The sky lights up like a chaotic kaleidoscope.
Twenty master-level mages unleashing their cooldowns simultaneously is, objectively, a beautiful sight. From the ridge, massive spheres of fire, jagged bolts of lightning, and spears of ice scream down toward the road. It's a barrage designed to level a fortress.
From Kael's perspective, it looks like the apocalypse. He's raising his shield, a useless gesture against an orbital strike of magical artillery.
From Vex's perspective, it looks like bad optimization.
*Too many particles,* she thinks, watching a bus-sized fireball hurtle toward her face. *Who coded the particle density on this engine? It's inefficient. You only need half these pixels for the same visual fidelity.*
She doesn't move. She doesn't flinch. The halo of twelve tiny beads spins around her head, buzzing like a nest of angry, cosmic hornets.
"Shield!" Kael roars, trying to throw his body in front of hers.
"Step back, meat-shield," Vex says.
She flicks her index finger.
A single blue bead—*Water*, compressed to the density of a neutron star's core—detaches from the halo. It shoots upward.
It hits the lead fireball.
Normally, water evaporates against fire. Physics 101. But Vex's magic doesn't care about normal physics. Her water is heavy water. Magical water.
*Tshhhh.*
There's no steam explosion. The water bead simply *eats* the fire. It punches through the massive sphere, spinning violently, creating a vacuum that sucks the flames into a spiraling vortex of extinction.
The fire vanishes.
But the bead keeps going.
It hits the ice spears. Shatters them into diamond dust that sparkles in the air.
It hits the lightning. Absorbs the charge, turning the water bead into an electrified projectile of death.
Then it hits the ridge.
The impact isn't loud. It's a dull, wet *thump*, like a giant fist punching a melon.
The ridge... liquefies.
A section of the cliff, fifty meters wide, suddenly turns into mud. Then into soup. Then into mist. The solid rock destabilizes under the hydro-pressure impact.
The screaming starts a second later.
Three mages are swallowed by the liquid rock. They slide down the cliff face in an avalanche of mud and magical residue. The others scramble back, their casting formations broken in panic.
"Reload!" Captain Sterling screams from his horse, though his voice cracks. "Don't stop! Overwhelm her!"
Vex looks at Sterling. She tilts her head.
"You're loud," she notes.
She reaches up and plucks the yellow bead—*Lightning*—from her halo.
She doesn't throw it. She just rolls it between her thumb and forefinger.
"You know," she says, her voice projected by wind magic right into his ear. "Metal armor is highly conductive. Just a design tip for next time."
She flicks the bead. It hits the ground at Sterling's horse's hooves.
*SNAP.*
A single arc of purple electricity, thin as a hair, jumps from the ground to the horse's shoe. Then to the stirrup. Then to Sterling.
Then it jumps to the soldier next to him. And the one next to him.
It's a Chain Lightning proc.
*Zzt-zzt-zzt-zzt.*
In the span of a heartbeat, twelve Silver Crow mercenaries seize up, rigid as boards. Sparks shower from their visors. Their horses rear and collapse.
Sterling falls off his mount, twitching. Smoke curls from the joints of his ornate silver armor. He's not dead—Vex adjusted the voltage to "Deeply Regrettable" rather than "Fatal"—but he's definitely rethinking his career choices.
On the ridge, the remaining mages stop casting. They look at the liquefied cliff. They look at their electrocuted employer. They look at the small woman with ten nukes still circling her head.
"I still have ten left," Vex calls out, bored. "Next one is Void. That one doesn't leave bodies to bury. Who wants to volunteer?"
A mage drops his staff.
Then another.
They turn and run. Not a retreat. A rout. They scatter into the woods like roaches when the kitchen light flips on.
Vex sighs. She snaps her fingers, and the remaining beads dissolve back into mana mist.
"Anticlimactic," she mutters. "I was hoping to test the Earth singularity."
She turns to Kael.
He's standing with his shield raised, staring at the smoking,twitching bodies of the Silver Crows. His eyes are wide. Dazed.
"Kael?"
He blinks slowly. He looks at her.
"Twelve," he whispers.
"Excuse me?"
"You used... you had twelve elements." Kael lowers his shield. His arm is shaking. "Fire. Water. Earth. Wind. Ice. Lightning. Light. Dark. Life. Death. Time. Space. I saw them all."
Vex adjusts her cloak, pulling the itchy wool tighter. "It's a full color palette. Why limit yourself to grayscale?"
"The gods..." Kael chokes on the word. "Even the Pantheon only wield two each. Ignis holds Fire and Earth. Aquaria holds Water and Ice. To hold all twelve..."
He drops to one knee. Clang.
"Get up," Vex snaps. She hates this. "I told you. Not a goddess. Just an Admin with unlocked privileges. Get on your horse, Kael. We have a blockade to clear."
She walks over to Captain Sterling. He's groaning, trying to pry his helmet off. His hands are charred.
Vex kicks his sword away.
"You," she says.
Sterling looks up. One eye is swollen shut. His lip is split. Fear—raw, animal fear—radiates off him.
"Mercy," he wheezes. "I yielded."
"You yielded when you lost," Vex corrects. "That's not mercy, that's math."
She crouches down.
"Vivienne Darkrose hired you. Tell her something for me when you crawl back to the Capital."
"Any-anything," Sterling stammers.
"Tell her my bug report queue is full," Vex says cold. "And she just became a high-priority ticket."
She stands up.
"Also, tell her if she sends another bounty hunter, I'm sending her head back in a box. First class mail."
She walks back to her horse. The animal is trembling, eyes rolling, but it doesn't run. Probably too scared to move.
"Let's go, Kael. The Crossroads are clear."
Kael stares at the writhing Captain, then at Vex's back. He mounts his horse, his movements mechanical. He rides past Sterling without looking down.
As they pass the liquefied cliff face, Kael keeps his eyes straight ahead. But his knuckles are white on the reins.
***
They ride in silence for two hours.
The landscape changes. The dense forest of the starter zone gives way to the rolling golden fields of the Aetherion Heartland. It's beautiful. Wind ripples through tall wheat like an ocean. The road widens, paved with white stone.
Vex watches the scenery. She remembers modeling these wheat stalks. She spent three days arguing with the art director about the shade of gold.
*Should be more amber,* she critiques mentally. *The sunlight saturation is too high.*
"Stop," Kael says suddenly.
Vex pulls up. "What? Enemies?"
"No." Kael's voice is tight. Strained. "Just... stop. Please."
He dismounts. He walks off the road, through the wheat, toward a small stream shaded by willow trees. He rips his helmet off and throws it into the grass. He falls to his knees by the water and splashes his face aggressively.
Vex sighs. *Emotional cutscene incoming.*
She dismounts and follows him.
"You okay, big guy?"
Kael doesn't answer immediately. He's breathing hard, scrubbing the soot and blood from his face. The water turns pink and grey as it flows past him.
"I have spent my life," Kael says to the water, "training. Sword drills at dawn. Shield stance until my muscles tore. Meditation to resist fear. Prayer to the Twin Gods for strength."
He turns to look at her. Water drips from his beard. His eyes are red-rimmed.
"I am the Captain of the Third Patrol. I am level 14. That is considered elite in the provinces. I thought I was strong."
He gestures vaguely toward the direction they came from.
"You made a mountain melt with a drop of water. You paralyzed a captain of the Silver Crows with a flick of your thumb. You treat war... like a chore. Like doing laundry."
"Kael—"
"What am I doing here, Vex?" He stands up, looming over her. The angst is palpable. "Why do you need me? I can't protect you. I can't even slow them down. I am a mascot. A pet you keep around to carry your gold."
Ah. The inferiority complex.
Vex crosses her arms. She looks at him—really looks at him.
He's beaten, bloody, and tired. He's faced horrors his mind can't comprehend twice in two days. And yet, he's still standing.
"You think I need you for damage output?" Vex asks.
"For what else?"
"For context," she says.
Kael blinks. "Context?"
Vex walks over to the stream. She sits on a flat rock, kicking her boots against the stone.
"Look at me, Kael. What do you see?"
"I see... a terrifyingly powerful sorceress."
"You see a monster," she corrects. "Or a goddess. Something Other. That's what everyone sees. Sterling saw a demon. The bandits saw a payout. You... you see a weapon."
She picks up a pebble and tosses it into the water. *Plip.*
"If I walk into the Capital alone, looking like this, acting like this... I lose my tether. I stop caring about the collateral damage. I stop seeing the people and start seeing the polygons."
She looks up at him.
"I need you because you remind me that the NPCs scream when they die," she says brutally. "I need you to carry the gold, yes. But mostly, I need you to be the human in the room so I don't forget how to be one."
Kael stares at her. The wind rustles the willow branches.
It's a manipulation, partly. She needs a guide. She needs a tank. But it's also the truth. Without Kael reacting to the horror, the horror just becomes data to her. And that scares her more than the Void.
Kael exhales slowly. His shoulders slump. The anger drains out, leaving just exhaustion.
"So I am your... moral anchor?"
"Sure. Let's go with that. Also, you have a really high carrying capacity, and I have a lot of loot."
Kael lets out a laugh. It's dry, but real. "You are impossible."
"I get that a lot."
He walks over and sits next to her. Not too close. Respectful distance.
"Your arm," he points.
Vex looks down. There's a scratch on her forearm. Probably from a stray twig during the ride. It's barely bleeding.
"It's nothing. I have passive regen."
"Sit still," Kael orders.
He pulls a small pot of salve from his pouch. It smells like mint and arnica.
He takes her arm. His hands are huge, rough, calloused from years of gripping a sword. Her arm looks like a porcelain doll's limb in his grasp.
He applies the salve gently. Surprisingly gently.
Vex watches him work. He's focused. Serious. Treating a scratch like a mortal wound.
Her heart does a weird little flip. *Stupid glitch,* she thinks. *Ignore it.*
"You handle the gods and the demons," Kael murmurs, wrapping a strip of clean linen around her arm. "I will handle the scratches. Is that the arrangement?"
"Sounds fair," Vex says. Her voice is a little softer than she intended.
He finishes the bandage. He doesn't let go of her hand immediately. He runs his thumb over her knuckles, feeling the impossible smoothness of her avatar's skin.
"It doesn't feel real," he whispers. "Your skin. It's too perfect. Like marble."
"It's high-resolution texture mapping," Vex says. She pulls her hand back. "Come on. We're burning daylight."
She stands up quickly, brushing dirt off her robes. The intimacy was... nice. Too nice. She needs to get back to the mission before she starts writing fanfiction about her own creation.
Kael watches her go, a small, puzzled smile on his face. He grabs his helmet.
"As you command, Admin."
***
**[Location Discovery: The Imperial Capital, Aetherion]**
**[XP Gained: 500]**
It's sunset when the Capital comes into view.
Vex stops her horse at the top of the High Hill. Even she has to admit: she did a good job with this one.
Aetherion is massive. A sprawling metropolis of white stone and blue towers, built in concentric circles around a massive central spire—the Celestial Palace. Floating crystals orbit the highest towers, casting shimmering light over the city. A massive aqueduct brings water from the mountains, cascading into waterfalls that act as the city's walls.
Flying ships—Magitech skiffs—drift lazily through the air lanes. Wyvern riders patrol the perimeter.
It's high fantasy on a cyberpunk budget.
"Home," Kael says, though he sounds tense. "Or it used to be."
"It's bigger than I remember," Vex mutters. The procedural generation engine must have expanded the slums in the outer ring. There's a lot of smog down there.
"The Gates of Dawn are ahead," Kael points. "We will be questioned. The bounty hunter Sterling will have sent word via message-bird. The guards will be looking for us."
"Let them look," Vex says.
She pulls up her hood.
"System," she whispers. "Equip Item: [Mask of the Nameless]."
A plain, white porcelain mask manifests in her hand. She puts it on. It covers the upper half of her face.
**[Item Effect: Hides Nameplate. Scrambles Identity for NPCs under Level 50.]**
"Subtle," Kael notes. "Though the glowing purple robes might give you away."
"I changed the color settings." She taps her chest. The robes shift from royal purple to a dusty, travel-worn grey. Transmogrification is a beautiful mechanic.
They ride down to the massive main gates. The line of travelers is long. Merchants, farmers, pilgrims.
Guards in gold-and-white armor check papers aggressively. They're comparing faces to a scroll.
*My wanted poster,* Vex realizes.
"Name?" the guard barks when they reach the front. He looks tired. He barely glances at Vex, focused on Kael's battered armor.
"Ser Kael Thornridge. Knight of Crimson Dawn. Returning for report." Kael hands over his signet ring.
The guard checks the ring against a wax seal. He stiffens.
"Thornridge? The one from the North? We heard reports the North fell to shadows."
"The North stands," Kael says firmly. "But I have urgent intelligence for the High Command."
The guard looks at Vex. "And the companion?"
"A rescued civilian," Kael lies smoothly. "Trauma victim. She doesn't speak."
Vex pinches Kael's leg hidden from view. He doesn't flinch.
The guard leans in, peering at Vex's masked face. "Civilian, huh? Why the mask?"
"Burn scars," Vex says. Her voice is raspy. She altered the pitch. "Dragon fire."
The guard grimaces. "Right. Move along. And Knight? Watch yourself. The Capital is on edge. Lady Darkrose has the City Watch on high alert for... intruders."
"We will be invisible," Kael promises.
They pass through the archway. The sounds of the city hit them—a roar of humanity, commerce, and magic.
The streets are crowded. And dirty.
This isn't the pristine city of the trailer. Beggars line the alleys. Some of them have glitching limbs—a hand phasing through a cup, an eye that texture-swaps.
*Corruption,* Vex notes. *The virus is eating the RAM of the lower classes first. Tragic metaphor.*
"Where to?" Kael asks. "The Citadel? To see the Emperor?"
"No," Vex says. She watches a poster on a wall—it's moving like a gif. A propaganda reel of a beautiful woman with raven hair and red eyes. **Lady Darkrose protects you. Report Arcane Anomalies.**
"We can't walk into the palace. Darkrose owns the front door."
Vex steers her horse toward the lower district. The scent of exotic spices and unwashed bodies fills the air.
"We need info. We need the one place in every RPG city where people talk too much and drink too much."
"The tavern?"
"Better," Vex grins under her mask. " The Underground Arena. Or as it's called here... The Meat Grinder."
Kael chokes. "The Pit? Vex, that is a den of criminals, slavers, and forbidden magic users! It is illegal to even know where the entrance is!"
"Good thing I coded the entrance," she says. "It's behind a fake bookshelf in the 'Happy Ogre' brothel on 5th Street."
Kael turns bright red. "The... Happy Ogre?"
"Don't worry, Kael. You can keep your eyes closed until we get to the bloodsport section."
***
They navigate the labyrinth of the lower city. The sun sets, and magitech streetlamps flicker on—neon blue and harsh yellow.
The "Happy Ogre" is exactly as classy as it sounds. A hulking building painted in garish colors. Scantily clad NPCs of various races hang out front.
Kael looks like he wants to die. He holds his shield like a barrier against the indecency.
Vex marches right up to the bouncer—an Orc with a monocle.
"Bookshelf," she says. "Shelf 3, Book 'The Lusty Argonian Maid'. Pull it."
The Orc blinks. He looks at her grey cloak.
"Nobody's used the code since... since the Creator's Era," he grunts.
"Well, the classics never die. Open it."
She flashes a single gold coin. The Imperial Dragon kind.
The Orc's eyes widen. He grunts, steps aside, and knocks a rhythm on the door.
Inside, past the awkward sounds of the "entertainment," they find the library. Kael is aggressively staring at the floor.
Vex pulls the book.
The wall slides open.
The smell of blood and sweat wafts up from the dark tunnel. The roar of a crowd is distant but heavy.
"Welcome to the Grind," Vex says.
They descend.
The arena is massive. A hollowed-out cavern beneath the city. In the center, a sand pit surrounded by a magical forcefield. Thousands of spectators scream from the stands.
Down in the pit, a massive Minotaur is fighting a team of three goblins in mech-suits.
*God, I love user-generated content,* Vex thinks warmly. *This wasn't me. This is the AI improvising.*
"Why are we here?" Kael hisses, dodging a drunk gambler.
"Because," Vex points to a VIP box floating above the arena.
Sitting there, surrounded by guards, is a hooded figure. But Vex can see the status bar through the cloak.
**[Name: Seraphine Vale]**
**[Class: Assassin / Shadow Dancer]**
**[Affiliation: The Whisper Network]**
"That," Vex says, "Is the best info broker in the game. And she owes me a favor."
"You know her?"
"I wrote her backstory. Specifically the tragic part about her sister. She loves me. Theoretically."
"Theoretically?"
"Well, I did kill her sister in the backstory. So... it might be a love-hate thing."
Vex steps toward the VIP stairs. Two large guards with enchanted axes block her way.
"Pass?" one grunts.
"Tell Seraphine the 'Architect' is here to apologize," Vex says.
The guards laugh. "The Architect? Right. And I'm the Emperor's secret son. Beat it, crazy."
One of them reaches out to shove her.
Vex sighs.
*Why do they always touch me?*
She doesn't use magic this time. Not really. She uses *Force*.
She just stops his hand. Physics halts. His hand hits an invisible wall an inch from her shoulder. The momentum rebounds back into his own arm.
*Crunch.*
"Ow!" He cradles his wrist. "Shield mage!"
"Let her up," a voice drifts down from the box. Smoky. Dangerous.
Seraphine stands at the railing. She lowers her hood. Pale skin, dark lipstick, eyes that look like shattered mirrors.
"I haven't heard that name in three years," Seraphine calls down. "Come up, Architect. Let's see if you're the real ghost or just another impostor I have to gut."
Vex glances at Kael. "Ready to meet the local mafia?"
Kael grips his sword. "I prefer the bandits."
"Me too, buddy. Me too."
They ascend the stairs.
As they reach the top, the arena erupts. The Minotaur just ripped a goblin mech in half. Blood and oil spray against the barrier.
Vex walks into the VIP box.
Seraphine is sitting on a velvet couch, swirling a glass of wine that looks dangerously like blood. A dagger spins idly in her other hand.
"Mask off," Seraphine orders.
Vex removes the white porcelain.
Seraphine stares. Her pupils constrict.
"You," she whispers. "You have her face. The Creator's face from the statues in the Lost Temple."
"I have the default preset, yeah," Vex says casually. She sits down opposite the assassin, stealing a grape from the fruit bowl. "Nice place. Low polygon count on the floor textures, though. Slippery."
Seraphine stops spinning the dagger.
"You speak in the Old Tongue of the Developers," she says. "Strange words. 'Textures'. 'Polygon'."
She leans forward. The dagger point touches Vex's throat. Just a graze.
Kael draws his sword half an inch. Vex raises a hand to stop him.
"Give me one reason not to slice your pretty, high-resolution throat," Seraphine purrs. "You smell like the Void, Architect. You smell like trouble."
"I am trouble," Vex admits, not flinching. "But I'm also the only one who can fix the glitch in the Sky Fortress."
Seraphine freezes.
"Nobody knows about the Sky Fortress glitch," she hisses. "The gravity reversal in the Upper District? We kept that quiet."
"I know," Vex says. "Because I know *why* it's happening. And I know Vivienne Darkrose is using it to smuggle Void artifacts."
Seraphine pulls the dagger back. She sits back, impressed.
"You have my attention, Ghost. Drink?" She offers the blood-wine.
"I'll pass on the vampire juice." Vex leans in. "I need an entrance to the Palace. Tonight. During the Masquerade."
"The Imperial Masquerade?" Kael interrupts. "That's treason! We cannot just—"
"Quiet, Knight," Seraphine snaps. She looks at Vex, a slow smile spreading across her face. "You want to crash the Emperor's party? With the Void hunting you? And Darkrose watching every door?"
"I don't want to crash it," Vex corrects. "I want to reboot it."
Seraphine laughs. It's a dark, delighted sound.
"I like you. You're insane. But I like you."
She tosses a heavy iron key onto the table.
"Sewer entrance. North quadrant. It leads to the servant's quarters."
"Gross," Vex says. "But acceptable."
"One condition," Seraphine says. Her eyes glitter. "Take me with you. I have a... business associate in the Palace I need to kill."
Vex looks at the assassin. Then at the paladin.
"Great," Vex sighs. "Now I have a Rogue *and* a Tank. I just need a DPS and a Healer and we can raid the throne room."
"I don't know what a DPS is," Seraphine says, standing up and sheathing her daggers. "But if it means stabbing Vivienne Darkrose, count me in."
Vex grabs the key.
"Party invites sent," she mutters. "Let's go wreck a monarchy."