Lucia looked around the apartment idly, a blank expression on her face. “This is… it?”

  Something felt a bit off as we stepped into the apartment. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but I could feel the ether in the air. Something activated when Lucia entered. It was extremely fine, to the point I wasn’t even really sure if I really even felt it.

  The traitors of Cernobog? No way they knew where we were this quick… unless they somehow knew we got into the city? How though… or was it something from Kali?

  “Yep.” I hiked a finger to my room with a neutral expression. “Mine.”

  We approached my door, sliding it open-

  I back stepped, a frown crossing my lips. My room had been disturbed since I was here last. Someone touched Nivia. Kali? She knew better than that… I pulled out an Ebonshroud dagger. “Stay.”

  ”Is there something wrong?” Lucia glanced around me into the room. I stalked forward, scanning the place. Nothing- err, almost nothing.

  There, under Nivia, sat a letter flickering with traces of ether. I carefully lifted the stuffed bunny, protectively tucked her into the crook of my arm, and inspected the letter. A black piece of paper sat inside, emblazoned with a golden lotus. Two words were printed underneath the lotus, ‘We Know’.

  Which bastard dared touch my dear Nivia? If I ever found them, I’d rip off their arms for the desecration. Ugh- how dare they- how dare they! Bolts of rage flung through me with enough force to make my hands tremble.

  The curious teenager peeked over my shoulder. ”What’s that?”

  I shoved the letter into my pocket and controlled my emotions once more. ”Rabbit? Nivia.”

  “Um… okay.” Her silver eyes locked onto me for a moment. I felt a nearly overwhelming urge to come clean. What a familiar gaze… it seemed centuries of loyalty still had its sway.

  I led her away as discreetly as I could back to the couch. “Hungry?”

  “Um… no. Not really… Can I- can I have some time?” Lucia asked. “Alone. I need to make some private calls. Check on things. You know…”

  Oh. There wasn’t really a good spot to be alone here outside of the bathroom… that was fine, though. I could go hide in my room. It gave me time to check out that letter I got, at least. “Yep.”

  I left, locked the door behind me, and secured precious Nivia. The letter itself was a bit creepy. At a glance? Related to Swagger Dagger. The burned man had that lotus ID card—the fancy enchanted one that shifted when I looked at it.

  Still… the letter didn’t feel like a threat–it was a threat, lotus showing they could track and infiltrate—but a threat would be a bit more… threatening? Like ‘We’ll make you pay’ or something? Or maybe a booby trap? Hard to put into words.

  The imprinted lotus was weird too. I think they were called QR codes? It looked like one. They were something Pursius walked me through back then. I was supposed to scan it, yep? Hmm… Pursius said he put high-end anti-trackers into my Glasses, so it should be fine. Probably.

  Before doing anything though, I looked up Lotus in the Warden forums to see if there was easy info. There wasn’t much chatter about it. It was almost as if the Grid had been scrubbed of all mentions.

  From what I did find? It was some kind of shadowy association in Bastion. A massive one at that. If they were after me for killing one of their hitmen? It’d make things complicated. If they were after me, they probably would’ve sent more then just a letter like this, yep?

  I scanned the QR code with my Throne Glass. My other one was a bit too shattered to get much use out of. It opened a nonsense link to a site on the Grid. It was weird, though. Closer to a chat box than an actual website. The box blinked and a message came across. ‘So you’re the one who killed Swagger, huh? Don’t look like much.’

  That wasn’t very nice. I looked tall, majestic, and imposing. Far better than that ugly guy. Whoever was on the other side must not be able to actually see me. ‘What do you want?’

  ’Lotus works off survival of the fittest. You killed Swagger. I’ve been ordered to offer you his spot in the organization.’

  Was I getting scouted? Just like that? So not how I thought this conversation was going to go. ’And?’

  ‘What, you want a sales pitch? Do jobs, get rewards. Work how and when you want. No questions asked. Simple and easy.’

  They were quite the salesperson. It wouldn’t hurt to check it out… probably. Kali was always telling me I needed to get a job outside of Pursius. ‘Fine.’

  ‘Good. Enjoy-’

  My Glass glitched out, the browser automatically closing. A new app popped up on my home screen. The icon looked like Throne’s Tower app, but completely inverted. No name.

  Did this count as downloading something suspicious? I thought Pursius said his anti software was high-end? This really wasn’t my fault, yep. I had zero blame… but just in case, I should keep investigating.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  I clicked on it, opening the app. A box appeared in the middle of the space. ‘Name?’

  I stared at the box for a while. Should I come up with a new name? Ugh- no, that’d get confusing. I should keep it simple. Nyx was my Anarch name, right? Who better than an Anarch working for a shady group? I just put that into the box. It flashed green and the screen shifted.

  A massive bounty board opened up, mostly rewarding Nytes. There were other rewards in there too. Everything from hits to requests to ‘acquire’ items to even escorts. Some of the rewards though? Hundreds of thousands of Nytes. Actually kind of insane considering how easy they seemed.

  “Um- Aylin?” Lucia called from the living room. “Someone's at the door!”

  I tore up the letter and tossed it into the trash bin. Maybe because of the recent invasion of my room? I felt a little on edge. An Ebonshroud dagger found its way back into my hand while I moved for the door. I stuffed it into my pocket and peeked through the peephole-

  “Let me in!” Kali called from the other side. She quickly stuffed something into her pocket. “I forgot my key!”

  ”…” I glanced back toward Lucia. Right, well, this conversation was bound to happen sooner or later. I opened the locks, letting her into the apartment.

  She peered around me suspiciously, checking out the apartment. How’d she know something was off so quick- hmm… did she have some kind of ward set up? Kali was a Warden too. That ether I felt might’ve been her.

  It didn’t take her long to find Lucia. Kali stepped into the apartment, slowly turning to me with a weird expression on her face. “Aylin, my dear roommate, who’s this?”

  I shrugged lightly. “Lucia.”

  “No- ugh…” She rubbed her forehead, sighing deeply. “You know what I meant.”

  Lucia bounced toward us as she put on a radiant smile. She looked like a bolt of sunshine in human form. Her golden hair swayed with her childish motion. “Hello! I’m Lucia… Aylin saved my life out in the Ashlands.”

  ”Ashlands?” Kali’s jaw dropped. She slowly twisted her head, looking back toward me again. Kind of creepy. “I said get out of the apartment! Not get out of Bastion! How the hell did you get that confused?!”

  “…” Really, I couldn’t be blamed for this.

  [Nighteye wonders if not you, than who?]

  You? It was your Guiding Moonlight that led me out of Bastion! I was innocent! If anyone had to be blamed, it was definitely you. Hmm… not that I blamed you. There was a good chance Lucia would’ve died or worse…

  [Nighteye nods smugly. That’s right, see how great she is now?]

  Yep, yep. Nighteye was the best and brightest star in the entire night sky. Oh how wondrous.

  My roommate sighed deeply and rested a hand on my shoulder. “Well, I’m glad you’re safe.”

  “Um… is it okay if I stay here for a few days? J-just until I get my feet back under me!” Lucia’s bright expression wilted slightly, taking on a hint of vulnerability. Her eyes dimmed as she looked at the ground and toyed with her hands. “I- um- I don’t really have that many other places I could go.”

  Kali’s fierce expression melted away. See? Like I said; heart of gold. Hell, she put up with me, didn’t she? “Of course… I’m not so monstrous I’d turn a kid in need away. I’m Kali… this numbskull's roommate.”

  ”Really?” Her expression lit up once more.

  “Of course.” Kali laughed lightly. “If Aylin doesn’t take care of you, just let me know and I’ll beat some sense into her.”

  ”Heh. I doubt that’d be an issue. She looked really capable out there.” Lucia’s expression was- well, it wasn’t full of trust, but her eyes didn’t appear as shadowed and guarded when she looked up at me.

  Kali snorted and shook her head. “Looks are deceiving. Don’t ask her anything about tech or food. Worse than a toddler with all that.”

  ”…!” I stuck my tongue out at her and shook my head. If anyone was a kid, it was… Nivia? Yep. “Key?”

  ”Right.” Kali went to her room. After a moment, I felt a thin film of ether resettle on the apartment once more. Definitely a ward of some kind. How had I never noticed that? I didn’t say anything though. She came back, keys dangling from her finger.

  Hmm… if she had a ward active, then it would’ve activated if someone entered to leave that letter, yep? And the traces of ether on the letter… was it a magical delivery service? No idea how that worked, but it made sense. And if they used that, then did Lotus not actually ‘know’ who I was then? Interesting. A game of smoke and mirrors then?

  “Are you leaving already, Kali?” Lucia asked.

  Kali sighed, pausing at the door. ”I have to get back to work. There's food in the fridge if you’re hungry. Aylin here doesn’t know how to make anything except coffee, so let me know if you need something.”

  Lucia bowed her head lightly. “Thank you!”

  “Don’t mention it. Cya later.” Kali mouthed to me. ‘We’re going to have a long conversation about responsibility once I get back, Aylin.’

  A chill went down my spine, only soothed once she left the apartment. I was so not looking forward to that. Between her and Pursius, I was all lectured out. “Calls?”

  ”I’m done for now… I have one person I hope I can trust…” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Just in case though, it is fine I stay here, right? I asked your roommate, but what about you?”

  ”Primo.” I could keep an eye on her, at least. Make sure she was safe. Maybe even try to figure out the connection between her and Serhymn. There was just too much coincidence with this whole situation.

  I shook my head and sat on the couch next to Lucia. She hit resume on whatever she was watching. Looked like some kind of game show? It was far too confusing for me. I got back on my Glass without a second thought. Research wouldn’t do itself, unfortunately.

  A couple hours later, I called Pursius. Just as Stalwart Banner recommended, I really needed to start working on my Skills. It rang a few times before the cat picked up. “Hello?”

  I glanced over to Lucia. She was passed out, curled into a ball and groaning softly. I put a hand on her shoulder. She leaned into the touch and quieted down. ”Need. Rift.”

  “Oh? What kind?” In the background, I could hear Francis speaking in a gruff voice. As well as… the sounds of a fight? No- the thwacks were too meaty. Torture? Boxing?

  Hmm… could I clear a D-rank solo? Probably… regardless, the fights would be funner in a higher level rift, yep? “Disruptive. Solo.”

  “Then I’ll send you a list shortly. F-ranks too while I’m at it. Just tell them I sent you, and you shouldn’t have any problems with any of the rifts on the list.” Pursius went silent for a moment. “Be careful, yeah? Solo’s a whole other ball field.”

  “Yep.” I was used to being alone anyway, so it’d be fine. Probably. I’d be able to cut loose, at least. Been a while since I could just fight without fear of exposure or cameras.

  The line went dead. About thirty minutes later, just as I was making a new cup of coffee, Pursius sent me the list. It was a long one, with locations all over Aegis. A few of them were even in the surrounding districts.

  I glanced through it briefly, dropping the ones that looked like they might be an issue. Specifically, anything that used swarm tactics. I could manage, but they were annoying to deal with. Maybe once I had some AOE skills it’d be more entertaining?

  Eventually, I narrowed my options down to one in Darkhold, of all places. It’d be the first time in a while that I’d be heading there. Should be fun enough.