The cacophony of the city's petting zoo was a world away from the Siren Guild's tranquility. The air was thick with the smell of hay, animal feed, and sugar-dusted popcorn.
Sun stood nervously by the goat enclosure, clutching a bag of organic carrots like a shield. Beside him, Ace was locked in a staring contest with a particularly stubborn-looking llama.
Just then, Clio approached. She had changed out of her battle gear and into casual clothes, but she still carried an aura of disciplined readiness. Charlie and Tim, the two boys they had saved, were beside her, their faces bright with excitement.
"Mr. Sun! Mr. Ace!" Tim shouted, running ahead and pointing at a capybara lounging in a puddle. "Can we feed him?"
"He looks like he's in deep thought," Ace noted with interest. "I can respect that."
Clio gave Sun a curt nod. "Thank you for agreeing to meet. And for bringing the boys. After everything, they deserve a day like this."
"Of course," Sun said, forcing a smile. "So, you had questions?"
"Straight to business. I like her," Ace commented, earning a sharp elbow from Sun.
Clio ignored him, her focus entirely on Sun. "My superiors are... concerned. An unknown entity with resurrection capabilities appeared in the middle of a guild war. They want to know who he is." She gestured subtly at Ace, who was now trying to teach a goat how to headbutt properly.
Sun's prepared speech died in his throat. "Look, it's... complicated. Ace is... a consultant. He specializes in unique and highly sensitive situations."
Clio's expression was unamused. "A consultant? He brought a child back from the dead. What sort of consulting do you do?"
Before Sun could fumble for another lie, Ace strolled over, casually draping an arm over Sun's shoulders. He looked directly at Clio, his red eyes glinting with amusement.
"Why are we whispering? It's rude," Ace said cheerfully. "You saw what I did. I grabbed the little fellow's soul before it drifted too far and stuffed it back in. It's really not that complicated, though the paperwork on my end is a nightmare." He winked.
Clio's gaze flickered from Ace's too-casual demeanor to Sun's increasingly panicked face. This was not going as briefed. "Perhaps," she said, her voice carefully neutral, "we could dispense with the theatrics. Mr. Sun, you mentioned 'Ace.' Could you elaborate?"
Sun swallowed hard, his eyes darting towards Charlie and Tim, who were now giggling as they offered a carrot to the llama. "Right, well, Ace… he assists with.."
Just as Sun started to spin another lie, Ace interrupted him, his voice calm but absolute.
"Sun, do as you will."
At once, Sun's entire demeanor visibly changed. His shoulders straightened, and the pensive, timid behavior was replaced by a sharp, cold stare.
"Ms. Vance," he said, his voice devoid of its earlier warmth, "we are under no compulsion to respond, nor are you in any position to demand answers. We merely rendered some assistance as passersby. You would do well to limit your inquisitiveness. This conversation is beginning to annoy us."
Clio was taken aback by the sudden shift in atmosphere and Sun's chilling statements. As a high-ranking member of a famous guild, her patience was visibly thinning, but the situation demanded caution. "Mr. Sun, the Bureau is beginning to take interest in the incident. Your involvement may no longer be something we can keep quiet. After all, what you did was not something that can be easily dismissed."
Sun's head snapped up. "The Bureau? What does the Bureau have to do with this?"
"What's that?" Ace asked, genuinely curious.
Clio finally turned her full attention to them, her expression firm. "The Bureau oversees all Aether-related activities within the Coastal Sector. It is the non-partisan governing body, established after the Great Cataclysm to ensure order and accountability amongst the Aether-forged. Unlike the guilds, which often have their own agendas, the Bureau is composed of individuals without divine affiliations. They act as the de facto government, regulating everything from dungeon access to investigating incidents that fall outside standard guild jurisdiction, such as the appearance of someone with your… abilities, Mr. Ace."
Ace raised a brow, his amusement seemingly genuine. "How delightfully tedious."
Clio ignored him. "The Bureau's primary concern is stability. The Destroyer Guild's attack was a significant breach of that stability. And your… intervention, while it saved lives, raises questions about your origins, your capabilities, and your allegiances."
Sun reverted to his earlier indecisive countenance. Before he could stammer out an explanation, a deep tremor ran through the ground. The animals in the petting zoo became agitated. The goats bleated loudly, and even the contemplative capybaras lifted their heads, their eyes wide with unease.
"What was that?" Charlie asked, clutching Tim's hand.
The ground rumbled again, more violently. A low, guttural growl seemed to echo up from the earth itself. Panic began to ripple through the families.
Clio's hand instinctively went to the device at her hip. "A Dungeon," she stated, her voice sharp. "One's opened nearby. Underground."
Sun's eyes widened in alarm. "Here? In the city?"
"Dungeon breaks can happen anywhere and at anytime," Clio explained grimly. "It's a constant risk in the world. We need to move, now."
Ace, who had been observing the chaos with detached curiosity, finally straightened up. "A spot of spontaneous subterranean tourism? How exciting."
As they moved swiftly through the panicked crowds, they saw Bureau emergency responders already converging on the area. Sirens wailed in the distance.
"Where did it open?" Sun asked, his voice tight with apprehension.
"Initial readings pinpoint the source below the old, decommissioned Havenworth Station," Clio replied, her gaze fixed on a cordon being set up a few blocks away.
Sun's brow furrowed. "Havenworth…" He trailed off, a flicker of unease in his eyes.
They reached the perimeter just as Bureau agents were erecting crackling energy barricades. A sickly green glow emanated from the barred entrance of the old subway station, pulsing like a diseased heart. An agent in tactical gear stepped forward to block their approach. "This is a Level-3 quarantine zone..." He stopped mid-sentence as he recognized Clio's face and the Siren Guild insignia on her combat attire. His posture immediately shifted. "Ms. Vance. Apologies. The situation is unstable."
Before he could elaborate, a deafening screech ripped through the air. The heavy, rusted gates of the subway entrance buckled outwards, torn from their hinges by an immense force. A tide of oily black monsters poured out onto the street. They were bipedal monstrosities, built like crocodiles forced to walk upright, their thick scales scraping against the asphalt. Snapping, tooth-filled snouts hissed as their phosphorescent yellow eyes scanned the panicked scene.
The Bureau agents opened fire, their rifles sending shots of aether infused bullets into the horde. Some of the creatures fell, dissolving into motes of light, but more surged forward, shrugging off the attacks.
Clio didn't hesitate. "Hold the line!" she commanded, materializing her shimmering trident. She became a beacon of azure light at the barricade, a blur of motion. She thrust her trident, sending focused beams to pierce the monsters' skulls. She spun the weapon, its shaft deflecting snapping jaws, while its outer prongs delivered jolting shocks that stunned the creatures, creating openings for the Bureau agents.
Sun moved like a phantom. He used the urban chaos as his hunting ground, darting between abandoned vehicles. Shadowy tendrils snaked out from the ground around him, ensnaring the powerful legs of the crocodilian beasts, sending them tumbling into each other. He was a battlefield controller, sowing chaos and weakness amongst the enemy ranks from the periphery.
Ace, for his part, looked almost bored. As a particularly large wave of the creatures threatened to overwhelm the barricade, he simply raised a hand. The asphalt in front of them rippled as if it were water, then turned into a pit of thick, grasping tar. The monsters plunged in, their struggles only pulling them deeper until they were completely submerged and silenced.
The trio's intervention turned the tide. What would have been a catastrophic breach was contained, the last of the initial wave of monsters dissolving under their combined assault. The street was littered with otherworldly residue and smoking craters, but the line had held. The sickly green glow from the entrance of Havenworth Station remained, pulsing ominously. The Dungeon was still open.
It was then that Director Nair arrived, his vehicle pulling up to the now-secure perimeter. He took in the scene with a keen, assessing gaze, the dead monsters, the rattled but professional Bureau agents, and the three individuals at the center of it all.
He approached Clio, his expression grim but respectful.
"Ms. Vance. Your intervention was timely. You've contained a breach that could have hurt a lot of people." He gestured to the still-glowing subway entrance. "The dungeon is still active. The core entity has not been neutralized, and it's still spawning lesser threats. This sector's stability requires that it be closed from the inside."
He met her eyes, a formal proposition in his. "The Bureau will spearhead the subjugation team. However, as per the Aegis Accords, for your guild's critical role in this containment effort and as an incentive for your assistance within the Dungeon, I am authorized to grant the Siren Guild secondary salvage and mining rights."
Clio understood immediately. It was a standard political maneuver: a reward, but also a contract binding her to see this through.
"The Siren Guild accepts," she confirmed.
Nair gave a curt nod. His official business was concluded, but his gaze shifted, moving past Clio to linger on Sun and Ace. He was a man who dealt in patterns, and the pattern of these two appearing at the center of two major sector-threatening incidents in as many weeks was too significant to be a coincidence.
He didn't need to ask. He knew they would be part of the team going in. And The Bureau would be watching.