Our universal lockpick helped us cross the next unexpected hurdle that could've jeopardised the entire mission. Never did I expect the upper lab to have a separate security of its own, but now that the door is open, I can only cross my fingers and pray.

We're already pushing our luck, which is notoriously bad, so if there's another person inside, or traps, or anything outside our expectations… I refuse to go to prison just to free something that might be a spirit.

Flashes and thunder make me almost slam the door and run back down the stairs. On the other side, electricity is coursing wildly, traveling between rods of Hadron and an expansive chandelier.

Bolts bounce around between the catalysts of mana to form what seems to be a dome. Curious contraptions and glass vats with various metals and ores floating in them line the wall. Materials so wonky that I can't even properly determine which state of matter some of them are in.

It's fascinating, still, we tread with care and caution.

Alwina, on the other hand, shows no such restraint. She leaps off Valka's shoulder and sprints around the dome, running just below the dancing net of lightning.

"Stop, you stupid bird!" I growl.

In the best-case scenario, she gets wounded or dies. Worst case… we all die. Chasing after her isn't exactly simple, because I'm not cat-sized, and Valka even less so. This forces us to walk all the way around.

We pass by a mirror, its surface visibly trembling and light frothing beneath its surface, completely missing the beat and showing something other than the image in front of it.

A complex triangular structure of pure arcane mana, shaped and maintained by an entire tabletop of inscriptions. In its center, a breath of mana surrounded by pebbles and seemingly trying to force mana conversion. With little success.

Then there's a slab of old, moldy stone, bearing some sort of carvings that… that I've seen before.

"Val…" I whisper and run my fingers across the enigmatic markings. It's almost identical to the walls of the underground labyrinth.

Our eyes turn towards the lightning dome. There's no denying it anymore… They've captured a spirit, suppressed the discovery, and begun experimenting with their newfound toy.

This means one of the locations we've memorized is already gone. I quickly riffle through the scraps and documents littering a nearby work desk, quickly coming across a notebook.

'… We've been met with unexpected complications while translating the writing. A difference in perception and cultural value of time, as well as mana, hampers our efforts.'

They even tried to translate it? This is bad, especially if there was another map on that abandoned site. Or if there was something more in the city…

We might already be too far behind.

I quickly skim through some of the lines penned down here, drinking in the knowledge greedily. When my eyes start reading through the next paragraph, however…

'… When extracting a portion of the spirit's core, we've encountered an undocumented form of energy. No method proved capable of analyzing or even allowing us to catch a glimpse of this anomaly, which is undeniably influencing the mana currents.

Codename: Animus State: unknown Effects: mana current disturbance Danger Level: unknown Source: spirits Value: invaluable'

"Oh no." I whisper. "They tore out a piece of its soul…"

Even without looking, my eyes find the tiny creature of animated metal, hopping at the foot of a table. As always, Alwi is drawn to her kin. Surrounded by voidglass, visibly repelling it, is a weak purple spark, almost completely fizzled out like a forgotten campfire.

Seeing that… My mind goes completely blank.

Mana goes rabid around me, turning into abhorrent forces of nature, tearing through wood, glass, and stone indiscriminately. The amount of disappointment, disgust, and especially, burning the brightest, hate cannot be expressed by words.

That over there is the repeat of our past mistakes. Something people in the academic circles should most likely be keenly aware of. And most importantly, that is a living creature's soul, their entire being.

"Eli!" Val yells for me.

She tries to reach for me, but a spark of my raging power blows up in her face and sends her flying. And I don't even notice. This place is the twisted, abominable creation of our curiosity to understand. A feeling that I hold dear and right… besmirched and wronged like this.

"The world doesn't need this place." I mutter.

Reestablishing control over my power, I shape with the pure intent to cause destruction, this time intentionally. By my own force of lightning, I force the dome open, tearing the inscriptions and equipment probably worth thousands of gold to bits and pieces.

Heat soon joins my force of electricity, taking on a blue hue and turning into shards of Solarie in my hands. The solid buried of mana doesn't stand a chance.

Inside, held in chains and subdued by even more voidglass, is a spirit of earth. Its stone body lies across the floor, dissected and latched onto a multitude of machines I could hardly care about.

"I heard your call." I mutter when I feel the creature's attention fall on me.

Freeing it is a different hurdle entirely.

Fire demon, don't kill.

I hear the spirit's whispers.

With a nudge of my will, the plasma wraps around the chains and turns up the heat to completely new levels. Lighting strikes the shackles, stone crumbles to tear down the walls… And the world turns into a cruel furnace of scorching air, singeing even my clothes and melting the floor with cruel heat.

But the damn voidstone keeps fighting my control over mana.

"C'mon!" I growl, about to pump even more mana through my body and seething the fires even further. Brute force is also a solution.

However, before I can sink deeper into the hole of blind rage, a merciless slap sends me tumbling across the floor. My mind goes blank for a second from the heavy hit, and when I come to, Val is already standing over me.

Aching cheek, and a trail of blood running down my face…

"Get yourself together!" She hisses, holding a motionless Alwi close to her chest. Her skin is reddening, her clothes are in tatters, and the floor all around us is in flames. "I'll get the spirit, you do what you must!"

Despite my outburst and poor state of mind, she leaves the heated owlet in my care and dives in to grab onto the incandescent chains. The skin on her hands sizzles, and the stinkeye with the pained frown on her face is completely warranted… But so was the slap.

Martha forbade her from taking even a deep breath just to fit into her dress perfectly. Straining against iron, trying to tear it apart, is far too much for the fabric.

"Sorry, little one. Your cool auntie got a little carried away." I hold Alwi close, crawl back to my feet, and approach the trapped matrix of aether.

If the spark of desire I'm able to create is a candle, then this is an entire chandelier. It's multi-layered and deep, holding much more than the selfish thoughts of a girl. Disengaging the holding voidglass mechanisms is much simpler than breaking the shackles. And when I do, Alwi snatches the shard of aether out of the air, holding it in her wings gently.

"It's beautiful." I mutter, mesmerized.

Even though my rampage is over, the tower is still trembling. It's supposed to be top-notch craftsmanship and yet…

"Done!" Val is kneeling next to a pile of inanimate stone. This is the extent of her knowledge that can take her.

Yet when I approach to help, the rocks spring to life and fly at us with the intent to kill

Not the young one!

The spirit rages. Pebbles faster than arrows strike my shoulder and thigh, catching me off guard and bringing me to the ground. I manage to block the subsequent barrage and speak before Val lashes out.

"It's okay!" I yell. "It's trying to protect Alwi." The barrier of wind protects me while Val shrugs off the strike like they're raindrops.

This spirit is on its last leg.

"Here, look." I raise my hand and form my own purple spark of eternity.

You… Impossible. Last wielders… long gone.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The tiny iron owl struggles out of my arm and dashes over to its kin. Once close enough, the piece of mana filled with intent and emotions complex enough to become life floats up and rejoins the stone.

It's finally done. But we've wasted a lot of time, and I've… maybe brought down a large portion of the tower. Nobody died, but did anyone notice? Geez, maybe…

"You need to go home!" I turn to the spirit.

Can't. Weak, powerless.

Not my first time.

"Take this, take it all." I offer my mana in the form of aether and arcane, whatever the spirit needs.

The will of earth and magic blessed with life hesitates only for a moment before claiming control over the power and absorbing it greedily. Now that I'm offering my mana willingly, the sensation is nowhere as disturbing as back then, a year ago, but it's still… odd.

Never did I expect to meet another true wielder.

The spirit's words leave me confused. "You mean the aether? What even is it?"

Everything.

I've grown stronger since then, but we have only a single spirit to sing the song that brings them home. I'm down to below half when it finally decides to have had its fill, and its presence becomes a lot more defined.

The lonely hum sends ripples through the air, forming purple cracks in the layer of reality. Only when I glance at Valka does it become clear that she can't see almost any of this. She doesn't hear the spirit, or feel the presence of mana shift all around…

Although I doubt she'd exchange Alwina for my abilities. Like…ever.

Finally done with what we came for, I look out of a modest hole through the wall, fearing the worst. Troops of a dozen nations, waiting to come down on us and exact justice… The fireworks might've been loud, but not loud enough to make a tower crack and crumble.

Yet, looking over the city, I discover that it's not just the Herven Tower that's badly damaged and licked by flames. Streets and almost every single tower across the skyline are rocked by forces fighting against each other.

"Val, it looks bad outside." I convey my findings, forgetting about a dangerous possibility.

From the starway climbs up a figure, his body warped in a cloak, and his body hugged by darkness. Of all the features, however, it's the eyes that remind me of the haunting memories of the past.

"Shadow..." I whisper, feeling the blood drain from my face.

[Rogue ???]

The man seems to be equally surprised by my presence, nevertheless, it's he who recovers first. Thin wires emerge from under his clothes, claiming a portion of the floor immediately and closing in on me.

Stone and steel manage to resist, but nothing else can resist the sharp threads and immense force.

"Val, the spirit!" I yell and create a hole in the floor to disappear through.

I can't see us winning this. But if we were to flee, the bastard could quite likely capture the weakened spirit. Then all of this would be for naught…

Rushing the remnant of delicate devices, debris, and fires, I stop below where the man should be standing. Thrusting my arm up, the nearby fires gather around me and bursts through the ceiling.

Riding the incandescent force, I carry myself up to make sure the flames bloom to their absolute extent. Upon reining in the inferno around me, it becomes instantly apparent that I've missed, and Val is currently straining against the wires to protect the spirits.

But I've missed just barely…

Redirecting the heat – my exact feelings for the despicable Shadows – is as simple as a thought. No matter our level difference, the firepower I've gathered and command at my will cannot be ignored.

The man retracts his wires and forms a cocoon around himself to avoid being roasted alive. This is all the reprieve Val needed to retaliate. Now she's dashing through the lab, anger on her face, and her leg rising to kick the ball.

The impact is deafening, and the wall proves too little to hold the ball in the court. We were lucky and managed to rid ourselves of the hunting dog, but we can't stay.

"Spirit! How much longer?" I stomp over barefoot, my dress closer to a short overall at this point.

Soon. I'm taking the youngling.

"The fuck you are!" I politely tell him off. "Either you go through that hole alone or you're not going anywhere."

The youngling belongs with us. It isn't safe here.

"Val, take Awli, we're leaving!" I make some precautions, but keep my eyes on the sentient rocks. "I know you hate people, this world, all of it… But we'll prove it's not a lost cause. Now go!"

You're a wielder… You should know this isn't the way.

The humming reaches its crescendo, and space rips apart. This time around, I manage to make our, or rather understand a little more about what exactly this hole is and where it leads.

Through realms of mana…

From the corner of my eye, I see a silvery wire latch the crack from below. "I'd go if I were you." Before the spirit can even attempt to do anything stupid, I run towards a hole revealing a splendid view over the city. "You're welcome!" And I jump. "Val, catch me!"

Our job here is done. It's a shame, but apparently we can't expect another round of awesome rewards for our efforts. Not that I only acted for such selfish reasons…

Flying through the air, I get a good look over Mythralis, able to grasp just how chaotic the situation is. The exhibition venue, almost every tower, taverns, and even the barracks, aren't spared from the destruction. Almost as if the city is under siege…

Rolling in the air, I catch sight of Val plummeting just behind me and a cloaked face peaking through the gaping hole we chose to exit. He's more than welcome to jump after us, although I doubt we'll be easy to catch when the streets are like this.

Using the winds, I slow my descent a little, just enough to grab onto Val and lock my legs around her torso. From there, I push much harder with the aircurrents to help us survive, and the rest… Well, that's up to Valka.

She claws into walls, crashes through balconies, and bounces off buildings, trying to hold onto anything. It's a rocky landing, worse than even my foulest of flights, but when we finally hit the ground… I have no broken bones.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Val isn't as pleased with the outcome. But she can heal.

Our fall surely must've garnered some attention. With the entire city around us like this, we cannot afford to stay in one place. Dashing through streets like damn cockroaches, with things up in flames all around is sort of our speciality now.

"We need to get back to the venue." I check our surroundings while my friend crawls out of the hole her impact made.

"No, the tavern!" She objects. "Too many people there. Dangerous people we can't trust."

"But they might be looking for us."

I hear the bone in Valka's forearm audibly snap back to its place. "And? They can take care of themselves either way."

I can't argue with that…

Our next move is to blindly run through the city, running from house to house and avoiding anyone and anything. I know, not the brightest or most efficient way to traverse a potentially dangerous area…

On the other hand, I don't see any civilians massacred in heaps, meaning whoever caused this chaos, besides me, that is, isn't here to kill. So we blend in. Dirty, ragged, and acting panicked.

It's so stupid that it's genius.

We do witness a few clashes along the way as well. I count at least seven different parties engaged in battle for Gods know what, but I couldn't care less as long as they leave us be. Reaching the tavern where we're based turns out to be the easy part…

Retrieving our clothes and other equipment will prove a bit more difficult. Because this place isn't spared from the fighting either.

"I'd like to avoid killing, if possible." I whisper, watching the three cloaked figures engaged with one another from around the corner. "I don't need murder charges added to the burglary and whatnot in case we get caught."

"I don't think they'll be too cooperative." Val huffs. "But you can try asking nicely."

A jab not even worthy of a reply. "I distract, you strike?" I propose.

In normal cases, the Mage is never, ever, the bait. It's so stupid that even being suspicious of it wouldn't make sense… Nobody expects the battle mage.

Still, I'm not too keen on being the bait. "Can't we just leave them?"

"And go where exactly when we look like this?" Val looks pointedly at the remnants of our garments. "I'm not showing like this in front of all those people! Decency aside, we'd be prime suspects for any of this mess!"

True, although we did kind of do it.

"Fine." I sigh. "Don't let me die or I'll haunt you!"

While we debated, the three people turned into two. One is already down, still clutching the bag they seem to be fighting for. The one wielding a crackling whip, thrashing all around like a vile electric snake, seems to have the upper hand. The other one is clearly more of a thief, rather than a fighter.

Does this mean I aim to eliminate the stronger one first? Nah, it's clear what they're after.

While they're brutally pestering each other, I run down the street and have the ground and debris send the desired package my way. Like a precise wave, the stone rolls the bag all the way to my feet and lifts it up for me like a good puppy.

Inside is… paper, a lot of it. No gold, or outstanding gadget, or gems, or hell, even food… Just paper.

"Disappointing…" I mutter.

When I glance back up, the whip is already snapping my way. I'm not very subtle, and these two aren't exactly amateurs; still, dodging the attack comes easily. Striking me too hard could damage the goods after all…

This gives me a brilliant idea.

Giggling like a little imp, I turn on my heels and simply run away. Speed isn't exactly my thing, especially not on foot, thus I quickly turn into an alley. Along the way, I drag my hand through the corner, making the building crumble and dust cover the entire path.

But that's all, I don't struggle much harder to destroy or increase my lead. A few seconds is all I need.

Better, I wait for the two figures like an innocent little girl, grinning wildly and holding the bag out for them. Along with a ball of wind… The moment they appear through the smoke, I have the breeze launch the prize above the roofs and through the city.

"Now, you can try to kill me while the other gets the bag…" I raise my hands, and lightning gathers at my call. "Or be on your way."

If I were in their shoes, I'd love to kill this evil me for sure. Yet these fools obviously risked dying for some damn papers so it must be important. More important than their feelings.

Neither of them hesitates to jump after the bag, although the whip does lash out at me as punishment. Lightning clashes with lightning, and although I do manage to defend myself, it's really not because mine is stronger.

Valka finally bursts through the smoke a moment later, rearing to go and save the day. "What did you do?" She looks around in confusion.

"Sent them on a grand adventure." I walk past her and reach down to dig through the rubble. "But I would've loved to ask why they were fighting over this." I lift the paper. "Now, let's go."

I don't want to be here when they find the brick in the bag.

Thankfully, our tavern hasn't been the main stage of the local rumble, so we still find about half of it intact. The staff and dozens of people are taking shelter inside, trembling and twitching the moment we burst in.

That quickly changes once they get a good look at us, though. We don't bother explaining, or playing the heroes, or being subtle. Arriving at our room, Val tears the door down after a short struggle and we get to changing into proper clothes.

Packing actual outdoor survival gear is as important as underwear.

But just before I can put pants on and still use some water to wash off all the gunk and soot stuck in my hair, someone rudely barges into the room. A man wearing a white coat, holding a weird device, and looking as civilian as they get.

"It's here!" He wheezes, holding the device up. "You…" His eyes narrow as the word gets stuck in his throat.

Now I am wearing underwear, but never in history has water launched at someone this fast and turned into ice on contact. From the waist up, the man gets encased in a solid block of frost, dropping his toy but surviving. For now…

"What was that?" Val looks at me like I'm any wiser.

Picking up the triangular metal box, I find a number of pointers and symbols, and lights showing all kinds of stuff. But when I turn towards Val, all of them give a clear signal. A step closer, and the lights flash faster, a slight turn to the left, and the pointers move right…

Then I get an idea and form the tiniest speck of aether in my other palm.

And the device goes haywire.

"Oh fuck…" I throw the damn thing at the wall. "We're so deep in the shit."

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