It was a throbbing pain in his chest that awoke Micro not long after he lost consciousness in the alley. The moonlight no longer lit the alley, but stars still hung in the sky. He looked around as he sat up, and he quickly took note of the red-eyed Lily, still unconscious on the ground with her back against the dirty stone wall of the building.

“He could be anywhere!” A powerful voice echoed down the alley.

“Find him!”

Micro looked down the alley to the street where the light of torches passing by caused his eyes to ache.

“The little rat left with some mundane wench!” A man shouted as he ran past the alley.

“Don’t let him get away!”

“Catch the hero!”

Dozens of angry shouts poured into the alley as a furious mob holding torches ran down the dusty paths of the city.

“I’d hate to be whoever they’re looking for…” Micro said through a yawn.

“Of course it’s you, you nut-brained numbskull…” Blue shouted as she crawled out of his pocket and tumbled to the floor. She stood up and waved her hands around for a moment, then snapped her fingers several times, but then she shook her head in frustration.

“I swear… I may drop dead the next time I see a magician…”

“Ugh…” Lily stirred from her sleep as the angry mob grew louder.

“Wait, who’s this?” Blue asked as she pointed at the girl slowly waking up from a deep sleep.

“She’s a chaos witch.” Micro replied as he stretched his own neck.

“She tells magicians what to do.”

“At least she’s not a magician-” Blue began to reply, but her eyes widened as the words sunk in.

“Let’s kill it before it wakes up, shall we?”

“It’s okay.” Micro reassured her.

“Lily’s leaving the kingdom to open a restaurant.”

“What the-” Blue gasped.

“Who cares?! Let’s just get out of here!”

“We should find Kel and the others.” Micro said with a nod.

“But they seem pretty upset out there…”

“Well, you were getting pretty friendly with that hero’s vessel earlier while the rest of us were dying in agony.” Blue shrugged.

“Even if the Cerulean lady doesn’t feel like tearing you apart today, those small fries would probably be more than happy to. How about we throw your lady friend in the street over there and run the other way?”

“She’s right…” Lily spoke up before Micro could reply.

“I’ll distract them… You head East…”

“What?” Micro gasped.

“What about the restaurant?”

“My family lives on.” She said with more resolve as she opened her odd-coloured eyes.

“I’ll lead the cultivators away. They should be weakened enough that I can-”

“Nope.” Micro interrupted her as he rose to his feet, scooping up Blue on his way.

“I might not understand everything, but I know what they’d do to you if they found you now.”

“That’s what I’m counting on!” Blue shouted.

“Those weirdos sacrificed me twice now!”

“You won’t be able to rejoin the cultivators you were moving with before.” Lily said with a frown.

“They won’t be able to shield you from the residents of this wretched place.”

“Then we should find somewhere quieter to park.” Micro replied with resolve in his voice.

“When the bikers were getting rowdy outside the mall, the old man used to park me in the convenience store across the street.”

“Excuse me?” Lily tilted her head.

“Ah… Never mind.” Micro sighed.

“Let’s just get moving. We’ll think of something.”

“But the streets are filled with enemies, weakened as they are…!” Lily protested.

“You sure we can’t ditch the witch?” Blue asked with a disappointed glare.

Micro looked down at Blue, then at Lily.

“I’m sure.” He replied with a nod.

“I figured that…” Blue rolled her eyes.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Micro asked as she suddenly jumped to the ground and stretched her wings.

“Just leave the distraction to me.” She answered with a yawn.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Actually, you come too, Trill.”

“Fine…” Trill crawled out of Micro’s other pocket and fell to the floor like a stone, landing on his face. He looked up at Blue with tired eyes.

“What’s the order…?”

“Your core is totalled to, eh?” Blue clicked her tongue.

“No matter. You’ll do.”

“What are you planning to do with just the two of you?” Micro asked with a worried tone.

“Don’t you need help? What can I do?”

“You think I can’t have a bit of fun with those losers?” Blue shot back with a defensive tone.

“A bunch of half wits full of hot air won’t be an issue.”

Micro felt slightly uncomfortable as a new expression appeared on Blue’s face. Though she was smiling, it somehow made him feel anxious.

“This isn’t playtime, like that silly tournament. Just wait there.” She pointed at the ground near Lily with an air of authority as she spoke.

“Come on, Trill. It’s war.”

Trill’s tiny ears twitched at the last word Blue said, and he stood up quickly to brush the dust off his face. He nodded, then the two pixies started running up the side of the building Lily was still leaning against. Micro started to run after them, but he had no way of following them up the wall in his current state.

“You had two pixies, but you set them free?” Lily gasped.

“Set them free?” Micro repeated with his head tilted.

“They’re passengers, not prisoners. They were always free.”

“You built a network among the cultivators and the pixies in such a short time…” Lily said with wide eyes.

“I can see why Nora chose you to lead us down the path she laid for us.”

“Chosen by Nora…” Micro replied with some frustration in his voice.

“Today’s summoning was probably her idea…”

“It was.” Lily answered humbly.

“Though we must have done something wrong…”

“I don’t think you’re the problem, Lily.” Micro said, sitting down next to her.

“This whole world, or at least what I’ve seen of it…”

“Yes…?”

“I might be new to thinking, but I can’t figure it out…” He said with a frown that made his forehead sore.

“If Nora wants to help, why does she take most of the energy you steal? How come she gives you stolen souls in return? Why don’t you ask Nora for something more useful, like a core, or gold, or roads…?”

“You mistake me for a prophet, master. I cannot speak of Nora’s great plans…” Lily said with a bitter expression.

“Nora only responds to the prayers of the worthy. We can only trust that they correctly interpret Nora’s will.”

“Who said they were worthy?” Micro asked.

“The prophets are bred among nobility…” Lily said quietly, her bitterness revealing a hint of anger as she spoke.

“We answer to their call, even if their will remains a mystery to us…”

“So you summon heroes because prophets tell you to?” Micro said, his brain starting to ache.

“Do they pay well? How does that benefit you?”

“Master…” Lily whispered, then looked over her shoulder before continuing in a hushed voice.

“The will of the prophets is absolute. Even the heroes never question them. It would be better to run, and I will…”

“Magicians, cultivators, witches, now prophets…” Micro brought his hand to his head as his voice grew strained.

“And no roads….”

“Are you alright, master?” Lily asked as he struggled to remain calm.

“No, it’s nothing…” Micro shook his head.

“Good luck with your restaurant.”

“It is thanks to you that we were able to hire an escort. They’re to leave at dawn if I don’t make it in time.” Lily smiled brightly as she spoke.

“Even without me, my family is sure to find a better life to the East.”

“What’s out East?” Micro asked, happy to be distracted from the confusing conflicts of the world.

“The Rameer kingdom is said to be a mortal paradise, a place beyond the mountains where everyone lives in abundance, regardless of their power or their name!” She explained excitedly.

“I know it may not be as perfect as they say, but it is beyond the temple’s reach, so…”

“Why doesn’t everybody go there?”

“How would we all get there?”

“Ah…” Micro sighed.

“No roads…”

“Who else but a hero would be able to imagine a road connecting two kingdoms?” Lily asked, chuckling brightly.

“I suppose nothing is impossible for you…”

“I wouldn’t say nothing…” Micro shrugged.

“Without roads though, I’m not much use…”

BANG

Micro and Lily were startled by the sound of a large explosion several blocks away. The angry shouts of weakened cultivators suddenly turned to screams of fear, and Micro rushed to the corner of the alley to peer down the road.

BOOM

…

CRASH

Two more explosions consumed two buildings on the street not far from Micro.

“That should do it.” Blue’s voice then echoed in the alley behind Micro.

“What happened?!” He asked as he turned around to see her standing proudly next to Trill, who was covered in soot and ash.

“We caused a distraction. And look!” Blue suddenly revealed two identical Core Cards which she’d been hiding behind her back. She lifted them in the air proudly, one in each hand.

“Some girl gave us these!”

“Someone gave you Core Cards?” Micro asked suspiciously.

“Well, she didn’t seem interested in picking them up after she dropped them. Same thing, really. I think you’ll like this one.” Blue shrugged, then tossed one of the cards to Micro and looked at Trill.

“You can go back to sleep now.”

“Yes your ma-” Trill cleared his throat as her glare intensified abruptly. He ran toward Micro so quickly that most of the dust coating him was left behind in a small cloud.

“Of course, Blue.”

“Did you make all those fires?” Micro asked as he watched the panicking cultivators scramble around the city streets trying to put out the fires. He bent down to pick up Trill and the Core Card Blue had given him, and placed the pixie in his pocket. He tried to place the Core Card in his dimensional storage, but was unable to open it without access to internal energy.

“That’s not very nice at all…”

“It’s nicer than they’d be if they caught us.” She replied as two more explosions echoed in the city.

“How did you do that without your powers…?” Micro marvelled. He watched in awe as plumes of smoke rose into the air like sprouting flowers.

“Powers? You can start a fire with just about anything in a human house.” Blue shrugged, then climbed up Micro and into his free pocket, taking her Core Card with her.

“Now let’s get out of here.”

“What about Kel?” Micro asked as he helped Lily to her feet.

“What about the turtle boy?” She said with a roll of her eyes

“He was alive when we left, wasn’t he? He’ll be fine. Probably.”

“Okay…” Micro answered tentatively.

“Lily?”

“Yes, this way…” Lily replied, staring at Micro’s pockets with wide eyes.

“You and your… passengers… follow me.”

“Thanks-”

BOOM

Micro was interrupted by the loudest explosion yet, followed by a new wave of panicked screams.

“Blue…” Micro shook his head as he glanced down at his pocket.

“What?” She replied with a yawn.

“War is war.”