Leave the Caverns. That was my next goal. I had hatched this plan throughout the first few nights in this place, after my talk with Sophie had stoked my homesickness. Going back home was important. I had to tell Amy and Nate that I was fine. I wasn't cruel enough to let them worry about me for no reason. However, after some thought I had soon laid the plans aside.

Getting into the Towers of Knowledge and meeting up with Eileen was more important for now. Even if the old Mystic was wrong with his ominous riddles about the towers, at the very least I could have Eileen help me out. As an official mage herself, I was sure she could get me, a lost straggler, back into the city's training program for aspiring mages.

Most importantly, I could never exclude the possibility that the old lunatic was right. The consequences if he was and I ignored his warnings were too severe, no matter how little I wanted to believe. He was a mage after all, if nothing else.

Maybe, once my training was finished, I would be allowed to pay a short visit to my family back aboveground to make sure they would no longer worry about me, before I embarked on my journey into the towers. Certainly, the Mystic would be accommodating towards this one simple wish.

In many regards, the strange old man had proven much more lenient than I had first expected, at least outside of training. Lonely as he was, he must have relished in our company and would surely understand my desires if I was just open with him.

However, things were different now. With Amy a target for Lester, I had to get out of here as soon as possible. I had to warn her of the coming danger and make sure she was safe. The Mystic would never agree to my leaving the Caverns before I had finished my training. There was no telling how much longer that would take, but I was certain that it would be longer than whatever time this little stunt had bought me.

Since I couldn't rely on the Mystic's benevolence anymore, I would have to take matters into my own hands. At least I knew the way. I could get outside the same way we had entered. Then I would take a short trip to our crumbling mansion, talk to Amy to make sure she found refuge at Nate's before I would go right back here. If everything went smoothly, I would return before dark, with the old man none the wiser. Everyone would be happy. I had planned out the entire thing. Nothing would stand in my way, I thought.

However, the one thing I hadn't expected was the betrayal from my only ally. When I reached the spot we had jumped down from, I could already see the problem. With my eyes trained in magic detection, I could see right past the fake wall. There, behind the hidden entrance to the sewers, Sophie sat on a backpack, cheek in hand and bored to death. Right behind her, she had spanned a length of rope to criss-cross throughout the entire opening. If I tried to squeeze past in my invisible state, I would touch the strings and alert the girl to my presence.

I really shouldn't have let her watch my training. She would know what my light-bending shape could and couldn't do and had prepared accordingly. Once I had entered the secret hallway and gotten away from prying eyes, I leaned against the ropes and unmade my shaped disguise.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

A flustered Sophie looked up at me, but after recognition entered her eyes, she calmed down right away. To my dismay, Sophie had me figured out, thoroughly. Despite my strength, I would never be a threat to her and I would never just disregard her, so she didn't have to fear anything.

“I was actually expecting you sooner. You sure took your time,” my ward opened as she stood up.

“So you've been waiting for me then?”

“Who else would I be waiting for?” She smirked.

“...okay, smartass. So what made you think I would show up here?”

“Call it a hunch. I knew you'd try to get away the moment the geezer took his eyes off you.”

“And what if I only came over because I saw you sit here like a spider in her web?”

My index finger tugged on one of the ropes. In reaction, the whole construction began to shake and wobble.

“Come on, Brayden. The way you always talk about that little sister of yours? I knew once the old man lets you off his leash you'd run off in a heartbeat. You suck, do you know that?” Her lips pursed as her voice soured. “Leaving me hanging, leaving the old geezer hanging... together with everyone else in this city.”

“What? …no Sophie, I never wanted to leave you behind!” I answered in a hurry and shook my hands in kind. Even now, I was still serious about my work as a caretaker. How could she believe for even a second that I would leave her behind?

“So why are you here then?” Sophie's eyes narrowed. It would be as much because of her lack of trust as because of my overenthusiastic denial, so I returned my hands to my side.

“There's an emergency! Amy is in danger! If I don't go now.-”

“There it is again! Amy, always Amy. Or Eileen. Or Nate. It's always about your own family, whoever you can see right in front of you. This thing is bigger than you, don't you get it? It's bigger than me too, by the way. We need to put our selfishness behind us if we want to topple this corrupt system. We can't only think about ourselves! We either swim together, or drown alone.”

As Sophie spoke, I could feel the anger rise up my stomach again. Without a word of complaint, I had endured everything the crazy old man had thrown at me. I had been the one dunked into the water. Or bruised. Or hit.

All Sophie had done was stand aside and watch me, for her own amusement. And now, after all the stuff I had suffered through and all the stuff I would suffer through in the future, I wouldn't even be allowed to take half a day off from her little 'new world project' to save my own sister?

“You should just get out of the way Sophie. I'll be back by evening.”

When I spoke again, my voice had turned into a growl. I pushed myself off the web and stared down the spider who had spun it. As long as I was determined, she would never be able to stop me. If she had any sense, Sophie would just make way and let me through.

“No.”

“Huh?”

“No. I'm not getting out of the way and you're not leaving.”

Sophie moved between me and the ropes. While I looked at her, my dumbfounded face developed a frown. For a moment I had forgotten who I was talking to. Sophie's actions had always been out of the norm.

“What's the big deal?” I tried to reason with the unreasonable. “I'll be back soon anyways. Just go stay with the Mystic for a while and wait until evening. You can talk about revolutions and the basis of society and whatever other hobbies you two have in common.”

“...so what about you?”

Her head tucked between her shoulders, Sophie looked up and met my gaze, her head lowered and her eyes glowering.

“Huh?” I was surprised again. I could see her frustration not only in her face, but also in the tremble of her fists. Why would the girl care this much?

“What, 'huh'? Did all that swallowed water turn you into a moron or something? Seriously, how about you think about yourself, for just half a second? Did you ever stop to think just how dangerous your plan is? The geezer has warned you, right? That the red guards are after you? Do you really think the birds aren't gonna find you the second you come to the surface?”

“I can use shapes. No one's gonna find me.” I waved off her worries.

“Oh yeah, and how do you know that? It's not like the red guards are mages themselves, right? There's a reason the old man doesn't let you go outside. Now he could just be paranoid, or he could know exactly what he's talking about... but out of those options, one is not like the other. If he's wrong and you follow his advice, at most you're gonna waste a few days training magic under the most capable mage outside of the towers. But if he's right and you ignore him? You die. Simple as that.”

Now I realized her problem. All this time, Sophie had been worried about me. At least that was what I wanted to believe.

“I know your family is important to you,” she continued. “I get it, you care about your trainer and your wards and the trees and the bees and everyone else, but how the hell can't you even for a second stop to think about yourself? It's ridiculous!”

At last I had calmed down somewhat. At last I could see that Sophie was on edge herself. Although she looked furious on the outside, I was sure it wasn't the full picture. She must be scared as well, scared to be left all alone in these dark, humid caves.

Sure, the Mystic had so far taken good care of us, and especially her. Yet I didn't even consider her strain after she had been put into this foreign environment all by herself. At the very least, all this time she had been with someone familiar, someone who had suffered with her. At least in the evenings, we could have our talks. Reminisce about our families, connect with the world up above.

All this time, I had been the line which had tethered her to normalcy. Now that the tether tried to disconnect, she would be thrown into the deep end all by herself. After I had realized Sophie's own issues, my anger left me without a trace. Amy's safety was still important to me, but now I had the calm to explain myself without another shouting match.

“I've seen Lester again. He's trying to kidnap my sister.”

“Huh?”

This time it was Sophie's turn to give my trademark answer.

“What, have you turned stupid from all your talks with the lunatic?” I said with a sly smile of satisfaction. However, I only allowed myself a moment of cleverness before I became serious again.

“...I snuck into their gang's headquarters in the caverns and heard them talking about it. They're trying to use Amy to get to me. Do you want me to just stay here and let that happen? If I have to risk going up against the guardians, then I'll just have to live with that. I'm not letting Amy get involved in this.”

Sophie took a deep breath to prepare for another attack, but when she saw my calm and determined look, not a sound escaped her throat. As she stood there, her frown deepened ever more, like a river being carved into a canyon over centuries. I had come to know her as a rational person. I was sure she would realize that she couldn't change my mind and make the only possible choice, to let me through.

“Okay. I'll go then.”

Again, I hadn't noticed that I wasn't the only one with multiple choices. Just like I hadn't really noticed the giant backpack Sophie had sat on.

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“What I said,” she lifted her hands to frame her brilliant smile. “I'll go out there and make sure your sister is safe. I already thought your stubborn ass couldn't be convinced, so I packed. Look, I'm way more prepared than you.” She lifted up her gray linen backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “Meanwhile, you just stay inside and learn how to not drown. Everyone's happy. How's that sound?”

“...how would you even get outside? You're not exactly athletic-”

“Gee thanks.”

“-and you don't know any magic either. We both know there could be guardians stationed outside the exits. How do you intend to get past those? I don't think a little electric shock therapy is gonna do it this time.”

Rather than see the error of her ways, my ward puffed up her feathers.

“I might not have any magic, but you do, don't you?” She pointed at my chest. “Just go make me invisible and I'll sneak out. Then I go to your sister, make sure she's safe and go back to my place in the city. I know your magic isn't gonna last, so I'll just have to go back to whatever I was doing before. Just... give me a heads up when the revolution starts. If nothing else, at least I want front row seats.”

“Do you know what you're saying? I can't make you invisible! You have no idea how complex magic is. You can't just shape something that stable!”

“So what do you call this place?” Sophie pointed past me, to the fake wall out into the Caverns.

“That's different. The Mystic has a lot more experience than me! I could never shape something this complex and have it stick around for weeks. Not even with the light-bending shapes I practiced the most. You've probably seen all that training and thought 'oh, he must be an expert by now', but I'm not. Even with all I've got, my shape wouldn't last longer than ten minutes or so before I need to reinforce the structure with mana.”

“Perfect! Ten minutes is all I need to get out of the sewers and through the empty Squalor.”

As Sophie's grin got wider, I realized that I had screwed up. Before my brain could spot the danger and react, the slim girl had already slipped through her mage-catching bug net and was walking down the corridor, the backpack strapped on her shoulder like a mighty explorer from the stories.

“Ah, crap. Hey, Sophie! Wait!”

Although I tried to stop her foolhardiness, I was way too hasty. Of course I ended up caught in the web I had avoided all this time. Annoyed, I fed additional mana into the barrier around my body. I had been taught by the Mystic that I was to keep up the barrier at all times.

Not only would the shell strengthen my body like an exoskeleton, it also locked in the mana which would escape all mages like body heat. That expulsion of force was something other mages like the red guards could locate. Rather than waste the mana, I could use it to provide strength and protection from the detection of others. With my new strength, I ripped apart the tangled strings like cotton candy.

By the time I had freed myself from Sophie's little trap, she had gained quite a head start.

“Sophie!” My shout rushed after her and my feet followed. She should have realized that I hadn't shaped the spell onto her yet, right? When I had caught up, I slowed down to match the girl's stroll. She grinned at me with that enervating smugness which came so naturally to her.

“What's with all the noise?” she asked. “Not like I'm running away without that spell, right?”

“How would I know what kind of crazy idea you'll have next?”

In my wisdom, I wouldn't argue any more over who would go out and warn Amy. I was in the stronger position anyway. When we would come up to the sewer entrance, I could always shake Sophie off with my speed and go to the surface by myself. I felt a bit bad, betraying Sophie's trust like that, but I wouldn't let my ward face danger over someone who was a total stranger to her.

“...it's not an invisibility spell by the way. It's called a light-bending shape,” I said to break through the awkward echo of our steps.

“All right, great sorcerer. Once we get back to the sewers, please just magick that spell of invisibility onto me. No need to tell me your life story.” Again I was baffled into silence. This girl had far too much fun under the circumstances. Maybe her case was more severe than I had first thought.

Soon my musing was interrupted when we reached the exit into the sewers. From here, it would only be a few steps back into the light of the city. It would also be the place from which we could expect surveillance, so it was time to ditch Sophie and make my way back home.

Never would I get the girl caught up in my own problems even more. This was my mess, and I had to fix it. My mind made up, I fell half a step behind my companion and reformed my light-bending shape. By the time she turned around, I was gone.

In silence, I stepped past her right side just as she looked to her left. Then I slipped through the illusory wall, out into the sewer system of Astralis. Like last time, I ignored the smell and focused on my way forward.

Which direction had we come from last time? I turned left, towards the exit. Since Sophie's annoyed voice and hastened steps were catching up to my position, I sped up as well.

Only a few more steps and I noticed the bright lights from our front. Soon, several masked figures appeared behind the cones of light. In the moistness of the tunnels and the erratic dance of the lights upon the wet walls, their red robes glistened even more than usual.

The guardians of peace were here and they had come for war! I could spot no less than eight separate sources of light. This wasn't a search party, it was an assassination squad. Their purpose wasn't even my biggest problem though. Since the Mystic seemed as deep as a well, I doubted they would spot me or the old man's fake wall.

The problem was Sophie, who still threw curses after me. Before I had the time to react, the dancing lights focused in her direction one by one. Annoyed by the brightness, I bent the light around my eyes to dim the lights. Even I knew we couldn't talk ourselves out of this one, and I couldn't fight what I didn't know.

Now that I got a better view of our opponents, I realized the exact severity of our predicament. With my training and natural gifts, I could sense the layers of barriers shaped around the guards. I knew the shape of that barrier. It was the same shell I had built around myself. Even worse though were the weapons I could see in their hands.

From the outside, they looked like old firearms I had seen in movies and games, but my trained senses revealed the truth. The magic formations around the matte black sticks spoke of a magic nature, as did the handle, shining brightly in my magic sense.

The handle must operate like a conduit for the mana of the guardians, I thought.

This was trouble. Before their raid, I had never seen an armed red guard before. I hadn't even known that the guards had personal weapons. As panic filled my eyes, they raised their guns in Sophie's direction, with me right in the line of fire. Unconsciously, I had turned towards their goal, towards Sophie. In the time it had taken me to work through all the information and take action, even she had realized that something was off. Her shouts had stopped. Now she stared up ahead, frozen solid from shock.

“Run!” I screamed to bring her stiff body back to life. My voice cracked from the strain. This had been my own fault. If only I had talked it out, if only I didn't sneak past her! I would make up for my mistake, get Sophie out in one piece.

“Get on the ground and do not resist!” a melodious baritone came from behind.

Yeah, right.

“Get on your knees and cease all resistance!”

Although I was right in their line of sight, they were still focused on Sophie alone. Somehow, despite their magic powers, they hadn't noticed me yet. It gave us our only chance. While I ran up to Sophie, I reshaped my shells. As I reinforced the exoskeleton barrier in my back, I lengthened the light-bending shape to my front. My poor skills compared to the Mystic only afforded me another half meter in length.

Has to be enough!

In full sprint, I rushed into the kneeling Sophie and scooped her into my arms. When the girl entered my barrier, she disappeared from the eyes behind the red masks.

“They're not here to play! Hold on tight!”

As I yelled into Sophie's ears, the weapons went off in my back. All around us, pieces of floor burst off in fist-sized chunks. This wasn't a warning shot!

Without thought, I kept going, full sprint towards the hidden wall. If they couldn't see my invisible figure, there was a good chance they wouldn't see the wall either. They'd never expect us in this direction, toward an innocuous wall.

With every step I put between us and Sophie's original position, their accuracy reduced. At the same time, the attackers became more and more reckless. As the rate of fire rose to a frenzy, the tunnel turned into a battlefield.

I could feel the projectiles of pure force breeze past me as they ate away at the wall to my side, the ceiling over my head and the floor between my feet. One projectile went straight between my legs, but I didn't care.

Doesn't matter, didn't hit. Just run.

We had almost reached the safety of the caverns, but then one projectile found its target, a lucky hit. With how wild their fire had become, it was inevitable. As the magic bullet dissolved and I could feel the mana pull me backwards.

No wonder the ground was being ripped apart by this. Even worse, the greedy pressure also forced my spell shapes with it. I couldn't keep up both shapes like this, so I had to make a decision. Without thought, my instinct worked through the best solution.

To protect the shell in my back, I let the force carry away my light shape. Now that they had landed the first hit, invisibility would be of dubious use and the speed and strength provided by the shell would be my best bet. Exposed in the open, I strengthened my final shape and sprinted ahead, even more desperate than before.

Now that we were exposed, the fire became more concentrated. Pieces of wall and floor were flying all around us. Just ten more steps and we would reach the relative safety of the cavern tunnel. But then, another hit. And another one!

Two consecutive bullets yanked at my back and ate away my momentum. By now I had almost come to a complete stop. In desperation, I looked ahead, to the fake wall.

Impossible. Completely out of reach!

I knew I couldn't make the final stretch like this, so I abandoned what I had left. Although I had never learned it, my intuition found the way out of my misery. Somehow, I released the shape around my body and fired the whole barrier backwards. Without a will to stabilize it, the shape would only last a few seconds, but I didn't need long. Now reduced to my puny human self, I forced my body forward as fast as I could.

In my arms, Sophie now felt heavy as lead. Even so, I wouldn't let go of my ward. I could give up everything else, but not this. My mind raced as it threatened to lap my sluggish body. From behind, I could hear the gunfire and rip and tear through my barrier.

One more step!

A final leap brought me through the fake walls, just as the earth beside me exploded and showered my face with dirt. A near miss had turned into a narrow hit! Half blind as I was, I rolled into the hallway, as Sophie's body escaped my arms and went who knew where. Dust had entered my eyes and I could feel something wet and sticky run across my face.

Doesn't matter. Keep going!

“Back! Sophie!” As I shaped my mana into its most crude form I just hoped that the shadow I could feel rush past me meant that the girl had reached safety. Determined to make good on my mistakes, I expelled raw force from my open palms. When the mana clashed with the compressed walls of dirt, the Mystic's shapes broke and the tunnel began to fall apart. Although the old man was a much better mage than me, destruction was always much easier than creation.

I just hoped that this would be enough, at least for a while. My work complete, I brushed the dust out of my eyes. Only one eye opened, but at least I could see again.

Although my vision was still blurry, now I could see that I was properly faced towards the entrance. At least one thing had worked out. All around me, I could feel the ground shift and quiver, ready to come down. I turned and ran as fast as I could. Of course I ignored the angry shouts of the guards. They wouldn't get in here, not without shovels.

Shortly after, their words were drowned out by a crash that entered into my very core, as several tons of earth collapsed and blocked off the tunnel. After the final sprint, I fell to my knees, oblivious to anything around me.