Natsuko threw the door to Natsuko's laboratory open. “I think it’s Sofiane!”

Pechorin had just begun sweeping up glass and Shuixing picking up scraps of paper when Natsuko arrived.

Shuixing looked grave. “What makes you say that?”

“He’s gone from his room and Grisella said he left in a hurry,” Natsuko said.

“H-Hold on there, Natsu, let’s think. Wasn’t he with you all yesterday?”

Pechorin stroked his chin. “He left briefly between cleaning up our food wagon and moving to the bar. It would not be the first time I have been betrayed by those close to me.” He looked off wistfully at that despite having known Sofiane for less than a week.

“But you found him passed out naked in the fountain this morning,” Shuixing said. “That doesn’t sound like the culmination of a master plan.”

“He could have— I don’t know, planted a red herring or something!” Natsuko said.

“I suppose it’s possible. But we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet."

Pechorin caressed the barrel of his gun. “My bullets are the bullets of Truth.”

“Your bullets don’t have any stat points in them, dipshit,” Natsuko said before turning back to Shuixing. “Listen, Shui, I hope it wasn’t him too. But think about it: Out of all of us, he’s the only one that cares that deeply about the Use-Number competition, and having something that can forcibly remove your competition from existence is one hell of an edge up. Not to mention he didn’t look all that surprised last night.”

Shuixing raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s not you retroactively imagining that?”

“Positive. I’ve got a memory like a— like a—” Natsuko pursed her lips and snapped her fingers a few times. “Anyway, not important. We gotta go find Sofiane and beat him until he confesses.”

Shuixing put her hands on her hips. “And if he’s innocent?”

“I’ll apologize for beating him.”

Shuixing exhaled. “Okay, we’ll go look for him. I’ll come with you and make sure you don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

“And I shall bring the bullets of Truth,” Pechorin said.

“The truth is that they suck,” Natsuko said.

By the time they were leaving the Mage’s College, the crater in the roof of the Vermögenburgh Cathedral had been vacated. Its former inhabitant met them near the town gate, her blonde ringlets drooping like worn out springs and her pink blouse and scarf covered in mystery stains from last night’s revelry.

“Hey there, y’all goin’ lookin’ for the ne’er-do-well who stole…” Daisy squinted at Shuixing. “I’m sorry, I blacked out. Did I meet you last night?”

“We met briefly during the baking competition. I’m Natsuko’s friend, Shuixing He,” she said, ignoring the fact that this was their second introduction.

“How’d’ya’do? I’m her other friend, Daisy Cordorouy,” she said, shaking Shuixing’s hand vigorously.

“There’s no time for this! We need to go catch Sofiane!” Natsuko said, dashing towards the bridge that extended out from the town gate.

“Wait, what’s this about Sofi? You’re not sayin’ he’s the stinkin’ ne’er-do-well, are ya!?” Daisy asked.

“Yes,” said Natsuko and Pechorin at the same time as Shuixing said, “maybe.”

Daisy blinked at them while her brain hung for a moment. “So is he?”

“Maybe,” Shuixing said before Natsuko and Pechorin could get a word in. “The proprietress of the inn said he left in a hurry this morning.”

Daisy tapped her chin. “Hmm… Definitely guilty.”

Shuixing rubbed her temples. She could hold the other two back, but Daisy was a different matter. Daisy could flick her finger and turn Shuixing into dust if she felt so inclined. Luckily, she seemed fairly benevolent.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“We’re going to interrogate him first. No attacking him. Not even if he fights back,” Shuixing said, straightening her glasses. “Okay?”

Daisy clicked her heels together and saluted. “You got it chief! Here, we’ll have a better view from the air.”

Without waiting for approval, Daisy pulled her golden pocket watch from the folds of her riding breeches and clicked the clock’s crown. The ground around them rumbled and a giant bird made of stone with a wingspan the width of the 30-foot avenue pulled itself free from the earth.

“Alrighty, Peng, let’s go!” Daisy said, hopping up the length of its lowered wing. “That’s his name, by the way.”

Natsuko was agape. The abilities Daisy could casually cast were more impressive than Natsuko’s Desperation Art, the thing that was supposed to be her ultimate ability. Even Pechorin nodded appreciatively. Once they were all aboard, Peng beat its stone wings and lifted them free from the streets of Vermögenburgh and into the open sky. Nodules appeared in the bird’s craggy back that gave its passengers handholds as the chilly wind sliced through their clothes. Natsuko, in her beloved default outfit of shorts, boots, and a chestguard, shivered violently.

“Oh Gods it’s cold! Freakin’ hell!” Natsuko said, her words drowned under the roar of the wind.

“I know the feeling!” Daisy called back from her standing position, riding Peng’s plumage like a sailboard. “It sucks when I gotta change into my summer outfits to keep the Ero-Art numbers up!”

The girl was so happy-go-lucky that Natsuko forgot Daisy was just as serious as Sofiane at keeping her place on top of the Use-Charts. The only difference, it seemed, was that Sofiane discussed playing the game with a pessimistic, cynical attitude, and Daisy like it was just another silly little thing she’d gotten up to. For a brief moment, Natsuko wondered if Daisy was the real thief, and that maybe she framed Sofiane and was taking them all somewhere secluded to murder the remaining witnesses. All Daisy had to do we get a cheap shot off on Natsuko before she could punt her through the earth with her bottle and she’d be in possession of not only Shuixing’s research, but its proof-of-concept. Nothing would be able to stop her from dominating every other Hero with the threat of permanent extinction.

“Oh hey look, you can see Mount Shenfen over— whoops!”

As Daisy tried to point out Tianzhou’s famous gigantic mountain, she accidentally pushed down on Peng’s plumage, sending the stone bird diving towards the ground. Daisy righted him a second later.

“Sorry about that!” Daisy said, turning around and bonking her head to indicate the oopsie. This caused her to tilt Peng once again into a nosedive. Peng’s belly clipped the tops of the pine trees below before Daisy pulled up and regained their altitude. Natsuko discarded the theory that Daisy was the mastermind.

“Where do you think Sofiane could be?” Shuixing asked over the roar of the wind.

Pechorin started to speak, “He could be in the Anomalous Dungeon—”

“Shut up,” Natsuko said, regretting bringing him along.

“Hold on, Pech, what were you going to say?” Shuixing asked.

“The Anomalous Dungeon of the Empty Waterfall. It’s another of the myths detailed in the Tome of the Unnatural and Cursed of which Sofiane is also privy.”

“The one you got the Cursed Eye of the Demon from?”

“Ye—” Pechorin paused as he remembered this was supposed to be information imparted to him in fitful, phantasmagoric night terrors. “The author, a wandering hermit named Nuwas, was beset by the same burden of cursed knowledge as I.”

“It’s somewhere to start,” Shuixing said.

Pechorin climbed further up Peng’s back to direct Daisy down towards Lake Amber. It was a basin lake at the bottom of a rocky valley and along its sandy shores were a few permanent monster encampments and huntable creatures bathing in its waters. At the northern end lay the plunge pool of a waterfall which emerged from the rocky lower slopes of Moonward Cliff. From their aerial view, Natsuko could see the floating opal orb Heroes could touch to fight Völsunga over again if they were stupid and felt like wasting a bunch of time.

Lake Amber flooded her with nostalgia on the rare occasions she visited it. The entire valley smelled like pine and fresh water and roasting bonfires from the monster encampments, and it reminded her of good times with her adventuring party. They spent months working together to achieve a high enough level and strong enough equipment to fight Völsunga. Every second of it had been a wonderful, meaningful struggle. Simultaneous work and play. They were all doing their best to get one step closer to defeating the Entropic Axis once and for all with no awareness that their job would eventually be taken over by newer, stronger Heroes some day.

That was why Natsuko didn’t like coming out to Lake Amber. The memories it dragged up were like honey: Too damn sweet, and clogged up your throat.

Daisy set Peng down on a small rocky outcropping a short distance from the waterfall. The bird melded seamlessly back into the ground.

Shuixing straightened her glasses. “Where exactly is this mystery dungeon, Pech? I only see the Dungeon of Stars.”

She was referring to the dungeon whose entrance was the waterfall. It was the last questline dungeon before the Völsunga fight in the main quest sequence. It was also thoroughly normal and not mysterious in any way.

“Anomalous Dungeon,” Pechorin corrected, “and it is in fact inside the Dungeon of Stars. However, the anomaly is the method of entrance. For you see, it is possible to enter the Dungeon of Stars through most… unconventional means.”

Pechorin paused for effect and received back blank stares from people looking for information and not drama. Natsuko’s glare made this point especially clear. “Supposedly if one jumps from above and lands at the precise right spot, you are dimension-jumped into the Dungeon of Stars, however…” This time Pechorin couldn’t help it. The drama was for himself, and it would reach its climax by the gods. “…one is greeted with… nothing.”

“Nothin’?” Daisy said.

“Nothing!” Pechorin said, throwing his hands up. “You are greeted with empty halls and chambers where there ought to be enemies and puzzles. An eerie, empty copy of the real dungeon greets you, haunted by the mirage of What Ought to Be. Does that not make the hair on your arms stand up?”

Natsuko folded her arms. “No. It’s stupid. No one is hiding in a stupid, broken dungeon!”

“Erm…”

The three of them turned to Shuixing who had gone ahead up the path to a cliff overlooking the waterfall. Following her finger, they could see she was pointing at a trail of blood that led upwards.