Isabel gave me a flat stare as she examined the four crates I had brought home, then looked at me and back at the boxes with disbelief. She let out a long sigh and said, ‘’David..’’ I smiled and replied, ‘’yes Isabel?’’ She shook her head and asked, ‘’so let me see if I understood you correctly.. You followed someone on a hunch, scared the guy shitless, threatened him and his companions’ lives, then stole their cargo. Then you proceeded to bring it back here, all while not being sure what is inside is actually cores?’’ I shrugged and said, ‘’more or less covers it.’’

Lyra was trying to hide a snicker, but Isabel gave her a scowl. Isabel paced back and forth, constantly looking at the crates. ‘’I don’t know how to open these safely, and I am afraid to try,’’ she said. Lyra gave me a significant look, and I suggested, ‘’what about enlisting some help Isabel?’’ She stopped pacing and stared at me. ‘’And from who eh? Who can we even trust right now?’’ I shrugged again and said, ‘’Malik?’’

Isabel considered that for a few moments and then said, ‘’Malik is actually not a bad idea. He’s mostly retired but..’’ Lyra cut in and said, ‘’Malik can help Isabel. He’s a good guy! You need to start trusting people more!’’ Isabel scowled at her, but finally acquiesced. ‘’I suppose.. Lyra, go get Malik. I am not bringing these to the guild.’’ Lyra gave me a wink and left the house, leaving me alone with Isabel.

Finn had left that morning with Liza for a minor shopping spree, as Liza had said, ‘’a young man needed proper attire, and his rags would not do in her house!’’ It was sweet how quickly she had taken to the boy, but I pushed thoughts of Finn from my mind and refocused on the current situation. Isabel sat in a comfortable chair and looked at me.

‘’Before I met you David, my life was predictable and following a fairly straight path I had set for myself. Now I am getting drawn into some kind of conspiracy, a possible all out attack on Creston, and a mysterious enemy whose identity and purpose we have no idea of. How is it you keep stumbling into these kinds of things?’’ I gave her my best roguish grin and replied, ‘’must be an innate talent of mine!’’

Isabel chuckled and said, ‘’might be, or perhaps some higher power is guiding you. Whatever the case, if these crates contain cores, we have a serious problem!’’ I nodded and sat opposite her. ‘’I know. Can you think of anyone with motivation to cause chaos in the city?’’ Isabel shrugged and said, ‘’I can’t think of a single good reason to attack civilians David. What purpose does it serve?’’

I didn’t have an answer for that but said, ‘’I heard of sick people before, you know, in my old world. Some people don’t see people as people, they only see numbers on a page, or a workforce to be exploited. Whatever the reason, the person responsible has lost his or her humanity. Usually some kind of trauma is involved, bad childhood, a feeling of deep despair or perhaps in some cases simple greed. Until we know more, it is impossible to say either way.’’ Isabel nodded in agreement, ‘’until we know more, yes. On that note, can I see this cube of yours?’’

I pulled the cube off my neck and placed it on the table. With a few taps, the hologram appeared, and Isabel peered at it in awe. "These white dots are people?" she asked. I nodded and selected one, causing it to turn red. "This is how I plan to find our smugglers again. I can mark them, but I'm not sure how long it will last, so I should probably get back out there soon."

Isabel examined the hologram and furrowed her brow. "Does that look a little strange to you?" she asked. I followed her gaze and immediately noticed the eight dots moving in unison towards us. "They're heading right for us," Isabel said as she jumped up from her seat. "I think you might have stirred the hive this time, David."

I grinned, trying to stay calm. "We don't know who's coming, Isabel. Maybe it's--"

"Until we know for sure, we get ready for a fight!" Isabel interrupted.

I summoned my images and sent Grim to investigate. In a matter of seconds, he flowed through the wall and disappeared. I glanced back at the hologram and saw the dots had split up to surround the house. Isabel brought out a short sword, a weapon I hadn't seen her use before. It looked like a Roman gladius, with a double-edged, leaf-shaped blade.

My staff was upstairs, but before I could retrieve it, Grim's voice sounded in my mind. "Oooh, these people are not looking friendly at all!" he said excitedly. "I think the fierce one is right to be worried."

I relayed Grim's message to Isabel, and she nodded grimly. "You were followed, David," she said. "Now we're being hunted instead of the other way around."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. What about Lyra and the others? Were they safe? I couldn't shake the feeling that my actions had put them in danger. Regret turned to fury as I thought about the possibility of my friends being hurt. These assholes would regret it deeply if they had harmed anyone I cared about.

"They're coming," Grim warned. "Get ready!"

I grabbed Isabel's arm and pulled her against the wall. I then conjured an illusion around us that would make it seem like the room was empty. Putting a finger to my lips, I summoned my mask and waited. Isabel understood my intention and gave me a fierce grin. We stood there together for what felt like a long while until a figure appeared, slowly creeping in from downstairs. The front door opened on silent hinges and another figure entered. Then, a third came in from the yard in the back, and they all congregated in the lounge, having found a seemingly empty house.

"Empty!" one of them whispered, and the others nodded. "They left the cores though, we should take them and leave before they return." Another round of nods and they approached the crates. Isabel and I were close enough that we could have reached out to touch them. Another two men came in and looked around. One of them went down to check the basement where the bath was but returned soon with a shake of his head.

Grim's voice whispered in my mind, "The others are keeping watch, they are not approaching for now. Perhaps it is time to put a bit of fear into our dear visitors?" I grinned behind my mask and glanced at Isabel. She noticed my movement and nodded.

Isabel seemed to focus for a moment, then coiled herself like a cat ready to pounce, and finally moved in a blur. She was so fast that I could barely follow her movement, and I realized she must have used an ability to do so. In no more than the blink of an eye, three men were cut down before they even noticed she was there. The remaining two seemed shocked, but before they could even utter a sound, my remaining two images appeared from behind, coming out of a wall, and pounced from behind. Each grabbed an intruder and put a hand over their mouths. They were so surprised that they had no time to move before Isabel was on them. She cut one down and knocked the other out with a bone-crushing hit to the temple with the butt of her sword.

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I was flabbergasted at what I had just witnessed. I knew Isabel was pretty strong, but this display was something else. In mere moments, she had taken down five people, and while they had been taken completely by surprise, it was still pretty shocking.

"Damn Isabel, you don't mess around, do you?" I said, gesturing to the four corpses now littering our lounge. Blood was sprayed everywhere, and Isabel herself was covered in it. She turned to look at me, and her expression of absolute icy calm made me swallow a lump in my throat.

"They came into my house uninvited, they mentioned the cores which clearly make them guilty of endangering innocents. I will not show such people any mercy," Isabel said, her voice as cold as her expression.

I nodded slowly and glanced at the unconscious one. "And this one?"

Isabel gave me a cold smile. "I have questions."

I reminded myself never to make Isabel angry enough to direct such malice towards me, then contacted Grim. "Have they moved?" I asked. Grim cackled. "Not at all, dear partner. They are happily oblivious to their soon-to-come deaths." I walked over to the cube still on the table and activated it again, picking out the three men on watch and marking them. Isabel looked at me and nodded. "Let's go."

We snuck outside, using the information from the cube to stay out of their line of sight. Isabel went one way, and I went the other. I quickly spotted my guy, crouching in an alleyway just inside the shadows. I snuck right up behind him, grabbed him in a tight vice around his neck, and squeezed with superhuman strength, completely cutting off his air flow. The person struggled fiercely and a dagger stabbed into my upper arm. I grunted in pain but wrenched sideways. With a sickening crunch, the assassin or whatever he was, was dead.

I pulled out the cube again and saw Isabel alone where the other one had been. Just one left, but he or she had noticed something and was running. Isabel went in pursuit, but I sent Grim to intercept her. I closed my eyes, and my vision blurred. Grim moved in front of Isabel, holding out a hand. With his creepy voice, I said, "Wait, Isabel, let that one go." Isabel turned her icy stare on me. "Move, Harlequin!" I flinched a little at her use of my guild name but didn't move. "I marked him, or maybe her, whatever! I can follow behind, perhaps get some useful information. You could, you know, have a talk with our still alive guest."

Isabel considered for only a moment, then took a deep breath, and her expression softened. "Sorry, David. Yes, you are right. That is a good idea. Go before you are left behind." I was about to cut the connection to Grim's image when I paused. "What about the others? Do you think they are in danger?" Isabel froze, then cursed. "Lyra will be fine, but I worry about Liza and the boy. I will go find them. You focus on your part." I nodded and cut the connection.

I sent Grim to track down the runner and followed at a slower pace. It was still light outside, and I didn't want to attract attention by sprinting through the streets. As I trailed after Grim, I ripped a strip from my shirt and used it to bandage my wounded arm. It wasn't bleeding too badly, and I still had full function of my arm, but I knew I would need to treat it properly later.

After a while, Grim's voice crackled in my earpiece, "Our dear victim has slowed down. Probably feels safe now! Oh, I can't wait for that expression of shock!" I couldn't help but grin as I followed Grim's directions.

We ended up in the more affluent part of town, where I stuck out like a sore thumb in my plain robe. But I didn't care about that at the moment. Finally, we arrived at a small manorhouse with a pristine exterior and many windows. Grim indicated that the assassin had entered the building, so I found a secluded spot to check my cube.

Sure enough, the assassin was inside, accompanied by someone else. "Got you!" I muttered triumphantly as I marked the second person and settled in to wait. I wanted to see who else might show up.

I dismissed Grim's image to save my ether and climbed onto a nearby rooftop. From there, I could stay mostly hidden and still get a good view of the front of the house. As I settled in, I checked my notifications. They had been blinking subtly for a while now.

You have assisted in killing 4 unknown rogues - You have earned Experience

You have assisted in defeating 1 unknown rogue - You have earned Experience

You have killed 1 unknown rogue - You have earned Experience

Your level have increased to 18

For each level your base stats in physical and mental attributes have increased by 2 for a total of 2

For each level your base stats in spiritual attributes have increased by 3 for a total of 3

Congratulations

Illusion Magic have reached level 13

The ether consumption of spell has Decreased slightly

You have gained the title:

What lurks in the dark

You have shown yourself to be elusive, and more than once had your enemies twisting in fear.

Reward: New spell related to your core class

Phantom pain

Strike at your enemies but not really, make them think they are hurt when they are not. Make them question what is real and what is not.

I furrowed my brow, feeling conflicted about my latest spell. It seemed to be a type of torture spell, one that could traumatize someone without any physical harm. While it could potentially be useful in combat, I couldn't help but question the direction my abilities were taking. Was this who I wanted to become?

My powers seemed to revolve around pulling others into my world, a world where I had control and could manipulate their senses. It all felt very sinister, yet I found myself strangely drawn to it.

I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person that made me. I had always claimed that I didn't want to harm anyone, that I was seeking the staff so I could fight without killing. But was this really any better? Was making people feel like they were being hurt or scared any less damaging than physical harm?

I knew I needed to reflect on these thoughts later, as I felt like I was slowly losing myself to all this madness. Each new discovery seemed to push me further down a path that I wasn't sure I wanted to be on. And yet, despite all of it, I couldn't seem to feel any genuine emotions. No fear, no regret, no empathy for the corpses I had left behind. That thought alone frightened me more than anything else.