We stumbled through a richly lit hallway, our footsteps echoed off the polished floors. Cassie and Felix gripped my arms tightly, their hands like iron clamps on my shoulders, faces etched with a mixture of urgency and relief. The air grew thick with the scent of lemon and something else—a faint, metallic tang that tickled the back of my throat.

As we passed by archways adorned with intricate runes that pulsed with an otherworldly light, I caught glimpses of chambers filled with strange, whirring contraptions. The walls themselves seemed to breathe, releasing soft puffs of blue steam from relief valves, as if the place itself was alive.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity compressed into mere moments, Cassie and Felix released their hold on me. We had traveled about a hundred paces from where we started, and the oppressive atmosphere began to lift. The hallway opened up into a circular antechamber, its domed ceiling covered in a mesmerizing mural of swirling constellations that seemed to shift and dance as I watched.

Cassie leaned against a nearby pillar, her shoulders sagging with visible relief. "I am very glad you didn't agree to Lyra’s tests," she said with a grim expression.

“We would have been there all day,” Felix added. He laughed, but there was a tension in his voice that made me think he wasn’t entirely joking. I could feel their casual demeanor returning, but I was still back in the portal room, hearing about Chas.

“Will Chas be okay?” I interjected, my voice uncertain. “He could be anywhere, right?”

Cassie chuckled. "Kid just watched Chas tear a hole in space and time with his bare hands, and he's still worried about him." She patted me on the shoulder, shaking her head. Her tone was light, but there was a flicker of genuine affection in her eyes when she talked about Chas. "This is what Chas does. He finds problems, fixes them, and leaves—usually before anyone even knows he was there."

I rubbed my temples. "But... he could be anywhere, right?"

Felix looked at me, his expression softening. "Chas is... let's just say he's strong. He may be unorthodox, but he’s an incredibly powerful hunter. We watched him wrestle an Onytax to the ground before his morning tea, once. While holding the tea. You saw a glimpse back in the tavern."

“An Onytax?” I asked.

“Big, angry ball of fur and muscle. Taller than me. Can claw through stone and concrete like it was flesh,” Cassie shuddered a little at the memory.

"Powerful," I muttered, still thinking about that raw, untamed force I saw in his eyes. The memory of Chas felt larger than life. He might as well have been a superhero.

Felix nodded, glancing at Cassie. "Very. He’s our Mentor, but..." he hesitated, like he was weighing how much to say. "We’re still apprentices. We don’t have the same level of runes or mastery."

Cassie groaned, inspecting her armor. "And my new gear’s ruined. Damn Glids tore right through it."

I glanced at the dried blood coating her arms and chest, frowning. "You should really get that looked at," I said, feeling a little concerned. "You’ve got cuts everywhere—how are you not bleeding?"

Cassie shrugged. "I took a healing pill right after the portal jump. My only one too. Stops most of the bleeding, though the armor absorbed a lot of the hits anyway."

My eyes widened. Healing pills? Potions, armor that actually worked? This whole world felt like some kind of insane game, except the stakes were real, and I was still trying to figure out what those stakes even were. I glanced down at my own battered clothes, torn but with no serious wounds. "Guess I got lucky then," I muttered.

Felix grinned. "Luck? Maybe. You do seem pretty squishy." He poked me through a tear in my shirt, flashing a teasing grin. “But you should see your face right now—it’s like watching a kid discover toys for the first time. No healing pills where you’re from?"

I shook my head, trying to process it all, my mind buzzing with questions. The constellations above seemed to pulse in time with my heartbeat, the room spinning in a way that was both fascinating and unsettling.

Felix noticed my gaze. He smirked. "Let’s take a breather. I can see your brain misfiring." He motioned toward a set of benches. "Come on, take a seat. We can talk while you get your bearings." He glanced at me. "Before you ask too many questions," he said, stretching out on the floor instead of the bench, "Cassie and I are recent initiates in the Monster Hunters."

"Apprentices," Cassie corrected. She flopped down on the bench next to me, her earlier fatigue starting to show. "We have a Sponsor. Still green, but learning fast."

My mind raced. "Monster Hunters... right." I looked down at my hands, turning them over as if expecting some magical mark to appear. "Okay. So, you guys were sent to... rescue me?"

Felix leaned back, stretching his legs out. "Like we said, more like we were sent to check out the realm. It’s rare for a spirit realm to open up stable like that. Usually, they're small, like bubbles popping in and out of existence. This one? It had weight." He raised an eyebrow, gesturing toward the portal that had long since disappeared. "Then you showed up, which... wasn’t exactly part of the plan."

Cassie smirked, leaning back on her elbows. "We definitely didn’t expect the sun to explode, either."

I huffed out a laugh, but it was strained. "About that... Did the death beam from the lightroom have something to do with that?"

Felix looked thoughtful. He rubbed his chin as he considered. "It could logically be the same beam, but the size differences, based on your description, don’t make sense—although that’s a rough argument in a spirit realm."

I rubbed my face, trying to piece it all together. "And those... Glids? They came from the spirit realm collapsing?"

Cassie nodded. "When the star went dark, the realm lost its anchor. The Glids are the realm's attempt to stay alive by manifesting... something. They’re like physical echoes, trying to grab onto any mana they can find."

A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered their twisted, ravenous forms. Their slime-covered, feral bodies flashed in my mind. "So... they weren’t alive?"

"Not in the way we are," Felix said, eyes narrowing slightly as he thought. His tone grew more serious. "They’re more like manifestations of desperation. Not a consciousness, just... hunger. Instinct." He tapped his bracer, the soft sound accented by gentle sparks, which grounded me for a moment.

I tried to keep up, the complexity of their world feeling heavier with each answer. "And you two just... handled this regularly?"

Cassie laughed, breaking some of the tension. "Not regularly. Like we said, we’re new at this. And Chas... well, he’s the one who really knows what he’s doing."

Felix’s smile faded a little. "Chas is a lot more than he seems. He’s not just powerful—he’s smart. Way smarter than either of us." He rubbed his forehead, his demeanor shifting slightly. "We’re learning from him, but he... operates on another level. What you saw back there? That’s him on a regular day."

I nodded, still thinking about the way Chas tore reality apart with his bare hands, daring the universe to contest him. "It was... beyond anything I’d ever seen. It was like watching someone bend the laws of the universe with pure willpower. I didn’t even know that was possible."

Cassie nodded in agreement. "Most people wouldn’t believe it unless they saw it. I didn’t believe half the stories about Chas until I saw him in action." Her expression softened, respect evident in her voice. "He’s got this knack for doing the impossible."

Felix grinned, finally chiming in. "Apparently one time he moved a mountain. Just... shifted it out of the way."

“It was more of a hill,” Cassie argued. “He even said so.”

The weight of everything sank in again, and I found myself leaning back against the bench, exhaling slowly. "And what about you two? You seemed pretty capable yourselves. I mean, you were right there with me, fighting those Glids."

Cassie shrugged, flexing her fingers as if testing for pain. "We’ve been training, but we’re still apprentices. A couple of runes, no seals or sigils yet. Chas is trying to push us, but we’re not quite there."

Felix chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her. "Speak for yourself. I’m almost ready for my seal."

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Cassie rolled her eyes. "If you can afford it."

I blinked and leaned forward, confused. "Afford it? You have to pay for this seal?"

Felix sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sort of. It's complicated. Mana costs money, or rather, resources cost mana. Training isn’t free, and neither are the materials for seals." He shrugged. "It’s not cheap to advance. The exams alone—"

Cassie interrupted. "—are a joke. Half the people taking them don’t even make it. That’s why we’re broke, by the way." She glared at Felix, shaking her head in exasperation. "Blew all our money on the last exam, and look where that got us."

Felix winced. "We’re apprentices, Cass. We’re supposed to fail sometimes."

I chuckled despite myself. Despite everything, they were just like anyone else—worried about money, complaining about tests. It was almost... comforting.

"What about me?" I asked, glancing between them. "Am I... stuck here now?"

Felix shrugged, looking unsure for the first time. "Not sure. There’s a process for Outworlders, though, so hopefully someone knows."

Cassie grinned, flashing a mischievous look. "Just be glad you dodged Lyra’s experiments. Could’ve been worse."

A sudden thought struck me, and I bolted upright, my eyes darting around the room. The antechamber, with its swirling constellations and pulsing runes, suddenly felt alien again. I stood, looking around.

"Winchester," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.

"What's that?" Felix asked, his brow furrowing.

I turned to them, my heart racing. "The staff I found in the spirit realm. Winchester. I had it with me when we went through the portal, but now it's... gone."

Felix looked surprised. “It had a name?”

"Oh, that was just what I called it based on a mov—" I paused. "Just based on a story I know."

Cassie and Felix exchanged a knowing glance, their expressions a mixture of sympathy and resignation.

"Items from spirit realms," Cassie began, her voice gentle, "they don't usually... stick around in physical space."

Felix nodded, adding, "Especially not after passing through a time dilation like that. The rules of reality are totally bizarre out there."

I slumped back against the bench, a wave of disappointment washing over me. Winchester had felt real, tangible—a connection to the bizarre world I’d found myself in. It was the first real, physical thing I had found. Okay, besides the Deathroot wine. I had even used it to protect myself—mostly successfully.

Now, like so much else, it was gone.

I sighed, pushing myself up from the bench, the weight of Winchester’s loss sitting heavy in my chest. If this was going to be some kind of crazy game world, I was at least hoping to have a decent weapon.

As we exited the antechamber, the hallway stretched before us, a kaleidoscope of shifting colors and pulsing runes. The walls were covered with copper tubes, spinning gauges, and a fog of blue mist filled the space. It felt alive, like the entire structure was breathing in sync with the magic that fueled it.

We stepped into this surreal corridor, our footsteps echoing off the polished metal floor. The air hummed with an electric charge, making the hair on my arms stand on end. Gears whirred and clicked behind ornate brass panels, their intricate mechanisms visible through small glass windows. It was like stepping into a manapunk dream, a world where magic and technology fused together in perfect harmony.

Steam hissed from valves at regular intervals, releasing puffs of iridescent vapor that dissipated into the air like ghostly butterflies. It was a mix of steampunk and something otherworldly, as if the place itself was holding back the weight of centuries of arcane energy.

We passed by a series of arched doorways, each one framed by glowing runes that pulsed in mesmerizing patterns. Through one, I caught a glimpse of a vast library, its shelves stretching impossibly high and filled with books that seemed to float in midair. Their pages fluttered as if caught in an invisible breeze, symbols and diagrams glowing faintly on the open tomes.

Another revealed a laboratory where bubbling liquids of every color imaginable flowed through a complex network of glass tubes. A group of Florans gathered around a central table, their bronze-tinted skin gleaming in the dim light as they manipulated what looked like living crystals. The whole scene felt like something out of a fantastical alchemist’s lab.

The hallway curved gently, and we rounded a corner to find ourselves face-to-face with what appeared to be cylindrical chambers set into the wall. They were about the size of phone booths, with gleaming metal doors that slid open and shut with a soft hiss.

As we approached, I saw a group of Vildar manipulating what looked like a control panel with practiced ease. They worked quickly, their small hands moving over the controls with precise, darting movements. Their whiskers twitched in concentration as they placed small, blue translucent coins into a slot on the control panel.

The coins shimmered with an inner light, blue and green hues swirling together like miniature galaxies.

Felix turned to Cassie, asking, "Got any mana coins?"

Cassie shook her head. "Nope, I left mine in my locker since we were with Chas." She gave a casual shrug, as if these mana coins were just another thing they carried around like loose change.

I watched, mesmerized, as the Vildar's coins disappeared into the slot with a melodic chime. The cylindrical chamber hummed to life, its interior bathed in a soft, ethereal glow. The door slid shut with a whisper, and for a brief moment, I swore I could see the outlines of the Vildar inside, their forms becoming translucent before vanishing entirely.

My eyebrows raised. "A teleporter?" I asked, awe creeping into my voice.

Felix grinned at my reaction, shaking his head. "Not quite a teleporter, though I can see why you'd think that. These," he gestured to the cylindrical chambers, "are transposition pods. They use a complex combination of spatial and temporal runes to move people from one location to another. As far as I know, teleportation involves breaking something down into energy and moving it. Not really great for living people."

I stepped closer, marveling at the intricate patterns etched into the metal surface of the pods. The runes shimmered and shifted like they were alive, their shapes fluid and elusive. "So, it's like... folding space?"

Felix nodded, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Exactly. The pods create a localized warp in the fabric of reality, allowing the occupant to step through and emerge at their destination instantaneously. It's a fascinating application of techno-magical principles."

Cassie groaned, rolling her eyes. "Here we go again," she muttered under her breath. "Felix, the walking encyclopedia of obscure techno-magic theory." She looked to me and then back to Felix. “And you’re encouraging him… Just my luck.”

Felix ignored her jibe, his attention focused on the control panel. "The process requires an immense amount of power, which is where the mana coins come in." He tapped the panel. "Each coin contains a finite amount of mana at different levels. Blue and green were the most common, generally made by the person using them, but much more valuable copper or silver coins imbued with mana were what most people used as currency. And since we don’t have any on us,” Felix sighed, "I guess we're taking the stairs."

I repeated his earlier phrase under my breath, the reality of their world sinking in more. "Mana is money."

We continued down the hallway, passing more of the cylindrical chambers. Each one pulsed with a different color, and I couldn't help but wonder where they led. The thought of stepping inside one of those pods both fascinated and terrified me. It was a surreal contrast to my reality back home.

As we rounded another corner, the narrow corridor suddenly opened up into a vast, circular chamber that took my breath away. The ceiling soared so high above us that I could barely make out its intricate mosaic of swirling galaxies and shimmering constellations. It was like looking at the night sky in the most vivid, impossible way imaginable.

The floor beneath our feet was a walkway of polished stone, inlaid with spiraling patterns of gold and silver that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at them. It felt like walking on a river of stars, the whole space imbued with an ethereal beauty.

But it was the center of the room that truly captivated me. An impossibly tall alabaster pillar rose from the floor, starting several hundred meters below us and reaching up toward the distant ceiling like the spine of some ancient titan. Its surface was covered in countless carvings—scenes of epic battles, strange creatures, and symbols I couldn't begin to comprehend. They shifted as we walked, new stories forming before my eyes.

At regular intervals, walkways seemed to connect to it, leading off in different directions.

"The Grand Staircase," Felix announced, gesturing toward the massive pillar. His voice held a touch of reverence. "Quite the sight, right?"

I nodded, still entranced by the mesmerizing patterns and carvings. It was overwhelming, and yet I couldn’t look away. As we approached the base of the pillar, I noticed a series of wide, sweeping stairs that spiraled upwards around its circumference. Each step was made of the same polished stone as the floor, but they seemed to almost float in midair, connected to the pillar by nothing more than delicate threads of white light.

Cassie bounded up the first few steps, clearly energized by the sight of it. "Come on, slowpokes! We've got a lot of ground to cover."

Felix and I began to climb the stairs after her, Cassie several steps ahead of us. My stomach twisted in knots as I realized there was no banister, no safety net. Just an endless drop beneath us.

"Uh, isn’t this dangerous? What happens if we fall?" I asked, hugging the pillar suddenly, fully aware of how high we were already climbing.

Cassie grinned from several stairs above us, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Watch this..." She took a running start and leaped off the edge of the stairs with a whoop of exhilaration.

My heart nearly stopped. I rushed to the edge, a cry of alarm on my lips, only to see Cassie bouncing gently on what appeared to be an invisible cushion of air just below us. She was floating, suspended in midair like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"It's a kinetic barrier," Felix explained, chuckling at my dumbfounded expression. "Keeps you from falling to your doom. Incredibly complex and powerful enchantment."

Cassie rolled onto her back, grinning up at us from her invisible perch. Her arms stretched out like she was making snow angels in midair. "You should try it, Ben! It's like a giant safety net."

I glanced warily over the edge, my heart still racing. The thought of stepping off went against every instinct I had. But as I watched Cassie somersault through the air with carefree abandon, a flicker of curiosity began to take hold.

I took a tentative step closer to the edge, peering down at the dizzying drop below. The colors swirled and shifted beneath me, the room spinning slightly. I thought I could feel the barrier humming with energy just beyond the edge of the stairs, like it was beckoning me.

But the vertigo hit hard, and I stumbled back from the edge, my heart pounding in my chest. It was too much.

"You know what?" I said, my voice shaky. "I think I'll stick to the stairs for now. Heights aren't really my thing."

Felix nodded in understanding, his hand resting briefly on my shoulder in reassurance. "No worries, Ben. The stairs are plenty exciting on their own."

Cassie relented and finally rolled herself over to a stair behind us, catching up with incredible speed. She bounced back onto the steps like she had been doing this her whole life. I looked up the pillar, almost falling over at how high it seemed to stretch. Walkways branched out from it at regular intervals, connecting to platforms and rooms all around the massive chamber.

"Whoa, how high are we going here?" I asked, my legs already protesting the climb.

Cassie grinned widely at me, her eyes sparkling with challenge. "We're going all the way to the top!"