They walked further into town, where the outpost was located at the furthest end. Sly was talking to a woman with a tawny brown complexion and black locs. They both turned, seeing the two approach.

“Right on time,” Sly said with a grin. “Did you find out anything?”

“Well,” Lyra gave a half-eye roll. “Not only have the military been holding up here. They haven’t done anything but harass the locals here when there have been complaints and requests for help.”

Eamon added to her statement, “And people believe it might be coming from Luminous Forest.”

Sly nodded approvingly. “Well, look at you two. You both are a natural. The outpost gave the same workaround; service was spotty, so they couldn’t contact any guilds, but when the military showed up, they figured why not let them settle things, to their dismay. They’ve also assumed that the Strange Rifts were causing the issue, but there is no Veilspawn to speak of.”

Lyra twisted her lip, thinking. “So, are they the same ones?”

“Possibly. We still don’t know much, but so far, the electromagnetic fields created stronger Veilspawn, and electrical disturbances are on the checklist to be wary about. It could cause other things, so that’s one more thing to be on watch while we are on patrol.”

After thanking the Outpost woman, the three made their way to Luminous Forest.

When they stepped into the forest, cast in a bluish glow. Everything, from the forest grounds to the trees, glowed a bright cerulean blue.

“What is this?” Lyra awed, staring up at the twinkling trees. As they walked further inside the mystically charged forest, they could feel the power flowing from it as it coursed through their veins.

“The Luminous Forest is a powerhouse of mystical energies,” Sly explained. “Fiends inhabit this place because of the magical pheromones it gives off. Which is a good point of reference if these Rifts are appearing and affecting the power and altering Veilspawn–”

“--It’s only a moment of time till they affect the Fiends,” Eamon finished her sentence.

Lyra looked horrified at that. “And with the forest being so close to town, this should be a top priority!”

Sly snapped her fingers. “You both are right on the Denarius. So let us investigate and see if a Rift is disrupting these people. Stay sharp, you too; we don’t know how the Fiends will react.”

Both Eamon and Lyra withdrew their weapons and replied, “Right!” With fiery vigor and determination in their eyes.

•†•

They walked the path of Luminous Forest, through the twists and turns, being wary of their surroundings.

“...So I hear you got into it with some military?” Sly side-eyed the two of them.

Eamon and Lyra gaped, surprised she found out so easily. Sly chuckled in response.

“How did you hear about that? It just happened before we met back up,” Eamon inquired.

“The General Manager called it in, not to criticize you, but to condone you. Had he not, you wouldn’t have got paid.” She tossed the two of them coin purses of Silver Denarius. “Keep doing missions like that, and your ranks as Locksmiths will go up; you may even surpass me or Ealdred himself.”

Eamon seemed the most taken aback and clutched the purse. “...Maybe.”

Lyra could sense his demeanor change and looked to see his forlorn expression. She had seen a similar look on his face earlier toward the military. She wondered about the meaning of the look exchanged between him and Julian.

“Speaking of the military…” Lyra Pocketed the coin purse in her bag. “One of them, Julian Ashcroft, who’s apparently now my rival–”

“--I’d say sworn enemy. You punched him.”

“Bold,” Sly said with a quirk of her brow and a slight bob of her head.

Lyra rolled her eyes with a casual shrug. “He deserved it. He was as foul as a Fiend, but he said the military had a contingency plan to get Locksmiths out of the job.”

“Did he now?” Sly raised her brows. Lyra nodded. “Then what we feared may be true.”

“So they're just going to remove us? They can’t!” Lyra exclaimed. The forest's silence made her voice echo in the distance, making her shiver. “Locksmiths are the only ones that can close Rifts and get rid of Veilspawn, especially now, with these new Rifts showing up.”

“...They’ll find a way,” Eamon whispered, absentmindedly. He hadn’t meant for those words to slip.

Lyra frowned. “Why would you say that?”

Before she could prod him further with questions, a roar emulated throughout the forest area.

Sly raised her arm. “Cease your questions for a moment that might be what we’re looking for.”

They trudged deeper into the forest.

Once they made it toward a dead-end clearing, an enormous creature as tall as a tree stood in the middle of an open space. It had two large bulging, furry arms, its fist planted into the earth, and a furry silver back with a gray torso. The creature's entire structure radiated with a streak of blue electricity—its bright blue eyes glared at them, and its large fists pounded into the earth.

“W-What is that? Is that a Fiend?” Lyra’s eyes bugged out.

“That can’t be. It’s huge!” Eamon exclaimed in surprise at the size of the being.

Sly shook her head. “That’s because it isn’t a Fiend.”

“What?” Lyra questioned. They both looked at her. “Then, what is it?”

“Yeah, it reminds me of those enhanced Veilspawn,” Eamon said

“Aye, that's a good comparison. These are Magycte Beasts. They’re very rare…because they’ve been extinct for five hundred and eighty-five years, since the Primal Chaos era.”

Before they could react to the reveal, the Magycte Beast raised its arms to attack.

“Watch out!” Sly instructed them to move out of the way.

Eamon and Lyra dodged seconds before the beast's incoming fists shattered the ground where they had been standing.

“Look!” Lyra pointed at a Rift rippling through the air. “What do we do?”

She and Eamon were on the opposite side of the forest, with Sly on the other side.

Sly grinned. “Show me what you can do Locksmiths: Close that Rift and destroy the Magycte Beast.”

Lyra and Eamon nodded, then to each other. This would be something beyond anything they had fought before, and knowing that this Magycte Beast was only a few feet away from the town instilled in them a sense of determination to keep the beast away from the townsfolk.

It was something neither Lyra nor Eamon wanted.

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A familiar electric jolt of connection surged through their minds. It was as if a door had opened in their heads, revealing each other’s thoughts and emotions. They had a similar feeling back at the lake.

‘Woah…what is-What, can you hear me?’ Both Lyra and Eamon telepathically said.

‘Wait!’ Lyra said. ‘I heard about this in one of Master’s lessons.’

‘Kesync,’ Eamon finished the thought. ‘I heard that it’s a skill Locksmiths learn with time, but when they do, they can make devastatingly good results, like sharing power levels with another linked user. The combined Kesync power of two Locksmiths only gets stronger as the Locksmiths do.’

Lyra’s eyes twinkled. ‘Are you saying–’

Eamon nodded. ‘Yeah. Let’s try out our new link on the Magycte Beast.”

Sly watched them. Keeping a close eye in case they needed help or the Magycte Beast became too much to handle. She raised a brow for a moment. There was a much more fluid motion just a second ago. She realized they had unknowingly activated Kesync.

The Magycte Beast towered over them. Its aura potent and vial like a combined power of a Fiend and Veilspawn. Its bright blue eyes glowed with a malevolent intensity and it let out a deafening roar that shook the trees.

Lyra gripped Riftbreaker, and Eamon, his Escrima blade sticks in hand, shared a determined look with each other on the other side of the forest.

Eamon’s thoughts transmitted to Lyra’s: ‘Remember what Sly said about elemental weaknesses? Try Ember and I’ll follow up with a strike.”

‘Got it!’

Lyra initiated the battle. Her voice cried out as she called on the Wellspring Ember: “Radiant Burst!” She leaped into the air and thrust her sword forward; releasing not a fire-based attack that enveloped the Beast in a flurry of fiery sparks. Her physical strength multiplied thanks to Eamon’s power. She managed to burn and staggered the enemy in tandem.

‘Eamon, it’s down. Go for it!’

Moving with astonishing speeds, he darted for the Magycte and charged up what was essentially the Wellspring Gaia. It had been a while since he activated Essentia since joining the military, and they forced him to unlearn what he knew about being a Locksmith.

‘Forgive me.’ Whether to Lumos herself or the entity that was the Wellsprings.

A surge of Essentia charged into the weapons, even more overpowering than he had ever imagined, thanks to Lyra’s combined wellspring power. He knocked it to the side as the power of Gaia came to him. Flurries of rocks and boulders pelted the Magycte Beasts, making them fall to the ground.

Before Eamon could make an opening for Lyra to finish it, there was pressure at the back of his mind. He had let his guard down and forgot that Kesync allowed the partners to move in harmony, but she could also feel his strongest emotions, thoughts, and… memories: the very same ones he refused to reveal.

He pushed away from the pull of the connection, severing the link entirely, mentally shattering it.

Having the link server suddenly caused them to become exposed and staggered. The Magycte Beast shook off the earlier ailments and was about to strike at Eamon with an arm thrust when Sly shot forward and grabbed the Beast's arm with her whip, ripping it off with a tug.

“Sly!” Lyra shouted.

Sly gritted her teeth. Her furrowed brow and glare looked Eamon’s way. She shouted: “Go close the Rift!”

Eamon bobbed his head, stumbling to get up. Lyra followed suit.

“What happened back there?” Lyra questioned him. Eamon couldn’t look her way.

“Let’s close the Rift while Sly finishes it.” Was his only response.

Lyra frowned. His lack of action perturbed her.

Sly let out a battle cry, used her whip to propel herself through the air, and landed on the Beast's back. Sly grinned. “Only heard you beasts in stories; it’ll be interesting to see if I can take you down.”

She called upon the Wellspring Gaia, and her whip came alive. It wrapped around the beast's neck, strangling it, and sharp thorns sank into its fleshly core. The Magycte Beast roared in pain as Sly drained its energy and health.

Lyra could see that the results from Sly’s doing were affecting the beast. She gaped in awe at her display of power.

“Close it now!” Sly shouted out her instructions to them.

Lyra commanded the chant, closing the Rift successfully. It had effectively destroyed the Magycte Beast as it faded away in the electrifying blue of the Rift until it, too, disappeared.

Sly dropped from the air and to her knee. She surveyed the scene, and then looked back to Lyra and Eamon with a tight lip.

“Let’s report this in.” The look in her eye suggested she was not done with them yet.

•†•

“That attempt could have been fatal, then what would I tell Ealdred if his pupils, his granddaughter, and son…” looking between Lyra and Eamon. “...wound up dead?”

Once they had reported to the outpost and received their reward, the three headed to the inn, where Sly berated them about their fight.

“Activating Kesync right there, while impressive, was dangerous. Synchronizing requires the partners to be one. They have a universal trust in that person, and nothing can break that. It is one of the most powerful mechanics that amplify an already strong Locksmith.”

The two did not know what to say as they sat on the inn beds with their heads down.

Sly sighed. “I just need to know who broke the connection first. If we know that, we can delve into harnessing syncing next time.”

“It was me; I’m sorry, Sly. Lyra.” Eamon stood as the two watched him. “Don’t worry; there won’t be a next time.”

He started to head for the door.

“And where are you going, young man?” Sly questioned.

“I’m just going for a walk; I won’t stay out long.” Opening, then closing the door behind him.

“Whelp, guess that’s that. It's time for a drink; I’ll be back later tonight… I know what you are thinking, Lyra. Don’t overstep your boundaries; you’ll push him away like that.”

Lyra pouted with a slight eye roll. “I wasn’t going to be abrasive about it. I know his time in the military was…sensitive, but there are things that don’t add up, and I’m curious.”

“Mmm,” Sly hummed with her arms crossed. “Curiosity can be deadly if not controlled. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Lyra nodded, but deep down, she hoped she knew too.

When Sly left and Eamon returned later, he thought Lyra would be asleep and wanted to avoid talking about the situation, but the lights turned on as soon as he closed the door.

Lyra was sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands folded together. Eamon stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Were you really waiting for me like that? What if I hadn't come back till much later?”

“Then you’d deal with a drunk Sly, and we both can wager she’s probably a sloppy drunk.”

“...You have a point.”

They both shuddered at the thought.

Lyra grinned. “Of course I do. So, do you wanna talk about what happened earlier? You know, after our Kesync went wrong.”

Eamon tried to maintain a stoic expression, but Lyra could see his shoulders cinching at her statement. He sat on the opposite bed, taking off his shoes.

“Not particularly, no.”

Lyra crossed her arms. Her brows pinched together as she glared at him. “You know I’m still going to ask, right?”

He sighed. He brushed a strand of a curl away from his face. “Unfortunately. I’m not sure if you even have a filter.”

“Hey!” she half jumped up. “I know when to or not to say what’s in my head, but if there’s something suspicious going on, I can’t let that just go away.”

Eamon sighed once more. He got up and removed his shirt. Lyra’s face flushed, turning away to look at the wall.

“When we were fighting the Magycte Beast, it was like we were one unit, powerful. I had your physical strength, and you could channel way more Essentia than usual from me. Even our thoughts were linked, and then…”

She stopped. She caught him cringing out of the corner of her eye. He was now dressed in a loose-fitting nightshirt.

She turned back around to look at him.

“Your thoughts went to Lumos, and you couldn’t do Essentia anymore because the military forced you to unlearn it. Why?”

Eamon was silent. His back now turned to her.

Lyra sighed. She tried to compose herself, remembering what Sly said about probing too much. “Look, I’m not trying to pry, but if we’re going to try Syncing again, I have to know what’s happening. You have to trust me. I may not know what happened at the Empire, but I can tell it’s eating at you.”

“That’s right, you don’t.” His hardened tone and gaze made Lyra jump when he turned to her. “You won’t understand, Lyra, and I’m not into having my personal thoughts out for you to see– I don’t need the judgment… or pity.”

“And you’re assuming I’m going to do that! That right there isn’t going to help us Sync.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to Sync with a kid who stole everything from me.” He looked to the corner of the wall where Riftblade was leaning against it.

His hostility took Lyra aback. “Then maybe you should have never left the man who raised you!” Shaking her head, she turned off the lights, leaving Eamon in the dark.

He was glad for the pitch darkness because the mask he had been holding dropped, and he was sure he would reveal everything at any moment, but he could not. No matter what Lyra said, she would look at him differently and hate him for it.

The only way to stop her from asking questions was to keep her at arm's length. He hated hurting her–It was the last thing he wanted to do–but that would be one more guilt to add on top of everything.