She knew better than anyone the true danger of Cynen's flames, its ability to corrupt the flesh of anyone it touched, and its ever-burning quality that made it almost impossible to get rid of. What she hadn't counted on was the sheer heat it could produce. Had she been able to tie Cynen down, the fight would have been over easily, but with their plan destroyed before they could even start, it looked like this fight was going to be a loss.

She hesitated for just a moment, but that hesitation cost her, as Cynen suddenly leapt forward, green flame shrouding her fists. Swearing, Gero retreated, her blades flashing as she defended against the strikes. She was forced to be extra careful to avoid the licking flames from touching her skin, and for a moment, the two women were a blur as they fought back and forth.

The Ebony Association's three other fighters had retreated, dragging their now-armless companion with them, and they stood at a distance, watching Cynen and Gero fight back and forth, while occasionally sending glances at Abbius Maximus Obey and the Assassin, who stood on the opposite side of the arena, also watching the fight.

While both teams could have thrown themselves into battle, it was clear that the only thing that would actually affect the outcome of the fight was who won between Cynen and Gero, and within another minute, that became clear as well. Though they were both shapers, Cynen was clearly a level above Gero in terms of strength, and the weight of her fists had begun to crack Gero's famed twin blades. Cursing under her breath, Gero retreated, her hands trembling slightly as she held her two blades in front of her. Cynen watched her retreat, and then, with a smirk, began walking forward, with an unhurried gait.

"I concede," Gero said, forcing the words out through clenched teeth.

Cynen didn't stop, continuing to walk forward until Gero swore loudly and repeated the words, this time loud enough for everybody to hear. Cynen's flames died down as she stared at Gero.

"This would have been much easier if you had just chosen to negotiate," she said, and without waiting for a reply, turned and walked back over to where her team stood.

Arthur Tellson gave Cynen an appraising glance, and then took a deep breath, about to announce the winner. At that moment, one of Gero's men stepped forward and revealed a small box that he had hidden in his coat. As soon as it appeared, a terrifying wave of mental energy raced across the arena, causing everyone to gasp. With trembling hands, the man lifted the box and stabbed his palm onto a spike that protruded from one side. Blood poured out of the wound, running into hundreds of silver grooves on the box and the lid flicked open, causing an incredibly powerful suction force to appear.

Yet the man hadn't targeted Cynen, and instead, it was Garret who felt himself being pulled forward, along with Princess Eloise. A fierce mental energy tore at him, trying to suck him in, but he used his own mental energy to keep himself pinned in place. The problem was, Princess Eloise didn’t have that ability, and her mental energy was ripped apart in an instant, causing her to be yanked through the air toward the box. At the last moment, his hand grabbed onto her arm and his feet hooked onto his wheelchair. Before anyone could react, the two of them were sucked into the box, vanishing before everyone's eyes.

A furious roar shook the minds of everyone watching, and a moment later, Cynen arrived in front of the man holding the box. Gero was one step faster than her, however, her blade flickering as she removed the head of her underling. There was a cold satisfaction in her eyes as she glared at Cynen, who had been about to burn the man to a crisp. Without hesitating, Gero lunged for the box, only to be forced back by a wall of flame. Cynen stooped to grab the box, fierce flames pouring out of her body, but what actually gave Gero pause wasn’t the clearly enraged woman in front of her, but something else entirely.

As a shaper level awakened, Gero was especially sensitive to mental energy and could often tell when someone looked at her intently. Even as she had lunged for the box, she had felt hundreds and then thousands of gazes settling on her. She had no idea where they were from, though many seemed to be coming from above her head, but each one fixed itself on her as if she was the only thing that existed in the world. The feeling slammed into her with so much force that she nearly screamed and as she backed up across the arena.

After stooping for the box, Cynen examined it, turning it over in her hands. It was about six inches on each side, and was covered in dense lines that gleamed a dull silver. One side had a fierce metal spike that was still bloody from where it had been stabbed into the dead man’s palm. Only once she had taken a good look did she turn toward Gero. After the initial surprise of everyone present, things had begun to quiet down, and when Cynen spoke, everyone could hear it clearly.

“What is this?”

Licking her lips, Gero shrugged.

“I’m not sure. I have no idea why one of my men would have done something like that.”

Not a single person listening believed Gero. However, the man in question was already dead, and the others who had been with her had distanced themselves in complete shock. Gero had tied everything up neatly with her swift execution, and it would be impossible to find any further clues at this point. Turning the box over once more, Cynen saw that what she had thought was the underside was the lid but no matter how much she pushed on it, the lid stayed shut fast. With a grim expression, she took a step towards Gero, but Arthur Tellson stepped in her way.

"What are you doing?" she asked, faint flames beginning to burn around her body.

"The fight is over," the leader of the Adventurer's Guild said.

"The Ebony Association attacked us after the fight, and we're not allowed to defend ourselves?"

"The fight wasn't over yet," Gero said from behind Tellson, a tight smile on her face.

With an angry growl, Cynen took another step forward, but this time Carl Rackham appeared in front of her.

"She's technically correct," Rackham said, his expression neutral. "If you would like to fight, you'll have to challenge her."

In the stands, Morris stood with his hands clenched, glaring at Gero. He wasn't foolish enough to rush out, however, as the princess had been operating in secrecy. Besides, while he was close to the Shaper level, he wasn't yet there, and Gero would likely be able to slap him down with ease, to say nothing of the two men in front of her. Cynen's head turned, looking at Carl Rackham, and then at Arthur Tellson.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I will remember this," she said, before looking once more toward Gero.

She didn't say anything this time, just considering her for a moment before turning to walk away. Before she could get more than a few steps, however, Gero lifted her voice.

"It would seem we are short one member to fill the ten seats."

It was impossible to miss the gloating in her voice, and Cynen stopped in place, speaking without turning around.

"Garrett Klein isn't dead."

"How could you possibly know that?" Gero asked. "He was sucked into that strange box, and who knows if he'll ever return."

"Oh, do you know something we don't?" Cynen asked, turning her head to face Gero.

With a smirk, Gero held her hands wide and shook her head.

"No. How could I? After all, I have no idea what that box is. I've never seen it before."

"Then I guess we're at an impasse, aren't we?" Cynen replied. "The seat belongs to the Klein family, and will continue to do so until Garrett is confirmed deceased."

"Do you really think that's something that you can just decide?" Arthur Tellson asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

The only response he got was a cold chuckle as Cynen turned and walked away. Her dismissive attitude made the Adventurer's Guild Master furious, but before he could say anything, Thomas, who had just barely kept himself from being sucked into the box along with the other two, clapped his hands together, his stare beyond cold.

"I think what Cynen has said has merit," he said. "I know I speak for everyone here when I say I am incredibly disappointed in what has happened here."

As he spoke, his glare raked across Gero and Tellson.

“Louise.”

Louise, the leader of the Silver Song, who had been watching everything with interest, started as she heard her voice being called, and quickly stood up.

"Yes, Thomas?"

"I want a full investigation into that box and what it is, and more importantly, how it happened to come into the Ebony Association's hands," Thomas said, his eyes never leaving Gero and Arthur Tellson. "Spare no expense, and leave no stone unturned."

"Come. We're leaving," Cynen said, calling to everyone who had come in with her and Garrett. Gathering together, they stalked out of the arena, Cynen still holding the silver box. Morris was absolutely beside himself. Everyone else, though, was relatively calm. Finally, he simply couldn't stand it anymore.

Reaching out to grab Cynen, he thought better of it at the last moment, after remembering the way she had burned through the metal hooks. Instead, he rushed in front of her. "How can all of you be so calm?" He snapped, causing Ryn to step forward and silence him with a glare.

"Be quiet. If you're going to follow us, do so quietly." Gritting his teeth, all Morris could do was trail along as they headed out of the underground arena and back into the sewers.

Once they were a good distance away, Ryn looked at Morris, who was barely holding on to his temper, and spoke in a quiet voice, as if whispering a secret. "Garrett and the princess are fine," she said, causing Morris to stiffen.

"What do you mean they're fine?"

"I mean they're not in any immediate danger," Ryn replied, shooting a glance at the box Cynen held.

"How do you know that?" Morris asked.

Ryn shrugged and pointed at the box.

"Because Garrett said so. Don't ask how, but he can communicate with us. It's one of his awakened powers. They're in some sort of space inside the box. Apparently it's much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Once we get back to the inn, we'll do some research on it, figure out how to get them back out. Until then, keep your mouth shut, or you can stay here."

Morris wanted to argue, but before he could, Cynen stopped and turned towards him, regarding him silently. He swallowed back the angry words he wanted to say, and followed the group quietly as they returned to the inn.

Garrett was standing in a strange, gray world that looked surprisingly familiar. The same frayed carpet and fading wallpaper, the same worn, wooden detailing, and the occasional picture that simultaneously appeared to have a figure looking out of it, and nothing at all. Taking a deep breath, Garrett found it even smelled the same, musty and stale.

Next to him, Princess Eloise gripped his arm tightly, her nails practically piercing his skin, as she tried to control her trembling. Over the last six months, Garrett had been in enough strange situations that getting sucked into a small box and finding himself in a familiar space wasn't that upsetting. For Princess Eloise, however, who didn't even know a space like this existed, it had been a shocking experience, and it was only now that she was beginning to calm down.

"Your Highness."

Twitching slightly when she heard Garrett's voice, Princess Eloise looked down at him, her voice quivering.

"Yes?"

"I'm about to start bleeding, Your Highness."

It was only now that the Princess realized she had been gripping tightly on Garrett's arm, and with a light cough, she released him. Taking a deep breath, she looked around.

"Where, where is this?"

"An excellent question," Garrett replied, joining the Princess in gazing around. He sent out a flicker of mental energy, using it to form the image of a flower behind Princess Eloise's back, testing to see if his abilities worked. They did, which meant that this was a liminal space, exactly like the endless halls of Isabelle's Mirror. However, this space wasn't the world inside of the mirror, and Garrett knew that for sure, because he had already tried controlling it.

The hollow space inside the mirror was completely under Garrett's control, as Isabelle was one of his guardians. This space was foreign, and resisted Garrett's mental energy, much like the hollow space in the mirror had when he first entered it. Thankfully, his connection with his guardians didn't seem to be hindered by anything, and he had been able to communicate clearly with both Cynen and Isabelle. He had even managed to send out a message to calm down all of the dream flowers, as he was afraid if he didn't, they would immediately begin waging war.

Garrett and the Princess were currently in a long hallway that appeared to turn to the right up ahead, and the left behind them. There were a number of doors off of the hallway, each of them marked with a symbol. Yet even as Garrett watched, the symbols shifted, transforming into other symbols.

Feeling Princess Eloise's soul spark lighting up, Garrett couldn't help but glance at her. He had known she was awakened in the mid-lighting stage, but he found himself curious about her power.

"I should be able to protect us, at least a little bit," the Princess said, taking a deep breath. And then, in a move that completely shocked Garrett, she gripped the back of his wheelchair, and began pushing him forward, down the hall.

"Which way do you think we should go?" She asked, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice.

"In a place like this, forward is as good as back," Garrett replied. "This is what's called a liminal space, an endless tangle of halls and rooms that all look the same. There are specific conditions for entering and exiting. For entering, it appears blood is necessary."

"Do we need blood to exit?" Princess Eloise asked.

"That's a good question," Garrett replied, "and one that hopefully we'll be able to find the answer to. If we can avoid having to cut our hands open, however, I think it would be a good thing."