing sound, causing her to back off with a smirk before joining up with Benedict.

“Sorry about that. She’s just kidding... hopefully. We don’t come across many Originals, except for Sebastian. And now you’re here, along with two proper guild members from the Royal Blue.”

“You haven’t been a Breacher for long, have you?” Marcus asked as he took the hose, washing off the remaining bits of filth from his body.

“A bit over a month now,” Kay said proudly before switching off the water as Marcus finished up, then offering him a towel. “But it feels like a lifetime ago. This marks my fourth Sphere that I’ve tackled.”

“Impressive,” Marcus acknowledged, his face betraying nothing, while mentally recalling the times he or Specter had gone inside a Sphere. He dried his short black hair and tossed the towel in a nearby bin. “But turning Forged, that’s incredibly risky, right?”

“Yeah,” Kay nodded, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “The surgery’s no joke in terms of risks, and afterward, you feel like crap for a while. I mean, blood boiling in your veins for days kind of pain. But hey, it’s better than the one percent survival rate you Originals faced. It’s absurd that you guys survived a literal meteor. Just saying it out loud like this feels crazy.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Marcus nodded as he scooped up his gear, and they ambled towards Benedict and the others while Kay continued talking.

“Turning Forged was a big risk a few years ago. The first cases had less than a 20 percent survival rate—practically mad science territory. It’s gotten a lot better... like a lot, but you’re still rolling the dice.”

“Why did you do it?” Marcus asked, curious.

“Why does anyone, Marked or not, turn Breacher?” Kay shrugged nonchalantly. “Because we’re all a bit mental, I think.” A soft chuckle escaped him as they neared the others. “I became a Forged Breacher to keep a promise... to make a difference. And the paycheck’s not bad, even if we’re just taking on light blue Spheres.”

The two of them joined the others just in time to witness the end of the negotiations.

“We can live with that,” Benedict said, extending his hand to seal the deal. Credits were quickly exchanged afterwards, and once the official left, Benedict turned to his group. “Alright, Salamanders. Clean up, tend to your gear, get it sealed by an official, and then come back to me for your paycheck.”

Marcus watched as the rest of the group finished cleaning and stowing their weapons in steel crates. Government officials observed, taking stock of the remaining ammunition and the condition of their weapons before sealing up the crates.

“Why the extra security?” Marcus asked his sister as he returned the sword and shield he had borrowed from her.

“Layers of protection, oversight, and bullshit red tape,” she said, grabbing a rag from her backpack before she began to clean the sword. “It wasn’t like that in the past, but governments have tightened control over the guns and weapons circulating among Breachers. Or at least, they’re trying to.” She ran her hand along the blade her brother had wielded, checking for damage. “There have been cases where people were killed by undocumented weapons, or even theft. So now, they document every weapon and ammo use whenever someone sells, buys, repairs, or uses it inside a Sphere,” she explained, noticing her brother’s gaze lingering on the blade in her hand. “It’s not a perfect system, and not every country handles it this way. But it’s the system we have to work with. Still, there are exceptions.”

“What kind of exceptions?” Marcus asked, his eyes following her movements as she packed away the blades, pistol, and shields.

“What do you think?” Luuk chimed in as he stepped closer to the siblings. “People with ‘fuck you money’ and status.”

While the Breacher spoke, Marcus struggled to reconcile the unassuming man in simple attire with the armored menace who had slaughtered dozens of monsters back in the Sphere.

“He’s right,” Joline said, finishing her gear check. “Big guilds and the most powerful Breachers live in a different world and play by different rules compared to us mortals. The top guilds handle their own security and gear, not to mention owning entire Spheres, which gives them the freedom and flexibility to do whatever they want. Our guild, the Royal Blue, doesn’t even come close to that level. But in return, those powerful guilds bear a great responsibility, as they are called in during national emergencies.” She held up a finger to hush her brother, who was about to ask another question.

As for the latter, Gamma-ranked Breachers usually have more freedom compared to Alphas and Betas like you and us, while Deltas, the highest-ranked Breachers, can pretty much do as they please,” Joline said, flashing a nervous smile. “I mean, the highest-ranked Deltas have enough strength to take down entire guilds on their own. And the handful of Delta+ Breachers out there? They’re as close to demigods as it gets, and every country and their mother wants one nearby to protect their nation... or even an entire continent. It’s hard to enforce rules on someone who could probably survive a nuclear explosion. So, who’s dumb enough to try to control someone like that?”

She grabbed their cellphones and backpacks from the crate, handed Marcus his things, and signaled for a staff member to check and seal the crates. The trio then made their way to the rest of the group. Soon after, each Breacher except Joline was holding up their phones.

“Alright, gather ‘round, kiddos,” Benedict called, extending his phone and opening an app. Marcus noticed the other Breachers eagerly leaning in to watch the countdown on the credit transfer, while Luuk’s face beamed with childlike glee. Marcus watched the others, slightly amused by how infectious their energy was, before shifting his gaze sideways and catching sight of his sister watching him. Their eyes met briefly, exchanging unspoken words that he understood completely.

His attention shifted when he heard Kay’s soft whistle, followed by Jessica high-fiving Julien at the sight of the total credits on Benedict’s app. Luuk’s expression showed confusion mixed with amusement, as if he had expected a bigger number

“Remember, a portion of this went into booking our slot for this Sphere, and a smaller part will cover restocking supplies and repairing our gear. Not to mention we’ve got more mouths to feed this time,” Benedict said, glancing towards Joline. “But one of our observers has generously decided to opt out of a payment. In exchange, we keep quiet about her guild’s involvement.” He smiled as Kay and Jessica loudly claimed they had no idea what or who he was talking about.

With that settled, the squad leader tapped his phone, triggering soft beeps as credits transferred to his team. Marcus glanced at his phone and saw the credits Benedict had transferred. ‘That’s a lot of credits,’ he thought, realizing rent wouldn’t be a problem for a while. ‘Maybe I could buy some basic starter gear.’

He vaguely heard Benedict mention a second, smaller payment once the corpses were sold and processed. ‘Who knows, maybe this is enough to rent a Sphere for a few hours on my own? Go in with the two robots and go nuts on the Glass,’ he thought. He then noticed some of the Salamanders grabbing their things and slowly heading towards the gatehouse for one last inspection and pat-down, ensuring they didn’t take any Glass or other dangerous items from the Sphere.

Marcus watched as his sister made her way to the gate, one of the first to undergo the final check before exiting and changing into fresh clothes in a private booth. ‘Stop thinking about spending the credits. You started this to pay off Joline’s debt,’ he scolded himself mentally, then followed her toward the gate.

“Hey, Marcus, hold on a sec,” Benedict called out, catching up to him and waiting until they were alone. His gaze lingered briefly on the black Marks on Marcus’s face. “I didn’t want to do this over the phone or with others nearby. So, this will have to—”

“What do you want?” Marcus interrupted, aware of what was about to happen.

“Blunt as ever. Well, first off, I wanted to let you know you can tag along with the Salamanders whenever you want. The credits will be fair, as you can see,” Benedict said, stepping closer and lowering his voice. “But... we took a risk for you back then... with the detective. Despite what you may have thought when we first met at the junkyard, my brother and I don’t usually do that.”

Marcus arched an eyebrow at that. “You mean track down and beat up people inside a Sphere? Or shoot them with a beanbag?”

“Cute. No, I meant lying,” Benedict corrected him, shifting his gaze towards his brother in the distance and giving a reassuring nod before turning back to Marcus. “I figured we saved your ass back there, despite you clearly being in the wrong. You’re lucky my brother and I respect privacy. So—”

“Again, Benedict, what do you want from me?” Marcus interrupted, his gaze turning steely.

“One single favor,” Benedict said calmly.

Marcus paused, his eyes narrowing. “Seriously, are we going to keep dancing around this, or…?”

Benedict’s calm demeanor shifted, a soft smirk spreading across his face. “Are you always as blunt as a hammer, or is this special treatment?” he remarked, but Marcus remained silent. “Alright, here’s the favor. I want you to help me and my brother retrieve something from a Sphere in the future. No question asked. We’ll work out the details, such as time and date, to suit both parties.”

Marcus clicked his tongue in disapproval. “I take it you’re not going to explain beyond that?”

“Like I said, my brother and I respect privacy, including our own. So, unless you want to explain why you were carrying Glass in your backpack or how you survived two days inside a Sphere as a mere Alpha…” Benedict’s gaze fixated on Marcus as he extended his hand. “What do you say?”

“That sounds like a shitty deal,” Marcus said, giving the man’s hand a firm shake. “Not a word to my family.”

“About what?” Benedict smiled as he released his hand. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. Thanks again for the assist today.”

Marcus quickly grabbed his equipment before heading to the entrance. He passed a final check before being permitted to leave. A pang of guilt pricked him as he recalled the bag filled with Glass in his apartment, aware that each piece could potentially form a new Sphere. ‘Sis would lose her mind if she found out I have over 100 pieces at home.’

Snagging a clean shirt from his backpack, Marcus slipped it on while leaving the security post, skipping the option of changing inside a private booth. He tied the sleeves of his protective overalls around his waist and stepped outside, spotting his sister leaning against the wall. Further out, Luuk was on his phone, heading to his parked car. The man managed a quick wave to Marcus before hopping in.

“What took you so long? Buttering up your new squad leader?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“More like guilt-tripped into being friends,” Marcus remarked, noticing her starting to smirk. “So, I’m still kickin’. What’s next?”

“How about I don’t kick your ass for starters?” Joline said, slinging an arm around her brother and pulling him close. “I still don’t like the fact that you’re doing what you’re doing. But you did well today.” She let him go and grabbed her phone as a notification pinged. “So, since you’re still alive, I figured we could celebrate with a victory meal.”

“Like this? I’m still in your hand-me-downs, smelling like monster bits,” Marcus quipped, glancing down at his overalls and gear. “Alright. So, where are we headed?” he asked, moments before he and his sister waved goodbye to Luuk as he drove away.

“Looks like Luuk enjoyed feeling overpowered. As for our meal... it’s coming to us,” Joline said, just as lively salsa music blared faintly in the distance. Not long after, a food truck barreled toward them, narrowly missing a collision with Luuk’s car before sliding to a halt. “By the way, you’re footing the bill for my meal, since you got paid.”

“So, when it comes down to credits, now I’m suddenly reliable?” Marcus joked, raising an eyebrow in mock offense.

““Pff,” his sister scoffed, shaking her head. She waved at Felix as he flung open the food truck door. “Don’t kid yourself. You’re about as reliable as a wet fart on a first date.”

Marcus chuckled, sidestepping her and swiftly tapping his phone against hers. His phone displayed a credit transfer, giving her half of the paycheck he’d just earned. He sought refuge in the safety of the food truck before she caught on, hugging his friend and smudging his outfit with grime.

“Come on, let’s eat.”