Laila still remembered the handcrafted façade and the night sky streaming past. But none of the beauty remained. A horror left this place. Now, it resembled a ruin, or at least what was left of it. It felt strange. Why had she decided to come here again?

Yellow barrier tape circled the block. The windows smashed. Wooden pillars and other debris blocked the entrance.

Laila looked at the second floor, confused. The windows, covered in white mud yesterday, suddenly looked as clean as if threads had never been wrapped around the building. Her foot tapped restlessly against the stones in a steady rhythm.

Something glittering dazzled Laila. Shards of glass shimmered in the passing light before the sun disappeared behind the cold clouds. Her breath caught. Something grew out of the house's walls. Colorful, slightly sparkling flowers. Rigid from the frost, blooms swayed in the wind. The roots fused deeply with the stone and wood.

"Impossible..." Laila muttered, crouching. Her fingers stroked the soft leaves. The skin tingled gently. She didn't know why exactly. But at that moment, it felt right to pick the flower.

"That should be no problem," Kurumi suddenly interrupted. "We'll infiltrate through my shadows to avoid possible traps. Not that I think anyone would trouble themselves with planting any."

"Just a moment," Laila replied, looking at the flower stem. She opened her fan. Magic waves crashed onto the unfolded surface. Faint, tendril-like lines snaked across the entire plant. She didn't want to open her mystical code any further; otherwise, a strange feeling would crawl into her fingers.

The lines resembled magical circuits, or perhaps veins were the best way to describe it. But was that possible? What plant in nature has such features?

"Can't you do that later?" Kurumi urged but only got a handshake before Laila disappeared around the house corner.

"That's enough," Kurumi hissed. Laila looked at another colorful clump of flowers. Here, the roots had buried themselves deep into the wood or even blown up some stones. Sometimes, you even heard it crack.

"Would you tell me why you're sitting in the dirt?"

"These flowers shouldn't be blooming here."

"Who cares? Spiders shouldn't grow two meters large either!"

"That's not the point. This plant can't grow in nature. It's impossible. Amalia..." Laila said and faltered. A deep breath brought her words back. "She... She spent an entire semester trying to grow them in a lab. Unsuccessfully."

Defeated, Kurumi raised both hands, pulling down her cheeks. They should have been in the house by now. "Okay, so what's the problem?"

"It resembles Pranus; maybe it's even a mutated version. They require a mana-rich environment; otherwise, they won't thrive. No place in the world fulfills these extreme conditions."

"How many places have three ley lines?"

"Ohh... A plant that thrives every 60 years? Possibly, but then the clock tower would prepare fields specifically for the ley lines time."

"Why are you acting like the Clock Tower is omnipotent? Did you ever consider that Fuyuki's families guard them as their monopoly?"

"How do they want to keep it? By threatening to poison all the fields? That's ridiculous. As if the clock tower cares about two families when it comes to valuable resources."

"Are you stupid? Why do you think they would share their secret? No one finds out when it only blooms every 60 years. It would be a nice income, wouldn't it?"

Laila turned away and grabbed another clump of plants

"That could be. But I've only ever seen the plants here. Neither in the forest nor somewhere else. Only here."

"And that unsettles you so much now that we practically stand out like an open target?" Kurumi asked. "Are you afraid of what we find or might wait inside?"

As if on command, these words brought Laila back. Her heart was beating faster. She hadn't even noticed that before. What if something was already watching them? Would Kurumi notice? Those eyes could be everywhere. Frozen, she nodded and slowly wiped her hands on the pants.

"I don't know... We should hurry, shouldn't we?"

"Yes," Kurumi replied, watching Laila tuck the flowers and plants she'd picked into a side pocket, hiding her trembling fingers. Red light bubbled under their feet and illuminated white breath. Laila almost jumped against the wall if Kurumi didn't hold her in place.

'It's all right; it's just the portal; no eyes, no eyes,' Laila told herself. Then she felt moisture as something warm pulled her into the depths. "Damn it, let's go," she cursed, clenching her fists.

This time, Laila didn't hit the floor. The wood groaned, cracked, and splintered. Something slimy burst out like a water balloon under the first step.

"What on earth?" Laila whispered, swallowing down a dawning feeling. Who would have believed their eyes?

"Pick up your fan," Kurumi criticized, tapping the air with a fingertip. An invisible wave spread through the building. This place was strange. Something tugged at her mind. On her dress, her hair, even her skin. It behaved differently, separate from the plants as if it wanted to attract attention.

"All clear; we're alone."

The sickening sensation of strange magical energy patted Laila's skin. Pollen glowed, and lightning crackled when rays of light touched the air. But Laila barely noticed. An ocean of plants stretched out before them. Mushrooms, flowers, and vines with strange fruits. It grew everywhere as if a lost realm from the age of the gods was hidden here.

Cracking wood broke the silence. A wooden structure collapsed someplace. The roots dug into the surrounding area, slowly blowing up all the materials. Laila's stomach twisted, and she stopped in place. Clutching the open fan in her hand, the multitude of sensations felt overwhelming.

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It was almost blinding. Kurumi would let her know if a servant approached them. Or would she? Maybe the whole thing had been a bad idea after all. Laila shook her head.

After all, Kurumi didn't know what to look for. The white threads that were still gluing the entire hallway together yesterday had disappeared. Instead, a forgotten age conquered this place.

Smells lingered in the corridor. One couldn't smell them, yet some sense tasted the strangeness anyway. To Laila's surprise, no panic flared inside her. Instead, a certain sadness thundered heavily on against the chest. She immediately fumbled a piece of cloth out of her pocket and tied it over her mouth and nose like a mask.

"No wonder pranus is leaking out. The amount of mana is insane," Laila muttered, muffled into the fabric. "The plants have probably decomposed the threads."

"A bit quick, don't you think?" Suddenly, Laila coughed. Maybe the cloth wasn't because of the stench, after all, Kurumi thought. "Are you all right?"

"I think so. I hope I didn't inhale anything poisonous," she replied, trying to laugh but only managing another cough.

"We'd better hurry. I can heal you in an emergency."

"Not another word. I don't want to think about it. Mr. Jones had his room one behind mine."

"Too bad. I was hoping that would put your mind at ease," Kurumi replied, smiling.

They quickly rushed along the corridor. Laila tried to open the door, but it was stuck or locked.

"Let me try." Kurumi pushed Laila aside. The door creaked under pressure. The hinges broke out of the wall, and the door tipped forward into the room with a splash onto more plants. She didn't feel anything yet. No one was nearby.

A lively room revealed itself. Laila recognized the furniture immediately, even though it was overgrown. Apparently, the hotel had bought the same furniture for every room. The neatly arranged furniture was more of a surprise. The monster destroyed the entire hallway, after all.

A suitcase lay in front of the wardrobe, and she saw another slightly larger one behind the bed. However, the black leather was pierced by roots. The moss-covered blanket hung by the bed, but otherwise, the room was in a clear state.

"It just won't go away," Kurumi muttered, frustrated. "Start examining; I'll have a quick look in the other rooms." Before Laila could object, she was already alone in the room.

Her hair was standing on end. The sun cage and phoenix paper—as soon as she had that, they could leave. Laila flinched as a crash came from the hallway. Kurumi must have ripped another door off its hinges. She cut plants from the blanket and put her fan on the bed before grabbing the first suitcase.

Pieces of clothing flew across the room. Shirts overgrown with roots landed on the door or sank into flowers. But she couldn't find their actual target. Perhaps Jones hadn't brought his cage with him? After all, Kayneth informed him personally. Laila shook her head.

'Who would be stupid enough to travel without a cage...'

Deep in thought, Laila reached for the other suitcase. Suddenly, she swallowed her breath. A gaping hole pierced the leather. Red etched flowers protruded from the inside. And something else: golden ingots... She gulped before carefully opening the blunt silver buckles.

A scent of pollen sprayed out. It smelled pungent and rotten, even through the temporary mask. Then Laila saw the deformed bars. The sun-like gold had lost its shimmer and protruded lifelessly, almost like dead ribs, from the inside.

She gripped the cage with both hands. Roots entwined the metal, which she could only remove with care. The stamp tinkled lifelessly on a ring. The metal had lost all its heat. The flame was extinguished.

Suddenly, something rumbled at the door. Laila whirled around while grabbing the fan on her hip. The fan! Where was her fan?

"Relax, it's just me," Kurumi said, climbing over the door. "Did you honestly forget your weapon on the bed? So we also need to work on your perception..."

Laila blushed. How did she forget her fan? How could she have been so stupid?

"The cage is destroyed... It's all been for nothing," Laila whispered, her eyes downcast. "What a waste of time."

"Everything can be repaired."

On the bed, the magical object seemed even more pathetic. It looked as if a spear had drilled through the top. The magical writing on the foundation looked corroded. Laila had never seen runes destroyed this way. Usually, it was enough to smash or cut the symbols, but acid also seemed to be effective and perhaps even faster.

"I could restore the rune on the fundament in an hour. However, I would need to overwrite the other mana signature," Laila said. "Unfortunately, that won't restore the registration. What a load of crap!"

"Let me worry about that," Kurumi replied, rubbing Laila's back. "I'll get it fixed."

"Huh? But the fire has gone out. We shouldn't throw it in the trash, though. The metal has other uses."

"Shoo, shoo, hop back."

Laila obeyed and watched as Kurumi created her Flintlock. She didn't remember much about it, even though she had seen it a couple of times.

"Come to me, Zaphkiel!"

A dazzling light spread out. Like a whirlpool, space began to spin in a clockwise direction. Laila could have sworn an ominous chime sounded as the red portal-like field became a golden-brown clock.

Extensive golden gears spun inside like a great machine, tearing space itself apart. It was huge—bigger than a human being. Twelve Roman numerals appeared on the dial, almost touching Kurumis's back. Slowly, she aimed the barrel of her Flintlock at the four.

"Dalet."

The weapon itself became the clock hand as the four glowed. A red light spiraled like a flying bird and finally slipped into the barrel. Then Kurumi pointed her gun at the cage.

Laila remembered the sound of gunfire differently. But as she watched the cage, her mouth crashed to the floor. The sun cage shook; the bars vibrated and began to move.

The metal bent upwards and melted into a single point, with a ring at the top. The cold, colorless gold ignited as a flame-like bird circled inside and plunged back into the burning foundation.

'...' Laila thought speechlessly. 'Did she use that on the bird too?' She stood in one spot, like a crashed computer. Her mouth was still on the ground as the golden light grew weaker.

"... Hello, are you all right?"

When Kurumi got no answer, she waved her hand in front of Laila's face. But her eyes remained fixed on the cage.

"Always problematic with you, I see," she mumbled, pinching Laila's cheek. "Are you still here?"

"Ow, ow, ow, yes, yes. I am," Laila replied, rubbing her reddened skin.

"I just turned back the object's time. You saw that earlier with the bird. That's all there was to it."

That's all there was to it? That's all there was to it! How could she say that so calmly?

"You did something... drastic."

"You think? Maybe if the cage had been destroyed last year, but it was only half a day. That doesn't even scratch the surface of my time. No, wait; mana. It's different here. See?" Kurumi said, pointing to the left eye.

The pointer inside her eye must have moved counterclockwise. It was difficult to see. Laila immediately looked at her backhand, but the command spell remained motionless. What exactly was the symbol for? She completely forgot to ask.

"The little time, no Mana wasn't worth mentioning. I get enough from you."

"That's... not really what I meant," Laila replied, a little exhausted. "It's just time manipulation... Never mind."

"I'm just special," Kurumi said, looking down at her dress in annoyance. She slapped the fabric, but the rustling pollen just wouldn't go away!

"Kurumi, you seem to know quite a bit," Laila asked. "Do you know more about this? I understand that it symbolizes our contract, but I don't know. It feels like I could use the crystallized mana."

"Mhhh, that's not entirely true in the first place. Our contract is independent of the three command spells. The contract establishes a connection between us so you can anchor me to your world and provide me with mana."

"Wait, that means you're a spiritual being? Then you would disappear if you ran out of mana!"

"If I use up all my mana in a fight and you have nothing left to keep me anchored, that would happen. You have three command spells. You can give me a command for each one or just utilize the mana. It's like a temporary boost. However, the spell's effectiveness depends on whether we are in harmony. That's all I know, unfortunately."

Kurumi grabbed the cage from the bed and slowly pushed it into her shadow. Presumably, to prevent it from hitting the floor too hard. Although, a shortfall couldn't damage a magical object anyway.

"Don't even think of abusing it," Kurumi's soft voice suddenly whispered near her ear. Laila felt a chill run down her spine as if the hand of death had just grazed her skin.

"Laila!" Kurumi was already standing in the doorway. "Hurry up already! I wanted to show you something else."