It had only been a few minutes after the Crystal Well had cast the caverns within a brilliant light when Qilby’s announcement even reached the members of Babylon acting there. Saia and Ruth’s receivers crackled, the signal slightly distorted and unstable due to the portals, but still loud and clear to understand.

“Looks like we’ve got our orders…” Kass mused from the side. She was starting to run on empty after all that sharing and using of her Arc, her staying wouldn’t be of much help anymore. And Ruth and Saia hadn’t been supposed to be anywhere near to the caverns.

The group of Babylon’s four members carrying Rehn and Vee had already been discussing their exit strategy since leaving the City Guards far enough behind. It didn’t need an expert like Max to understand how to keep a portal open. Only which portal they should take had been in question.

With Qilby starting Operation: Ore Extraction, that problem had been vastly simplified. The following discussion was short and terse, Saia not trusting her voice to spit poison if she had to say much more than just a few words to the duo. She took quite some satisfaction out of Kass uncomfortable shifting at her gaze, though.

“Let’s get going.” Ruth stated, their chosen portal held open by a more primitive imitation of Max’ wires that Kass had hastily cobbled together. It lead to a back alley of Dampfstadt’s east-most sector, close to one of Babylon’s primary escape routes.

Carrying Rehn and Vee on their backs, Kass and Saia leaped ahead with Ruth and Milim following only a moment later. The stealth specialist threw now last glance towards the Crystal Well before turned around. Max should’ve also received the message. And a moment later the portal closed behind him.

———

“Qilby never informs Graam of anything…” Max shook his head bemused as he exchanged amused glances with Lyca and Crya after the call had cut off in the middle of Graam’s annoyed response.

But this brief levity quickly sobered back into sharp focus as the trio overlooked the Crystal Well from the basin’s edge. The swirling dome of bright glowing water had been steadily shrinking, the speed with which it did so exponentially increasing over the last minute. It coincided with the Primal Glyph of Water weaving itself through the wraith’s form, more and more its shape spread outwards, becoming less and less distinguishable from the swirls of pink and azure water.

It was the power that pulsed around the dome that kept them from approaching any closer. Unlike normal Glyphs, Primal Glyphs held far more primordial powers as their name suggested. And even as they had been tasked with retrieving the Primal Glyph of Water, the trio had not much understanding of what exactly this meant. Only that this one was the only known Primal Glyph whose recorded location wasn’t turned into a death trap by its very nature.

They had just been supposed to just steal it and then let the experts back at Babylon store it away safely and out of the hands of the Linumen’s Termini.

Even with the City Guards on the case, they had been sure to be able to do so. Max wasn’t too certain of that anymore, but the wraith’s appearance had changed so much already and the chaotic flow of Amber was muddling any attempts of analysing the Primal Glyph’s signature anyways.

“Abyss damnit…” Crya hissed under her breath, grinding her teeth as she narrowed her eyes at the watery dome. Her hand was gripping tight around the rock they were bracing themselves behind, laying in hiding, though it was unclear of how much use that even was. The stone creaked rather disconcertingly under her tightening grasp.

Lyca’s hand on her shoulder and Max intent analysis of the phenomenon were all that kept her from acting rashly, bursting out of hiding in an attempt to rip away the Glyph from the wraith. Well, that and she wasn’t actually dumb enough to just give into her impulses so easily. Not when she could already hear Verena’s exasperated and very much disappointed scolding in her ears if she should survive.

“Yeah, I’ve no idea what’s going on anymore.” Max admitted finally, shrugging helplessly as he put away his goggles. The intensity of the glow had started to give him a headache even with the internal compensation and the portals were far fewer in count around the well now that they didn’t have to worry about accidentally jumping into one. They had also started to linger longer, their rapid flickering now more of a warm glow that blinked on and off irregularly. It wouldn’t be long now before the portals would finally disperse fully.

———

Ever since its birth, the wraith had felt itself overwhelmed with the urge to hunt and kill. An intrinsic part of its very being, nearly vanished beneath its own hatred for both Haggard and Flizz. But then these feelings had become scattered under confusion and uncertainty as it had grown larger. The feelings that had been its anchors during those early moments of its existence had become muddled, unclear as more began to bloom within its heart. A change that highlighted the disturbing extent of this gaping hole that gnawed within the back of its very existence, threatening to overwhelm and devour all that it just gained.

And then it the Primal Glyph had called to it, to be absorbed by it. To what extent had this been coincident? The wraith formed by Amber Crystals and waters that had bathed within the Primal Glyph’s power for likely millennia. Without hesitation it had answered its call, wrapping around the source of overwhelming power.

As the Primal Glyph melded with its body, fusing with the swirling waters, the wraith found its presence soothing that aching emptiness that had threatened… no, tortured it since the moment it had come into existence. For the first time since arriving into this world… the wraith found its mind clear and focused. The thoughts no longer muddled and overwhelmed by bloodlust not its own.

Memories of a life flooded through its mind, a life so clearly defined yet utterly disconnected from its current existence.

And the wraith started to feel just simply lost. Lost on what it was. Lost on who it was. Dreams? Ambitions? The old life had had them but they didn’t feel right. It had been brought into this world with its past fractured and stitched back together. A history broken and refracted. But while these memories were alien now, they still echoed with truth. Their ambitions and dreams may no longer be its own, but all they revealed were still inherently part of it. After all, who didn’t grow up changing who they were little by little over time?

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The chaotic swirling of its dome-like form began to slow down and it finally gazed outwards from its introspection.

Its water swirled around it, taking a vaguely Gaian form that was still shifting with indecision and uncertainty of the wraith’s own perception of itself. But slowly a shape began to crystallise.

“P-pl… Please don’t attack.” Gurgling words echoed for the first time from its water throat, startling the she-wolf twins in their rapid approach. Two portals appeared in the way, depositing them dumbfounded back besides a wide eyed Max. Its own words felt strange to it, unused to speak. Never having spoken before.

Opening another portal behind it, the wraith gazed over at the remaining Babylon trio one last time. Hesitation rippled visibly over its form as it became more and more defined and detailed.

“… please, tell Jak I’m sorry.” A beautiful, crystal clear voice echoed through the cavern, soft and feminine, before the wraith vanished within the promptly closing portal.

All around the cavern, the portals began to slow down even more, halting and hovering in place. The chaotic flow of Amber finally calming as the chaos was channeled into keeping the remaining portals stable and open until slowly dispersing.

———

Everything had started out quite well for the trio of infiltrators, many of the normal security checks were left unavailable due to all the chaos and they had found the room relatively quickly. Myra had been kept between the two senior Babylon Operators, while her Amber Tech was impressive she simply didn’t have the training for in-action recon that they had. And the two older ones would rather not have a teenager like her get caught in the immediate crossfire.

“This is it. It should take just a second to open it…” Verena stated as stepped up to the solid metal door, inlaid into a just as solid wall, and pressed her hand against it. Eyes closed, her violet halo began to take shape and glow above her head. It shape pulsing to an unseen melody. A low hum filled the air, its vibrations echoed through her into the lock and slowly began to unravel its mechanism. Her eyes twitched and she gritted her teeth as she could her nearly everything that happened throughout the upper Dampf Tower.

“Abyss damnit, someone’s coming through the upper elevator. We’ve got to hurry up…” She hissed out to inform the others before pouring all her focus back into the lock. It still took a few heart pounding seconds longer before the door swung open after an audible click.

Beyond them opened up a surprisingly mundane looking meeting room. A round office table, of clearly luxurious make, stood at the centre with the white wall the back clearly intended for extensive presentations. There were no shelves, no drawers that could have held any folders or other information. Even the Phernse beamer wasn’t fitted to the ceiling right now.

“Uhm… so, is there some kind of secret safe…?” Myra asked awkwardly, poking her head around the place in search of whatever they were looking for. “Because I can’t see anything useful. They don’t even have any Amber batteries hooked up right now.”

“Oh, we won’t need those.” Qilby answered amused as he closed the door behind them. “Everything is already right here for us to take~”

He motioned towards Verena with a wide grin, the bat cat pointing an arcane looking camera at the blank wall while her Halo shone brightly. A blinking light at the side announced it was recording everything.

“Ooh, is that post-cognition…?” Myra asked with shining eyes.

“Hehe, something like that.” Qilby chuckled and ruffled her hair, making the bunny cat dodge away and pout at him playfully. He smirked. “Better not tell anybody, you just learned a really big secret.”

“I won’t…!” Myra bopped her in firm promise.

“We have to go, now.” Verena declared as she finished photographing and recording everything she had wanted.

“Yeah, I agree.” Qilby nodded with narrowed eyes, having felt the vectors of escape shift exponentially as this someone was quickly approaching the top security floor.

“You’re staying between us again.” Verena told Myra seriously, the young teenager swallowing nervously with a nod from the pressure both she and Qilby were radiating. The joking atmosphere of before had dispersed within the growing tension.

Qilby took the lead as he poked his head outside. And immediately dodged out of the way of a bullet, his body distorting unnaturally both in position and speed as his dagger moved to deflect it before it could touch him. An explosion of inky darkness enveloped the wall where the bullet had impacted. His eyes narrowed at the feeling of Nightmare that radiated from the shadws, his hands moved towards his specialised guns. This wasn’t the time to limit himself to knives.

“Arc Users… you’re chaos. I won’t have you terrorists threaten the lives of Ebenerz with your plans.” With narrowed eyes, Velric Velupian-Tharasmu, current Chief Deputy Commander of Dampfstadt, spoke while aiming his two revolvers at the trio.

Another explosion shuddered through the top security floor of the Dampf Tower, causing wild alarm to quickly spread through the entire building. Myra and Verena rushed through the inner hallways, searching desperately for a window leading to the outside while Qilby guarded their backs from every gunshot, deflecting the charged bullets with his own guns and daggers into the walls where they exploded into arcing, inky darkness. The feel of Nightmare clung to them. They didn’t use ammunition. Which meant the Chief Deputy Commander was able to fire without ever needing to reload.

“You are chaos, so be washed away in favour or order.” Velric declared with narrowed eyes, running after them while dodging Qilby’s quick attacks. He tsked annoyed, his aim always distorted just enough to miss by the jellyfish frog’s meddling. Direct shots on him were deflected by roiling shadows that weaved through his sleek and sporty suit.

“Heh, rich coming from someone making deals with Demons and the Nightmares.” Qilby couldn’t help but comment sardonically, quickly glancing towards Myra and Verena as they hurried around the next corner.

“What do Terrorists know about Demons or Nightmares.” Velric scoffed, unbuttoning his immaculate shirt as he continued to move forward unhindered.

Any further exchanges were lost as the feline Gaian moved. Throwing his shirt to the side, it exploded into a wave of darkness that swallowed the hallway and fully obscured him from sight. Qilby gritted his teeth, having to push himself to his limits to intercept the bullets in time. The darkness obscured Velric’s position even from his Arc, leaving him only moments to react when they exited the shadows.

He moved quickly to catch back up with Myra and Verena, only slowing down to deflect another bullet. They were more and more difficult to dodge as the darkness elongated and seemed to move them around within itself before spitting them out at dangerous angles. Qilby wasn’t surprised to find the hallway empty as the darkness finally dispersed, letting Velric’s shirt flutter harmlessly to the ground.

“He’s loose!” Qilby shouted out, rushing after the Verena and Myra to guard their escape further.

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the hallway just before Qilby raced around the corner, finding Myra and Verena already leaping out of the tower into the depths above Dampfstadt.

“Damnit!” Velric could be heard cursing.

Grinning victoriously, Qilby tensed his muscles and then leaped after them as fast as he could, pouring as much Amber into his legs for an even more powerful jump.

“Hehe, sorry~! But we’re dropping out now!” He called out with a bright laugh as he joined Myra and Verena in their fall down the side of the Dampf Tower, thoroughly enjoying the apoplectic and dumbfounded look on the Chief Deputy Commander’s face as he passed him by.

Qilby was the one to to fire two shots on his way down, both deflected by the angry feline’s guns as he stood bare chested at the broken window, a jacket draped back over his shoulders while he glared after them.

———

Humming dangerously loud, Myra’s Gear slowed their fall down. Their drop turning into an awkward glide into the city below.

None of the City Guard had been able to keep up with them and landing within a back alley, the trio vanished within the chaos that still ruled over the city to soon join the others at the east-most escape junction.

Operation Tower had been a success on all accounts.

Operation Heart… recorded as undetermined.