Sama's jaw dropped, her face contorting in absolute disbelief as she repeated Kaiser's words back to him, as if she still needed to process their sheer audacity. "You—you wanna see the city?" she sputtered, incredulous, almost scandalized by the notion. "You just woke up in the best manor in the damn world, and you're already bored? Most people would give a limb, or maybe three, just to get a tour of this place—hell, some would murder for the privilege. And you want to hop off the minute you open your eyes, like this is some budget inn?"

Kaiser merely gave her a measured look, his gaze quietly amused. He watched the expressions flicker across her face, weighing the likely responses, tallying what she revealed and more importantly, what she kept hidden. Inwardly, he could already sense the tightening of time. Tristan had no doubt already informed Celestine that he was awake, which meant, in all probability, there was a rapidly shrinking window in which he might move without being monitored, questioned, or corralled by some smiling servant or sharp-eyed agent.

If he wanted to make an impression, or at least secure some measure of freedom, now was the moment to act. He couldn't afford to squander it by sitting still, not when the whole city… No, the entire power structure of the Liberatorium lay tantalizingly close.

Sama seemed to sense some of this, though she had no idea of the layers spinning in Kaiser's thoughts. She just scowled at the flagstones, kicking at a stray pebble as if it had personally insulted her, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "cosmic ass-maggot." Then, louder, she fixed him with a glare. "Alright, genius. What the hell's in it for me? You think I'm your tour guide for free, or you gonna bribe me with something halfway decent?"

Kaiser allowed himself the faintest of smiles. "Besides letting you off the hook for the rest of the day and granting you full permission to sleep as much as you please?" he asked, tone as light as if he were offering her a holiday instead of a chore. "I imagine there's something else you want—something I can get for you in the city. Name it, and consider it done."

Her eyes lit up immediately, suspicion melting into greedy delight as the possibilities blossomed in her head. Clearly, Kaiser thought, she must have some ability to let people in or out of these grounds, but not herself, otherwise she'd have left and gotten what she wanted already. That alone was valuable information. She wrung her hands together, the gears in her mind nearly audible as she schemed. "Alright, deal-maker," she shot back, "If you want out, then you're buying me a book. And not just any book, I want "How to Swoop Up a Swan", the new one, not the ratty old edition Syra keeps hogging."

Ivan, who had been lurking at the edge of the conversation, burst out laughing so hard he nearly doubled over, clutching his sides, and Kaiser regarded him with faint amusement, wondering, not for the first time, how anyone could be so transparent. "Of course, you will come with me as well," Kaiser said, looking directly at Ivan, "I imagine you'd rather risk your life than another hour of Sila's hospitality."

"Damn right!" Ivan grinned, dusting himself off, still snickering at Sama's expense.

Kaiser almost laughed. Instead, he nodded, pocketing Ivans compliance in his mental ledger. This was all working out better than he'd hoped. The maids, for all their banter and bravado, held far more practical power here then he first thought. And if Celestine wasn't here to oversee things personally, it was the perfect opening for him to slip out, observe the city firsthand, and see just what kind of world this really was, without Celestine leading him by the nose and showing him what she wanted him to see.

But, as always, there were layers beneath layers to that. He kept his tone pleasant, casual, as if the entire situation was nothing but a lark. "So it's settled, then," he said, "You get your book and your day off. Ivan gets to come along, and I get to see the city. Everybody wins—provided, of course, you actually know a way off this island that won't raise the alarms."

Sama grinned, every inch the conspirator now, her horns quivering with anticipation. "Leave that to me, boss. I've got more tricks than half the Syndicate, and unlike them, I actually like a challenge. Just be ready to move fast, and keep your mouth shut if you see any guards. They may like Celestine, but they'd string me up for sneezing too loud, so I can't have this lead back to me."

Then, with all the skill of a pickpocket, she whipped out two battered teleportation tickets from somewhere inside her apron. The edges were crumpled, one corner looked suspiciously chewed, and both had faint blue ink stains that looked like the aftermath of a slug race. She twirled them between her fingers, shooting Kaiser a wicked grin. "Oh, you know what these are, boss? Hell the hell yeah, you do." Her horns shimmered with pride, spiking up as she leaned in like she was about to reveal a secret.

Kaiser tilted his head and regarded the tickets with careful skepticism. "Let me guess," he said, his voice carrying that faint, dangerous amusement he reserved for moments he actually found interesting, "Teleportation tickets? Or just something you picked off a dead courier?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Sama cackled, rolling her eyes so hard they almost squeaked. "Nah—this is legit. See, this place has more alarms than a dragon's nest during molting season, and twice as many as a nun's underwear drawer. You want in, you need a ticket. You want out? Better have an invitation, or you'll be fighting off more guards than fleas at a sheep orgy. Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous."

With practiced ease, she scratched a shining square off each ticket, then ran her finger across the surface, leaving a trail of glowing blue script that flickered like neon on wet pavement. "I set you up with a timer—thirty minutes. That's how long you get to play big-shot in the city before these bring you straight back to the garden's entrance. After that, I don't wanna hear a peep, not even a goddamn squeal, or I'll personally stuff your ears with snails until you dream in slow motion. Just be back in time, or there's not a single prayer in all the Southern Liberatorium that'll keep Celestine from wringing you out like old laundry."

She handed Kaiser and Ivan each a ticket and a three glowing green orbs, her palm lingering just a little too long as if daring them to mess up. Ivan, jittery with excitement, almost fumbled his, eyes wide. "No pressure, right?" he said, glancing at Kaiser as if expecting him to lay down some plan.

Kaiser weighed the ticket in his hand, running his thumb across the blue timer and turning over options in his mind. A whole city the size of a continent, thirty minutes, and a clean escape route—Celestine's absence was his opportunity, but every advantage came wrapped in a dozen new risks. For all his caution, though, he couldn't suppress a sliver of genuine curiosity.

He reached into his coat and revealed the card Glunko had given him back in Arkhold, holding it up for Sama's inspection. "While we're on the subject of directions," he asked, voice measured but sharp, "Do you know where this is?"

The moment Sama saw the card, her whole demeanor brightened—horns perking, eyes sparkling, the fatigue gone as if she'd swallowed a shot of pure sunlight. "Old man Glunk's store!" she crowed, giving Ivan a celebratory slap on the shoulder. "I heard legends about that toad. He's like, the only merchant who's ever survived doing business up here and didn't get eaten, sued, or sent to the bottom for tax evasion. If you're looking for anything weird, rare, or banned, that's your spot."

She stopped, and then started rattling off instructions. "After you teleport, don't stand around gawking like a pair of slug-brained tourists. Go straight, cross the bridge, wait for the big-ass platform, yeah, it's like the one we just took in the house. Take that up, right at the fork, left on the second street, you can't miss it. Glunk's place is bigger than my patience, and twice as ugly. Tell him Sama sent you, he'll probably charge you double, but it's worth it."

Kaiser nodded, storing the directions in that ironclad mental mind of his. "And the book?" he asked, half-smiling. "How to Swoop Up a Swan, first edition."

"You can buy one there," Sama replied, practically dancing on her heels now. "Later tonight, I'll come up to your room and grab it. Oh, and don't let this brat fuck anything up. I only have so many excuses I can make for you."

With a shimmer and a rush of wind, the world twisted. Ivan grinned like a man about to rob a candy shop, and Kaiser, for all his careful planning, felt a rare thrill of real anticipation.

The world convulsed and spat them out atop a domed rooftop, the city's wind slapping Kaiser in the face like it was challenging him. Ivan landed in a tangle, boots scrabbling helplessly on the slick glass. The whole roof sloped down to a death drop over the edge, a drop that would've sent anyone else plummeting in a heartbeat.

Ivan flailed, "Oh—shit—no, no, no!" He pinwheeled towards, but Kaiser's hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him upright with a jerk that nearly dislocated Ivan's neck. In the same motion, without much effort, Kaiser bent his knees and jumped.

They soared high above the rooftop, Ivan yelping and clutching at his shirt, the world wheeling beneath them. And for the first time, Kaiser looked down. He saw a city that shattered every expectation.

Endless avenues glowed with a forest of glowing signs, burning blue, orange, violet, stacked on the sides of buildings that climbed and climbed until they seemed to pierce the orange-streaked sky. Glass and stone, arches and spires, domes that rivaled palaces, all wrapped in a river of shifting lights. There was movement everywhere: shadowed crowds like rivers of ants, trains whistling along bridges that soared between towers, bridges arcing over avenues thick with traffic, the whole place pulsing like the inside of a living, dreaming machine.

Above it all, a monstrous cathedral crowned the city, domes layered upon domes, its surface crawling with gold, like the heart of some ancient, holy engine. Skyscrapers speared upward, their points nearly lost in the haze, and here and there, monstrous trees burst through rooftops, their roots strangling lesser towers, their branches drinking the light.

Giant screens displayed moving images and faces—some human, some not—blazing advertisements and propaganda. Some faces were so huge and alive, it felt as if the city itself was watching him.

For a heartbeat, Kaiser's mind froze. He... He didn't know what even to say to this.

Ivan's jaw dropped open. "Holy SHIT," he shouted, voice almost lost in the wind, "This is…this is…I don't even know! Is this magic? THIS IS THE CAPITAL CITY?!"

Kaiser landed with inhuman grace atop another rooftop, still holding Ivan by the collar. His eyes were everywhere, devouring every detail—the impossible architecture, the fusion of ancient and new, the way a tram zipped overhead and vanished into a tunnel of glass.

For the first time since awakening in this world, Kaiser felt something dangerous. Not fear. Not awe. But an itch… A hunger to see how deep this place went, who ruled it, what gods and monsters lurked beneath the glowing surface. And how long it would take him to bend it all to his will.

Somewhere, as if hearing the extent of his ambition, the neon screens shifted—one displaying a blank silhouette, as if the city itself was daring him to introduce himself.

And beneath the roar of the city, as Ivan tried to catch his breath, Kaiser just whispered to himself: "Let's begin."

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