Deon felt himself falling.

But it was slow, even graceful—and it only lasted for a moment.

His feet touched down perfectly onto a stone floor, and he could still feel Skrili’s hand in his. Quickly, the veil of light left his eyes.

Kotono, Hiroko, and Phillip all stood close by them on some sort of large, perfectly round platform. The rainbow Worldline light still shone everywhere atop the platform’s surface, but not enough to blind them anymore. Peering up, Deon found it climbed all the way into the sky, likely through the melancholy clouds above.

Subtle misty rain brushed against his face.

“Alright, let’s go—we’re unwanted visitors,” Hiroko reminded them, stepping forward. The purple in her hair had lost a hint of brilliance, and her face had subtly morphed: evidence of this reality’s new color palette.

The group followed her towards the edge of the platform until suddenly, she paused.

“Crap.”

Her cause of concern seemed far worse than she’d let off, because it came in the form of dozens of armor-clad soldiers waiting for them at the step. They all raised swords with blue shaky blades of light, surrounding the platform.

Immediately Hiroko pounced into a fighting stance, and Deon and Skrili rushed to do the same while Kotono stood frozen, hands to her mouth as red light beamed ragingly around her.

The guards all stared straight through them, ready to strike.

Wait…why are they staring through us? Deon thought.

“WE KNOW YOU’RE THERE!! SHOW YOURSELF!” one of the closest boomed.

While Deon, Skrili, and Hiroko stood ready, anticipating the onset of a fierce battle at any moment, Phillip slowly brushed past their shoulders, hands in pocket.

He stepped casually down the edge of the platform, his face right before one of the soldiers.

“What are you doing?!” Deon exclaimed.

“Come on,” Phillip called back, beckoning with a tilt of his head. “They can’t see or hear us right now.”

Deon took a closer look: none of them had turned or repositioned to face Phillip. They had no idea he was right there.

Hiroko sighed. “Gotta love Illusionists,” she said, standing tall again. After finally managing to persuade Kotono, guiding her by the hand, the two champions followed Phillip while the soldiers continued looking for them.

“M…maybe we’re seeing things?” one of the men suggested.

“It definitely flashed! Someone arrived!”

“Or left.”

“No—we had eyes everywhere! Why do you think there are so many of us here now?! We can’t afford another failure after that traitor Raznizu got out.”

“I was supposed to work that night…I’d be dead, now.”

Phillip weaved passed the first row of soldiers undetected, so Deon and Skrili moved forward.

“Is it invisibility potion?” one guard wondered alertly. “Can anyone smell them?!”

Kotono flinched. “My perfume…”

Phillip waved off the concern, slipping past another row of soldiers. “They can’t smell us, either.”

When Deon hopped down and neared his first guard, he stepped close. Amazed, he waved his hands right in front of the tense man’s face to find no reaction whatsoever.

“Whoa…you’ve learned some cool stuff since last time, huh, Phillip?” he observed. “Why didn’t you use this on the dragon guards?”

“Masking four flying dragons is far too complex,” Phillip said. “I can manage a few people much more easily. But stop fooling around—it’ll start losing its effect eventually.”

Upon hearing that, Kotono became the one pulling Hiroko forward in a near panic. Deon shook his head. Out of all of them, Kotono could probably take out the most soldiers—and do it in a blink.

Skrili yanked Deon along, so he refocused and sped his pace. He could finally see their new location after sneaking away from the last of the magically-armed guards.

This lower level featured an equally round and intricate stone floor, which continued for another several paces. It was vast, yet empty aside from the soldiers. At the end where Phillip had just passed between two towering pearly pillars began a wide road consisting of the same smooth stone pattern. It was clearly designed to host hundreds of travelers at once, but nobody else was in sight.

Considering this reality was blocked off to the rest of the Multiverse, Deon wasn’t surprised.

The path continued on straight for what would likely be an hour’s walk, with flat land of perfectly short, dark green grass on either side. At its end in the distance waited a city partially shrouded in fog.

The rest of the group caught up to Phillip.

“Azvaylen’s capital,” Hiroko identified.

Several gray and black towers dominated the city’s sky, the four tallest coming from a colossal building the farthest away from them. Each major structure matched or even exceeded the splendor of the Hotel of Champions back in Gloat Center, while any smaller buildings hid tucked behind a powerful, gated stone wall.

Under the gray weather, Azvaylen appeared grim and tired.

They couldn’t see any people or activity from here, given the distance. But that didn’t stop Deon from scanning the skyline as closely as his eyes would allow.

Lammy was somewhere within that gloomy city. And he needed them.

~~~

Lammy yelped as he crashed against the hard, cold floor.

Najinzu ripped the scratchy bag off his head that they’d forced on him minutes ago.

No—it wasn’t Najinzu. It was some Azvaylen soldier.

“Enjoy your interrogations,” the man warned with a scowl admittedly less terrifying than Najinzu’s.

He must have handed me over at some point—Najinzu’s mission is over, Lammy realized, heart still pounding.

Somehow the bindings on his wrists and ankles felt tighter than before as he watched the guard step through the only opening in this crammed new room. The man reached for a bulky door of crude metal bars.

No…wait! Lammy thought. He hurried to summon his heightened imagining abilities, but only found fret when they didn’t respond. Just like back in the van, someone was suppressing his consciousness powers.

The door slammed shut, and the soldier walked away into the torch-lit, cave-like hallway. Lammy tried again when the man left, but clearly he wasn’t the source of the dampening—something else was suppressing it.

The dusty, dark cell was large enough to fit at least four or five more people in its square entrapment, yet Lammy was alone. Zayza, Raznizu, and Pang were nowhere to be seen or heard. As soon as they placed that bag over Lammy’s head, he lost track of his allies.

The intent was obvious: with all of them separated, they had no chance to try and coordinate an escape.

Lammy’s whole body felt heavy. He was utterly alone.

Even back when Zayza had first revealed she’d murdered her family, afraid of her as he was, he decided to keep running away with her. Even that felt better than wandering all alone in the woods.

But now, he no longer had the option. All he could do was lie there in the dark, and await his public execution.

His chest hurt. Tears began falling.

This was it.

“Zayza, boy, make sure you’re alone. Then, reply if you can hear me.”

Suddenly, Raznizu’s voice was in his head.

“Oh…I’m here,” said Zayza.

Reinvigorated even just slightly, Lammy examined the space outside his cell one more time.

“I’m…I’m here,” he confirmed.

“Good. Then it’s just as I’d hoped,” Raznizu said decidedly. “I’m opening up our connection.”

Lammy’s eyes widened as Raznizu and Zayza appeared, sitting across from him in his cell. They were still bound like him, and oddly transparent.

“But…how is this possible? These cells block magic,” Zayza pressed, her mouth not moving.

“As I’ve assured you, you’re not alone. I’m part of a resistance meant to save you and our kingdom, and they’ve planned farther ahead than the enemy,” answered Raznizu. “They placed Azvaylen enchantments in each cell to cancel out the curse.”

“To do that…would take expert knowledge even I don’t possess,” uttered Zayza.

A knowing smile appeared in Raznizu’s eyes.

“Wait…” noticed Lammy, searching around. “Where’s Pang…?”

“She may have been taken elsewhere…perhaps another dungeon,” Raznizu thought aloud.

Lammy’s heart sunk. When Benton removed her bindings, she could have made a break for it—and with her speed, perhaps even gotten away. But she stayed and tried to free the rest of them.

“If we get out of here, we have to find her, too,” Lammy decided.

Raznizu seemed unconvinced, until he noticed Zayza nod in agreement. He obediently returned the motion.

“But the escape itself won’t be simple,” he urged. “And before that, we must prepare for our impending interrogations. Locate the loose brick in the back right corner of your cell. Behind it, if our allies succeeded, you should find a glowing pill. I’ve retrieved mine.”

Lammy watched as Zayza struggled to shift towards a wall in her cell.

“A mindreading blocker?” she assumed.

“Precisely.”

“Then Lammy: I advise you not to take it,” she said quickly, turning to him. “You have nothing to hide; you were only aiding my escape, as they already know. When they can’t read your mind, they may resort to torture.”

Lammy didn’t need to hear it twice; he stayed put. Though the thought of someone far more ill intentioned than Foler reading his mind didn’t sound very appealing, either.

Zayza kicked at a wall, unseen from Lammy’s view, and appeared to have located the loose brick. She rolled over to it and with her hands tied, grimaced as she used her tongue to claim the apparent pill. Lammy tried not to consider how dirty it must have been, buried within this forsaken wall.

“Horrid,” she muttered, swallowing reluctantly. “But thank you.”

“It was not me; I merely knew of the plan,” Raznizu reminded her.

“Then who else sides with me?”

“I’ll tell you when it’s safe for you to know.”

Zayza hurried back into a sitting position, her eyes sharp on what Lammy could only assume was the door to her cage. The transparent figure of a soldier appeared, patrolling and briefly glancing at her. She eased up when he passed.

“So…how long until…you know…” Lammy tried to ask, the very words making him queasy.

“Until our executions?” Raznizu figured callously, and Lammy squirmed in response. “They’ll wait until Proscious gets as much information out of us as possible first. They may also have plans for Zayza, which is why it’s vital that we prepare an escape.”

Proscious, Lammy remembered. Until today when Najinzu and Irma bickered about it, he hadn’t heard that word in months.

Ryan had claimed to secretly serve them; they’d given him Mastermind powers, and assigned him to help hunt Zayza down. And considering how Folel and Foler’s triplet Felix had hinted at receiving powers while trying to kidnap Zayza, Lammy could conclude he was a part of Proscious, as well.

Then there were Irma and Benton, who seemed to somehow sport multiple consciousness abilities.

If it meant avoiding more encounters with Proscious, the need for escape suddenly felt even more urgent.

“But what can we do? This dungeon is too deep under the castle. The paths are intentionally challenging to navigate, and we’re all isolated,” Zayza said.

“Please bear with me, my princess. There will be a signal from the outside, from our support. But the timing is uncertain.”

The two Azvaylens fell silent. Lammy noticed a repetitive drip somewhere down the echoing hall. He couldn’t help but continue watching Zayza. Since recovering her memories, everything she did and said came with more confidence and authority than he’d ever seen from her.

But the way she kept tearing up upon sight of his terror and confusion, and the way she was looking out for him first even now…that had never changed.

And still, he didn’t know why:

Why did she take their lives?

“Maybe…now’s a good time to explain,” Lammy said slowly, filling the silence. “Zayza…what is all of this? Why…what led you to do it?”

Zayza didn’t blink as she looked back at him.

“Only if you fully trust him,” Raznizu stressed.

“Of course I do,” Zayza said immediately, even practically offended by the notion.

Raznizu fell apologetically silent, remembering his place.

Despite their physical separation, her response made Lammy feel closer to her than ever before.

“Lammy…to think an innocent boy like you could wrapped up in this horror…” she started. “This kingdom has been secretly overtaken. Proscious seized control over a year ago, and have been using my family as puppets to rule our people ever since.”

“Why would they do that?”

“It started years before, with diplomacy,” Zayza explained. “With our relations to Huksdür—the neighboring kingdom—failing, our economy began falling rapidly, and our resources diminished. Azvaylen rarely took part in relations beyond our reality, but my father and mother grew desperate for a partnership with someone—with anyone.”

Lammy couldn’t help but feel odd hearing Zayza fluently speak in such formal, governmental terms. But he tried to listen closely.

“We began building a presence beyond this reality, in other areas of Fantasy Country. My father dragged my sisters and me to endless high-profile events: meetings, celebrations, and Conscious Competitions to build inter-reality relations. That was when Proscious approached them.”

She sighed shakily. “Proscious promised, and followed through with, seemingly unrestrained access to any resource we possibly needed. I still don’t understand how they had so much to offer, or where it came from. But in exchange…they wanted access to our powers.”

“Your consciousness powers?” guessed Lammy.

Zayza nodded. “The Dreamer type is unique only to Azvaylens. They wished to study and test it,” she said. “But as time went on…my parents grew wary of their studies—or rather, the intentions behind them. My parents knew they were using us, stealing from us to grow dangerously powerful, and tried to break the partnership off. But then…”

She took a deep breath.

“Then…I watched my parents change. They became totally compliant to Proscious’ wishes. Eventually, I discovered Proscious had taken control of their minds. They seized full control of our kingdom, and only I knew. Then they did the same to Vayva, and now…to Layla, my baby sister. My only family. They’re using her.”

Lammy recalled Layla’s cold glare as she sentenced them to death, even after Zayza pleaded for compassion. It was no wonder she’d remained so heartless to her own sister, without the bat of an eye.

Proscious was using her as a tool.

“I…I tried to save them all. Truly,” stressed Zayza. “With Oflenur’s help, I tried everything to free their minds. But once Proscious infected them, however they did, it was irreversible. And it was eating away at them on the inside, destroying them. So I had no choice but to…”

She couldn’t finish.

“One day, Azvaylen will know the truth,” Raznizu assured.

“I don’t care about that. I just want them back,” Zayza uttered. “And now…they have Layla.”

Lammy felt his remaining doubts and fears about her die. Fewpar and Najinzu were right about what she did, but they were still wrong: she wasn’t a monster.

It seemed Raznizu had no other words of comfort as he averted his eyes from Zayza regretfully. If that was his only reaction, and given Zayza’s account, Lammy feared there was little they could do for Zayza’s little sister.

But that didn’t stop his new longing to free her.

“You Azvaylens go hard with your dungeons, don’t you?” said a woman.

Lammy, Zayza, and Raznizu all darted their eyes to their respective cell gates. But it turned out the voice had come from Raznizu’s area.

Appearing in Lammy’s view, thanks to the magic, he saw Irma casually step up to Raznizu’s cell. This time her eyes were pink and yellow, like the first time they met. She sported a pristine zip-up jacket to ward off the cave’s chill.

“I mean, don’t you consider this a little bit overkill?” she continued, looking around. “Then again: considering what you guys do for your public executions, it’s pretty on-brand.”

“What do you want?” Raznizu demanded.

“Just for you to rat out your friends, that’s all,” she explained honestly. “I already know there are more Zayza stans running around from when Naji used that magic on you. Proscious just need to know who.”

Raznizu spat. “What they were able to get was all you’ll ever find out.”

“Really? ‘Cuz I’m pretty sure that same magic works much better here in its homeland,” said Irma.

She reached into her coat pocket, and unveiled a black stone. Oddly, the stone glowed black with darkness instead of light, dulling everything around it.

“Now, let’s meet your little buddies…” Irma insisted. She focused on Raznizu intensely, her eyes widening.

But Raznizu stared back at her, stoic and unmoved.

After a few more seconds of trying, Irma finally gasped. “Huh?! Why isn’t it working?!” she exclaimed. “Wait…just what are you pulling?!”

The pill is working, Lammy observed.

But then Irma smirked. She let out a chuckle. “Just messing,” she said. “Did I fool you?”

Raznizu’s face hardened.

“I totally fooled you!” Irma laughed. “Which is weird, ‘cuz like, why would we come down here to interrogate you guys and have NO backup plan? Like, what? You thought we’d just rely on your kingdom’s stupid magic?”

She tossed the mystical stone over her shoulder carelessly. It cracked against the wall somewhere unseen.

“I had a feeling you’d try and pull something slick,” she said. Then her head turned to the side, looking beyond Raznizu’s cell. “See? Told you I wasn’t wasting your time. Your turn, don’t be shy.”

A small shadow flowed into view beside Irma.

No—it wasn’t a shadow: it was a young woman in a long, dark cloak.

Her bluish-green bangs fell from her oversized hood and hid practically her entire face. Lammy could hardly see a sliver of her cheek through it, and her skin was as pale as his hair.

“We made sure consciousness powers don’t work in those cells,” Irma told Raznizu. “But they sure work from right here.”

Raznizu tensed further.

“Go for it, Aoi,” Irma encouraged the phantom-like girl.

Aoi nodded.

Raznizu grunted as he slammed his eyes shut. “NO! STOP!” he snarled. “STOP THIS!!”

“See? Must be working!” Irma noted. “Like, why would we depend on your magic when we have cute little Aoi?”

His head trembling, Raznizu roared.

Abruptly, Aoi jumped in surprise. Her shoulders tensed.

As she did, it seemed she released her pursuit of Raznizu’s mind. He gasped, leaning to the side.

But Aoi was still worked up, her hidden eyes facing the cell.

“What? Come on—don’t leave me out, I wanna know now!” Irma pressed. “Ugh, FINE!”

She bolted down the hall, returning quickly with the magic stone back in her hand. Irma brushed it off delicately as if to apologize, and then pointed it at Aoi.

Her mouth dropped. “WHAT?!?!” she shrieked. “LET’S MOVE!!”

She made a break for it out of view, and Aoi struggled to match her urgent pace.

Fuming, Raznizu bashed his fist against the concrete floor.

“What happened?!” Lammy and Zayza probed.

“They know,” was all he grunted.

“Know what?”

~~~

Layla strutted, back perfectly straight, as a crowd of armed guards escorted her down the massive and illustrious hall. Their armor reflected against her face, yet she didn’t wince.

“Pointless pleasantries…” grumbled Najinzu behind her. “Give the Queen a break.”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong will celebrating a job well-done,” Benton’s voice droned. “Right, Fewpar? You had a little help, but you did it.”

Silence.

“Right, sorry.”

Finally, the entourage reached the massive golden doors. Without announcement, they slowly opened to the sparkling throne room.

Layla followed the guards in, stepping atop the red carpet and reaching the center under crystal chandeliers high above. She and the guards stopped and bowed low, along with Najinzu, Fewpar, and Benton behind them.

There were two golden thrones at the end of the magically-illuminated room, but only one was occupied. A man sat, legs crisscrossed like a child studying bugs in the dirt, as he stared smilingly at his visitors. His pitch-black eyes filled with jubilation. He brushed back some of his wavy hair, icy blue in shade.

“Wei, your requested guests,” introduced one of the guards.

The man clapped, the sound echoing beautifully across the room.

“Fewpar, Najinzu, Benton…amazing,” he congratulated. “But of course, most important of all…”

He slowly raised a hand, his slender yet powerful muscles clear even through his black button-up shirt. The man beckoned.

“Come here, little Layla.”

Without hesitation, Layla stood and began her way over. Wei’s eyes never left hers, and his perfect, chiseled smile never ceased. A golden medallion dangled before his chest between his partially unbuttoned shirt.

“Your speech was, once again, perfect. You condemned them to death so easily. It’s really having its effect on you, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Master Wei,” Layla said instinctively.

“Oh…I just love seeing Proscious’s inventions at play,” Wei continued. “The citizens worship you. How do you feel?”

“Happy, Master Wei.”

“Good. Well, Irma and Aoi are doing interrogations as we speak. It’s all working out.”

Layla reached Wei’s thrown and looked at him expectantly.

He crouched forward and patted her head, then beckoned her onto his seat. Layla climbed up beside Wei as he wrapped a massive arm around her tiny frame. She smiled tranquilly.

“We’re gonna make this Multiverse such a…correct place, and I couldn’t do it without you,” Wei said. “You know that?”

Layla nodded. “I will do everything in my power to serve Proscious’s will.”

“I know you w—”

He cut himself off, abruptly grabbing a black dot on his earlobe.

“What, Irma?! I said not to call unless it’s an emergency!” he bellowed, eyebrow twitching.

But then, he went pale.

And then, beat red.

“WHAT?! LAYLA?! Zayza’s ally is LAYLA?!?!” he shouted. His eyes shot back to her, wide and enraged. “YOU SNEAK! YOU LITTLE PIECE OF TRASH!!”

Layla felt his grip tighten from tender to violent. Her heart skipped.

She tugged at a particular fabric that hung from her dress, and in response, every wall of the throne room exploded.