"And go where?" Kaito asked. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, tossing a small silver lighter in the air and catching it. "The moment we step outside this Sector, we’re targets. Every camera will track our Zoryn."
"But the van..." I pointed at the window. "They saw us!"
"No," Kaito smirked. "They saw an illusion of a quiet house. While they were confused, I just gave their engine a little 'spark' with this." He flicked the lighter. A small, normal flame danced on the wick. "Simple physics. No magic needed."
I stared at him. He had taken out two Kings' Workers with a trick and a piece of metal.
"We stay here," Kaito said, his voice turning serious. "If we leave, we’re rebels. If we stay, we’re just kids living in a perfect world. But we can't just sit still. We need to bring the world back to chaos. We need to show everyone that this 'Peace' is a cage."
Yuna stepped forward, her blue shield flickering around her arms. "He's right. I heard those Workers. They don't see us as people. We're just 'anomalies.' I'm tired of being a glitch in their system."
Souta looked between us, his face pale. "Chaos? You want to ruin everything? The food, the clothes... if the Kings stop providing, people will starve!"
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"They’re already starving, Souta," I said, my voice low. "They’re just too full to notice."
"A man with a full stomach will never notice the chain around his neck."
"But how?" Yuna asked. "How do we fight from inside a house?"
"We go down," Zero’s voice vibrated in my skull. "I have a plan, Raizen. But you need a place where their eyes cannot reach."
I explained it to them. We couldn't stay on the ground floor. We needed a sanctuary.
"Yuna, I need your help," I said. "Kaito, keep the illusion of us sleeping in our beds. Don't let a single soul see what we're doing."
Kaito nodded, closing his eyes. Upstairs, the faint images of the four of us appeared in our beds, breathing softly. To the world, we were asleep.
Downstairs, I stood in the middle of the living room with Yuna. "Aim your shield at the floor," I told her. "Concentrate it into a tiny point."
She did. A small, intense disc of blue light formed under her hands. I reached deep into my chest, grabbing that hot, leaking Zoryn that Zero had unlocked. I didn't let it explode this time. I funneled it, pushing it into Yuna’s shield.
The shield acted like a lens. It took my raw power and turned it into a needle-thin laser.
Sssssssss.
The floorboards didn't break; they evaporated. We worked for hours in total silence. I provided the heat, and Yuna shaped the strike. We carved out a massive room ten meters beneath the house, melting the dirt into smooth, glass-like walls.
When we were done, we had a hidden bunker. A meeting room that didn't exist on any map.
"Alright," I panted, wiping sweat from my forehead. "We have our base."
I looked into the dark of our new underground home.
"Zero," I whispered. "We're ready. What's the plan?"
To be continued...