The crystalline chime of glass rang softly through the hall. Mason swirled the amber drink in his glass, watching it catch and fracture the chandelier light above. Around him, the city's power players clustered in small groups, trading rehearsed smiles and empty chatter. The clash between the room's luxury and the silent weight of his mission almost made him forget where he really was.

People had adapted to this new reality as if it were the most natural thing in the world. They spoke about the future without a shred of urgency, their hopes and fears dulled by the routine of this crumbling world. It was a banquet of false comforts, each laugh another layer of disguise over a society one step from collapse.

Across from him, a young woman was in the middle of a story, her hands sketching the scene with exaggerated gestures.

"So there's this guy," she said, "an idiot who walks into the inn and claims he's not talking to me but to the plant on the counter."

Mason lifted an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth quirking. "Your name's Layla, right?"

"That's right." She gave him a graceful nod.

From the far side of the hall, Mason caught sight of a cluster around Bartholomew, Allison, and Oswald. The trio drew whispers and glances like magnets, radiating authority. Even the soldiers who had been invited stood as background actors in this political stage play. Among them, Mason spotted Kruger's assassins, dressed as distinguished guests, laughing and drinking like anyone else. The sight sent a chill down his spine. Evangeline flickered in his thoughts.

If she were here, one slip into shadow could get her caught instantly.

But the real problem was getting Luke back into the hall. For the hundredth time Mason wished he had a tracking skill.

If only I could tag that guy and see him coming through the walls. But skills like that belonged to rare, privileged classes, and he wasn't one of them.

The risk was huge. At any moment Bartholomew might ask after Lucy, Mason's supposed girlfriend, and suspicion would bloom. Luckily Allison was a black hole of attention, every smile from her bending the room's focus like tides drawn by the moon.

There were only two ways Lucy could return to the party. Stroll through the main corridor, feigning drunkenness to get past the guards, far too risky. Or wait for Mason and Allison to engineer a distraction, giving her a chance to slip under the sealed door in mist form. Either way was dangerous.

Layla's voice broke through his thoughts with a revelation. "Can you believe I found out that guy was a criminal?"

"That must've been tough," Mason said, raising his glass. He barely processed her words.

"It was that Luke."

Mason choked and coughed into his drink, recovering with a tight, awkward smile. "Small world, huh?"

"Yes. That scumbag ruined us," Layla said, bitterness dripping from every word. "Because of him my father and I were arrested. We almost lost our inn."

Mason tilted his head, trying to mask his tension. "That's… awful."

"I hate scumbags!" she snapped. The women around her nodded in fervent agreement.

"He complimented my hair and gave me a necklace," one of them said.

"Me too. Total scumbag," another chimed in.

Mason widened his eyes, feigning surprise. "You all know Luke?"

"Yes!" they chorused.

"I got demoted because of him!" a third complained. "I was this close to getting clearance for internal patrol duty!"

Mason drew a steady breath, letting the moment stretch. "Truly a terrible man. Ladies, if you ever need someone to teach him a lesson, you know where to find me."

As their glasses clinked together, something shifted at the edge of his vision. A slip of white paper slid soundlessly under the sealed double doors and into the hall. Luke. The signal.

Keeping his expression perfectly neutral, Mason shifted his foot over the paper. The women kept chatting, oblivious. With a discreet flick of his system menu, he removed his shoe, touched the paper with his toe, and sent a flicker of heat into it, just enough to burn one edge. Then the shoe reappeared as though nothing had happened. The paper drifted back under the door. Two minutes. That was the plan.

"Ladies," Mason said with a polite smile, "I need to speak with Lady Rhiannon for a moment. I'll be right back."

He slipped away from the little circle, inhaling the heavy scent of flowers and the faint metallic tang of wine that clung to the hall. Each step toward the center felt rehearsed, calculated, every movement practiced so no one would suspect anything, at least not yet. He would only get one chance.

As he crossed the floor, his gaze scanned the room with precision. Soldiers pretending to be at ease, Kruger's assassins scattered like chess pieces, eyes following every gesture. Bartholomew sat with Allison and Oswald, ringed by protectors. That was the focal point. That was where the break had to happen.

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Mason raised his hand slowly. Mana flared under his skin like molten copper until a small sphere of fire coalesced above his palm, casting his features in an otherworldly glow. He arced it upward. The orb burst just beneath the main chandelier, not lethal but bright enough to blind, a miniature sun blooming overhead.

A stunned silence fell. Steel hissed from sheaths. Hands tightened on weapons.

"What do you think you're doing?" a soldier barked.

"Explain yourself!" snapped another.

Mason held his ground, arm raised, hand still wrapped in fire like a herald of war.

"I want everyone's attention," he said, his voice cutting through the hall.

His heart hammered against his ribs, a silent drumbeat of panic. Outside, he looked like carved stone, but inside he was on the verge of breaking. It had to be now. Before he could say more, Allison stepped out of the crowd. Her presence sliced through the tension like a blade through silk. She touched Mason's shoulder, a calm yet unyielding gesture.

"I've thought of something better," she murmured.

He frowned but obeyed, stepping back.

Allison moved to the center of the hall, every eye following her. Her aura shifted, shedding the mask of the charming noblewoman and revealing the blade underneath. With a smooth motion, she summoned her katana, the violet blade veined with glowing cracks like molten amethyst.

Bartholomew's guards closed in by instinct, forming a wall around him. Kruger's assassins flowed forward too, silent, coiled like springs.

"What is the meaning of this?" Oswald demanded.

Bartholomew's eyes narrowed, but he stayed seated, ringed by steel.

Allison lifted a hand, palm outward. The hall went still. Mason retreated further, leaving her in the center of an invisible circle.

"I came here to deliver a message," she said, her voice as clear and hard as breaking glass. "To every power broker in this hall: the merchants, the soldiers, the so-called leaders of this people. And yes, to the 'king' Bartholomew and the pack that feeds at his table. I want my words to travel beyond these walls."

The purple blade burned with an inner light, heat rippling off it like a phantom mirage. "I, Allison of Clan Rhiannon, heir to one of the families of the World Government… killed the Orc Lord."

For a heartbeat the world froze. The words crashed over the crowd like thunder. Murmurs swelled into a low roar. Soldiers, servants, assassins, every pair of eyes darted between her and the king. Even Bartholomew's expression hardened, struggling to mask the blow.

"What a charming joke, Lady Rhiannon," Oswald said with a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"This is the bounty for the Orc Lord," Allison replied, lifting the sword so they could all see.

Several stepped forward at once, eyes gleaming as they cast identification magic. Their expressions shifted, surprise, fear, awe, one after another like ripples in a pond. The murmuring rose into a wasp nest hum, the hall vibrating with barely contained chaos.

From his corner, Mason kept his gaze locked on Bartholomew and Kruger. Both were rigid, jaws tight. This wasn't a random boast. This was a surgical strike. Allison twirled the katana slowly, violet light running down the blade like molten amethyst. Every word she spoke felt honed to an edge. The entire hall held its breath, knowing something bigger was about to drop.

"But that's not all I came here to say." Her voice cracked across the room like a whip. "There's another achievement."

Bartholomew tilted his head, a false smile curling his lips.

"Another?" His laugh was brittle, like glass under pressure. "And what could possibly outshine killing the Orc Lord, Lady Rhiannon?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead she walked the length of the hall, eyes flicking from face to face as if surveying pawns on a board she already owned. The silence stretched, deliberate, each second pulling the room tighter.

"I activated one of the mechanisms."

The line detonated in the air. Gasps, shouts, and whispers rolled over each other. Bartholomew had gone pale.

"Silence!" the king thundered, his voice cracking like a whip across stone walls.

Allison raised her chin, untouched by the command.

"I didn't just activate the first mechanism," she said, her voice ringing with conviction. "I activated the second."

The words struck like a fissure opening in the marble floor. Screams and questions poured from the crowd. For years it had been rumor, myth. Now it stood in the center of the room wearing a blade of violet steel.

"What do you mean the second mechanism?!" someone shouted, too desperate to heed the king's warning glare.

The hall was beyond control now. Hunger for truth burned hotter than fear of the throne, a wildfire no one could stamp out. Allison lifted the blade again, eyes gleaming with fever bright purpose.

"The truth is simple. When a mechanism is activated, a Safe Zone emerges. It's always been that way. That's how Bastion was born. Did none of you ever wonder?"

The shock rippled outward in waves. Mason saw Kruger step forward instinctively, but Bartholomew stopped him with a single harsh gesture, his arm like a steel bar. Nothing rash now.

"It means," Allison continued, "that eight years ago one of the mechanisms was already triggered. It's here, buried inside Bastion. And Bartholomew has known all along."

Dozens of faces turned on the king like knives seeking a target. They wanted denial, defense, some explanation. Bartholomew stayed frozen, teeth clenched, sweat glinting on his brow under the chandeliers.

"I don't know why he kept quiet," Allison said evenly. "But after killing the Orc Lord, I activated the second mechanism. I created a second Safe Zone, a working, breathing section of the city. Houses. Reward chests. New hunting grounds. A forest thick with resources, a river of our own. A place of safety. And I'm inviting all of you to come see it with your own eyes."

The hall erupted. Questions tripped over each other, voices climbing over voices. Mason caught only fragments: "is it true?", "where is it?", "when do we go?", while Allison moved through the uproar with a calm that bordered on predatory.

"I'll tell you one more thing," she proclaimed, raising the katana like a banner. "We have a new Safe Zone, we know the location of the third mechanism, and I have one request. Spread the word: we're going back to Earth… and no one is going to stop us."

Her final words hung in the air, vibrating like plucked steel. She lowered the blade and, without waiting for applause or protest, began to walk through the crowd. People parted for her as if she were a wave moving through sand. Mason followed her with his eyes, heart hammering. Bartholomew stayed still, pale and rigid, teeth grinding. The unshakable mask of a king had begun to crack in front of everyone.

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