At a corner table in a noisy, dimly lit inn, Linda sat across from Talis, arms crossed, tapping her fingers impatiently.
"So, we need a distraction," Linda said. "Something big enough to get the Titan Council officers off Zoren's back but not so big that we end up caut too."
Talis adjusted his round glasses, looking a little too smug for someone who had barely slept in days. "Funny you should say that, Linda…"
With a dramatic sweep, he yanked a cloth off the table, revealing… something that barely looked finished.
A small metal sphere covered in jagged wires sat in the middle, humming faintly—not in a "powerful artifact" way, but in a "this might explode any second" way.
Linda frowned. "Uh… What is that?"
Talis beamed. "The Ether Disruptor!"
Linda squinted. "…It looks like a broken lantern."
Talis huffed. "Excuse me! I've only had a month to figure out my Core! Do you know how hard it is to manipulate metal with Ether when you've never done it before?! This thing is a miracle!"
Linda poked it. The sphere sparked.
Talis slapped her hand away. "Don't touch it! It's very sensitive!"
Linda sighed. "Fine. What does it do?"
Talis straightened his posture, clearing his throat like a professor about to give a lecture. "When activated, it disrupts Ether flow in the surrounding area! Any Core user will feel dizzy, their techniques will misfire, and—if I'm lucky—it'll cause temporary Ether backlash."
Linda raised an eyebrow. "And when you're not lucky?"
Talis scratched his head. "…Well, it might backfire and disrupt me too. Or explode. Or do nothing at all."
Linda sighed deeply. "Talis."
"Listen!" Talis leaned forward. "This is cutting-edge tech! I haven't exactly had years to perfect it! Zoren went into that dungeon for a whole month—meanwhile, I've been stuck outside, learning my Core by trial and error! Do you know how many times I've burned my eyebrows off?!"
Linda crossed her arms. "And this is the best you've got?"
Talis nodded proudly. "Oh, absolutely."
Linda massaged her temples. "We're doomed."
Linda groaned. "Alright, fine. How do you turn it on?"
Talis grinned. "Like this."
He flicked a tiny switch on the side of the device.
For a moment… nothing happened.
Then—
ZAP!
Every single light in the inn flickered wildly.
A nearby bartender dropped an entire tray of drinks. A group of Core users playing dice collapsed onto the table, groaning in pain. A man sharpening a dagger accidentally flung it across the room, lodging it into a wooden beam.
Linda staggered, gripping the table. "Oh—WHOA—WHAT THE HELL?!"
Talis cackled. "SEE?! IT WORKS!"
Linda glared at him. "Turn it OFF before someone KILLS US!"
Talis panicked, fumbling with the switch.
Click.
Nothing.
Click. Click.
Nothing.
Talis froze. "…It won't turn off."
Linda stared at him.
The bartender threw a chair.
Linda kicked Talis under the table. "TALIS, YOU IDIOT!"
Talis frantically slammed the device on the table. "STOP! STOP WORKING, DAMMIT!"
BOOM!
The device popped like a firecracker, releasing a puff of smoke. The lights stabilized, and the Ether flow returned to normal.
The entire inn fell into dead silence.
Then—
"WHO MESSED WITH MY CORE?!" a large man roared, cracking his knuckles.
Linda grabbed Talis by the collar. "RUN."
Talis didn't need to be told twice.
The two stumbled into an alleyway, panting.
Linda wheezed. "Okay… okay… That kinda worked. If we drop that thing near the Titan Council officers, they'll be stunned long enough for Zoren to escape."
Talis, still out of breath, grinned weakly. "Told you… it was genius…"
Linda flicked his forehead. "Yeah, genius—if we survive using it."
Talis pouted. "Have some faith, Linda. What's the worst that could happen?"
Linda groaned, staring at the now half-broken device in his hands.
"Famous last words…"
---
Talis slumped against the alley wall, still catching his breath. He clutched his half-broken Ether Disruptor, examining the cracked casing with a sigh.
"Well… at least it still sort of works," he muttered.
Linda, arms crossed, shot him a side-eye glance. "That thing almost got us killed, Talis."
Talis waved her off. "Details, details." Then his expression turned more serious. "Hey, by the way… how's Nyssa?"
Linda blinked. "Oh. She's doing good. Drey said she's recovering fast."
Talis let out a relieved sigh. "That's great."
Linda smirked. "Actually… she's already trying to train."
Talis choked on air. "SHE'S WHAT?!"
Linda nodded. "Mmhmm. Drey said she's been sneaking out of bed to practice footwork. She tried to convince Drey to spar with her."
Talis slapped his forehead. "I swear, that woman has no self-preservation."
Linda chuckled. "She's tough, what can I say?" Then she stretched her arms. "Anyway, she'll be happy to hear Zoren's coming out today."
Talis froze.
Linda saw his face and immediately added, "But we are not telling her."
Talis nodded furiously. "Oh, ABSOLUTELY NOT. She'd bust through a wall to get here."
Linda sighed. "Exactly. So we keep it a secret."
Talis rubbed his chin. "…But what if she finds out?"
Linda shivered. "…Then we might need Drey to fix us."
Both of them shared a silent glance. A horrifying mental image formed—Nyssa, bandages still wrapped around her, kicking down doors, punching guards, screaming Zoren's name like a war cry.
Talis gulped. "Okay. We definitely don't tell her."
Linda cracked her knuckles. "Good. Because if you accidentally spill it, I'll make sure Nyssa doesn't need to chase you—I'll handle you myself."
Talis shivered. "Noted."
Linda sighed, leaning against the wall. "Alright, back to the plan. We have to get this distraction ready before Zoren and the others leave the dungeon."
Talis dusted himself off. "Right, right. But—" He gave her a sly grin. "One last thing."
Linda groaned. "What now?"
Talis leaned in. "What if Nyssa somehow finds out anyway?"
Linda's face darkened.
Talis' face paled.
"RUN."
---
Present day
The air outside the Dungeon of Illusion was thick with tension. Titan Council officers stood in formation, their weapons humming with controlled Ether, waiting for any sign of movement from the portal. The grizzled captain at the front watched with sharp, unreadable eyes, his presence alone a weight pressing on the atmosphere.
From a nearby rooftop, Talis peeked over the ledge, adjusting the oversized goggles he wore as if they somehow made him look like a master inventor. Linda crouched beside him, arms crossed, her expression stuck between exasperation and concern.
"You sure this thing isn't going to explode in our faces?" she asked, pointing to the bizarre contraption in Talis' hands.
It looked… unstable. A bundle of metal plates, glowing veins of half-processed Ether wiring, and what suspiciously looked like a teapot fused onto the side.
Talis grinned, patting the device like it was a beloved pet. "Linda, please. Have some faith in my genius."
"Last time you said that, you know what happened in the tavern."
Talis huffed. "That was experimental one! This is the real deal!"
Linda raised a brow. "Are you sure."
"Yes!"
Linda rubbed her temples. "Talis… a month is not a long time to create somethingvery good."
"Not with that attitude."
Linda sighed. "Just tell me what this thing does before I regret agreeing to this again."
Talis adjusted a few knobs, causing the device to spark wildly before settling into a low, ominous hum. "Alright, picture this. You ever seen a fish try to swim when the water around it suddenly turns to jelly?"
"…No?"
"Well, neither have I, but I'm pretty sure it'd be hilarious. This little beauty disrupts Ether flow in the air, causing anyone using it to feel like they just got slapped in the face with a bucket of pure nonsense."
Linda squinted. "Pure nonsense?"
Talis nodded sagely. "They'll lose control of their abilities for a few minutes. Spells will misfire. Strength-based users will feel like they're lifting cooked spaghetti instead of weapons. Flyers will—well, they'll have a bad time."
Linda's lips twitched. "…That actually sounds useful."
Talis beamed. "I know, right? Now, help me with the trigger, I need to make sure it—"
Before he could finish, the device suddenly sparked again, let out a concerning clank, and emitted a tiny puff of smoke. Talis immediately went pale.
"Oh. That's not—"
BOOM!
The weapon let out a violent shockwave, sending both Talis and Linda flying off the roof. They landed in an undignified heap on the ground below.
Linda groaned. "Talis."
"Y-Yeah?" he wheezed.
"I hate you."
Before Talis could respond, the Ether disruption device, now crackling like a storm about to burst, shot out another pulse of unstable energy—
Right as Zoren and the others are on a standoff with the Titan Council officers
A blinding wave of blue light washed over the entire battlefield. The air warped, twisting like an oil-slicked reflection in a disturbed pond.
And suddenly, chaos.
—
The Titan Council officers staggered as their Ether-enhanced senses went haywire. One warrior swung his sword, only for it to flop like a noodle in his hands. Another tried to activate a defensive barrier, but instead, he got a harmless puff of sparkles. A lieutenant, who had been floating slightly off the ground, immediately plummeted face-first into the dirt.
"What in the Titan's name—?!" the captain barked, trying to steady himself as his aura flickered like a failing candle.
Talis, dusting himself off, whooped. "HAHA! IT WORKS! SCIENCE WINS!"
Linda, pulling herself to her feet, shot him a glare. "We're supposed to be sneaky, you absolute buffoon!"
Talis blinked. "Oh. Right."
Zoren, who had barely gotten his bearings, stared at the chaos in confusion. "Uh… did I miss something?"
Linda rushed over, grabbing him by the arm. "No time! Move your ass! We just distracted the Titan Council for you, so unless you want to fight them while they're confused, run."
Zoren didn't need to be told twice. "Got it! Everyone, let's go!"
The captain, despite his disrupted senses, bellowed an order. "AFTER THEM—!"
But as his men tried to move, another unstable pulse from Talis' device hit them—causing the ground beneath their feet to ripple as if they were stepping on a giant, moving jellyfish.
Half the officers lost balance. One particularly unfortunate recruit, who had been mid-lunge, was slingshotted several feet into the air before landing with a spectacular crash.
Talis winced. "Oof. Didn't expect that effect."
Linda grabbed him by the collar. "Run, you idiot!"
And so, with the Titan Council floundering in a sea of disrupted Ether, Zoren, Talis, Linda, and the rest of the group made their escape.
Behind them, the captain stood seething, watching his men flail like newborn deer.
"…I hate kids."
His second-in-command, struggling to pick up his now-useless spear, muttered, "Sir, permission to also hate kids?"
"Granted."
And so, as Talis cackled, Linda regretted her life choices, and Zoren ran for dear life, one thing was certain—
The Titan Council was going to have nightmares about this day for years to come.
---
The city streets were alive with distant alarms, the echoes of the Titan Council's alert system still reverberating through the air. Talis, grinning like a man who had just pulled off the greatest thing of his life, darted through a narrow alley, weaving through the maze-like slums with the precision of someone who had been using these paths his entire life. Behind him, Linda kept pace, occasionally glancing back to make sure their group remained intact.
Zoren, still looking around from the sudden escape, finally exhaled. "Talis, please tell me you actually have a real hideout and you're not just winging this."
Talis gasped dramatically. "You wound me, Zoren. Of course, I have a hideout! What kind of criminal genius would I be if I didn't?"
Linda rolled her eyes. "He's had it for a whole… month."
Zoren shocked replied. "For a month?"
Aiden groaned. "Oh great. We're putting our lives in the hands of a guy who's been hiding for thirty days."
Elyria smirked. "Could be worse. He could've been hiding for thirty minutes."
Talis huffed, taking a sharp turn into what appeared to be a dead-end alley. He pressed a loose brick on the wall, and with a deep grinding sound, a section of the stone shifted inward, revealing a narrow passageway. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Zoren—welcome to Talis HQ."
Elizabeth adjusted her glasses. "I'm scared to ask how secure this is."
Talis grinned. "Oh, it's definitely not. But it's hidden, and that's what counts."
Zoren sighed. "Great. We went from fighting Titan Council officers to hiding in what's probably a glorified broom closet."
Inside, the hideout was… well, functional at best. A cluttered room with makeshift wooden furniture, half-finished weapon designs scattered on the tables, and a large pile of cushions in the corner that Talis dramatically flopped onto. "Make yourselves at home. The damp smell just adds to the experience."
Linda crossed her arms. "You were supposed to fix that."
"I was busy learning how to make weapons, okay? Priorities."
Zoren collapsed onto a chair, running a hand through his hair. "So, what now? The Titan Council is after us, we just pulled off a ridiculous escape, and I've been stuck in a dungeon for a month which felt like hours. Someone please tell me there's an actual plan here."
Talis and Linda exchanged glances.
Linda cleared her throat. "Well… the plan was mostly 'get you out alive.' Step two is kind of vague."
Elyria raised an eyebrow. "Vague how?"
Talis chuckled nervously. "Uh. 'Figure it out as we go' vague."
Aiden groaned. "I hate you both."
Elizabeth sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright. First, we need to lay low and assess the situation. The Council won't stop looking for us, and now that Zoren is back, we need to figure out our next move carefully."
Ivar leaned against the wall. "Agreed. But something tells me this city isn't going to be a safe place for long."
Zoren clenched his fists. "Then we better make sure we're ready for whatever comes next."
The group settled in, knowing that this was just the beginning of another storm. But for now, they had a moment to breathe. And in their world, that was a victory in itself
---
To be continued.