The streets of Varros shimmered under twin suns, one gold, one pale blue. Heat waves rippled through the air, bending the light like it was alive. The deeper Team Zero went into the bazaar’s underlevels, the quieter it became. The riot of color and noise faded into muted tones and whispers.
Lucian led the way, his steps steady, eyes locked on the small holographic projection hovering over his wristband. Kaelis—now in his smaller form—was perched comfortably on his shoulder, wings tucked in, tail flicking in irritation. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝗂𝗋𝖾⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
[We’re close,] Kaelis muttered, voice low and coarse through their link. [The signature’s faint, but it’s here.]
Lucian’s jaw flexed. "You’re sure this time?"
Kaelis glared at him with glowing amber eyes. [You think I enjoy flying through a swamp of aliens and engine fumes just for fun? It’s here, brat.]
Reia walked beside Lucian, her gaze sweeping the dim corridor ahead. "The readings are consistent," she said, tapping her device. "Energy fluctuations match the dimensional residue pattern. It’s the same type we traced from Lucy’s abduction site."
Vyn’s shadows slid along the walls like liquid smoke, scanning the edges of the narrow passage. "It feels... older here," she murmured. "Like the air remembers things it shouldn’t."
Evelyn was just behind her, eyes darting over the holographic map projected from her wrist. "Coordinates line up with a structure ahead—registered as a ’Lumin Archive.’"
Marc exhaled softly, half a laugh and half a groan. "Of course. A library. Nothing says ’evil mastermind’ like hiding in a building full of dusty books."
Silas smirked. "Yeah, maybe they’re hoping we’ll get bored and leave."
Kaelis’s tail twitched. [If I had blood pressure, you idiots would raise it.]
Lucian ignored them, his voice low. "Eyes sharp. If they wanted us here, they’ll know we’ve arrived."
They emerged into an open plaza lined with floating lanterns that glowed a faint violet. The building before them towered over the square—ancient stone fused with living crystal, its surface engraved with runes that pulsed faintly under the suns. It looked both divine and mechanical, a relic from a civilization that never truly chose between magic and science.
Reia stopped, studying the massive entrance. "That’s it. The Lumin Archive."
Silas whistled. "Kinda fancy for a library."
Kaelis hopped down from Lucian’s shoulder, wings fluttering. He looked up at the structure, eyes narrowing. [The energy signature came from inside. It’s faint now, but it was strong here hours ago.]
Reia frowned. "You’re saying whoever took Lucy came here?"
Kaelis shot her a sidelong glance. [Brat, I said this is where I felt the trail. Doesn’t mean they’re still sipping tea inside.]
Marc sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at the towering doorway. "Figures. Detour. Nobody with half a brain would sit still waiting for us to catch up." He dropped onto a nearby stone bench with a tired exhale. "Smart move, really. Lead the hunters to a dead end, make them waste time and energy."
Lucian didn’t respond. His fists were clenched at his sides, shoulders tense. The faint aura around him flickered—unstable, restrained.
Reia caught it immediately. "Lucian."
He didn’t look at her. "We’re wasting time," he said, voice low but edged. "She’s out there, and we’re walking in circles."
Kaelis glanced at him, wings folding tighter. [Losing your temper won’t change the fact we’ve been outplayed.]
Lucian’s eyes flashed toward the little dragon. "Outplayed? You said the trail was clear!"
[It was!] Kaelis snapped, tail striking the ground. [Whoever did this knows how to cloak dimensional residue. They left a trace just long enough for us to follow before masking the rest.]
"Meaning?" Silas asked.
[Meaning they led us here on purpose, muscle-head.]
The words hung in the air, heavy.
Lucian’s aura flared again, a pulse of barely-contained energy rippling through the ground. For a split second, the air shimmered.
Vyn moved without a word, stepping close enough to place a hand on his arm. Her touch carried no force, but it grounded him instantly. "Breathe," she said softly. "Anger clouds the path."
Evelyn mirrored her on his other side, voice calm but firm. "We can’t afford another blind chase. We regroup. Think."
Lucian shut his eyes for a moment, forcing the tension down. When he opened them again, the light around him steadied. "Fine." He exhaled, then turned toward Reia. "Suggestions?"
Reia folded her arms, mind already working. "If it’s a decoy, we might still get something useful out of it. Data, patterns, old records—something that tells us why this spot was chosen."
Silas shrugged. "So we just... read books while Lucy’s god-knows-where?"
"While we stay alive long enough to reach her," Reia corrected, her gaze sharp. "Charging in blind won’t help anyone. I’ll search the archive’s internal systems. The rest of you—breathe, eat, recalibrate. We’ve been chasing shadows since we left the Citadel."
Kaelis snorted softly but didn’t argue. [At least one of you uses that brain properly.]
Marc leaned back on the bench, arms behind his head. "I’ll keep an eye out. Someone’s bound to notice six strangers marching into a sacred library."
Lucian glanced at him, expression unreadable. "Don’t get too comfortable."
Marc smirked. "Wouldn’t dream of it."
Reia approached the grand doorway. As she stepped closer, the runes along its surface flared, scanning her presence. The massive doors opened with a low hum, revealing an interior bathed in blue light. The air inside felt cooler, older.
Rows upon rows of hovering archives filled the space, glowing softly as they rotated. The place smelled faintly of metal and petrichor. She stepped inside alone, her figure fading into the vastness of the structure.
Outside, the rest of the team spread out.
Silas sat cross-legged near the steps, elbows on his knees. "You ever get the feeling we’re walking right into a setup?"
Evelyn didn’t look up from her tablet. "That’s because we are."
Kaelis perched nearby, tail flicking. [You’re only figuring that out now?]
Vyn stood a few paces away, her gaze sweeping the square. "It’s too quiet," she murmured. "For a marketplace this size, even the wind feels staged."
Lucian looked up toward the twin suns, their light bleeding into each other across the horizon. "They wanted us here," he said quietly. "To waste time. Maybe to test how far we’d go."
Marc, still seated, met his eyes. "So what’s next, genius?"
Lucian didn’t answer. He was listening—feeling. The air around them buzzed faintly, the subtle hum of the world’s energy shifting. Kaelis’s eyes narrowed, picking it up too.
Before he could finish, the faint blue glow of the library flickered. For a moment, the structure seemed to pulse—then the entire energy signature vanished.
Reia’s voice came through the comms, calm but sharp. "Lucian. The archive’s clean. No data, no records. It’s an empty shell."
Lucian’s head turned sharply toward the entrance. "Empty?"
"Completely," she replied. "No power grid, no life signs. It’s not even real. The energy’s artificial—projected."
Silas blinked. "Wait, what?"
Reia stepped out of the building, her expression hard. "It’s a mirage. A dimensional construct meant to look solid. They never came here."
The ground underfoot rumbled faintly, as if the illusion itself were laughing. Kaelis’s wings flared. [They used the trail to pull us off-course. Smart bastards.]
Lucian’s expression darkened. "How long did it take us to get here?"
"Six hours," Evelyn said quietly.
"Then they’re six hours ahead."
Silas groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Fantastic. We’re back at zero."
Reia shook her head. "Not zero. They left traces. Even illusions need anchors." Her eyes glowed faintly as her intellect reached out, parsing the faint energy trails in the air. "Give me time, I can find where this projection came from."
The suns above dipped lower, painting the plaza in molten gold. Around them, the false library shimmered once more—then dissolved completely, scattering into motes of fading light.
They had been tricked. But as the team stood there, silent in the fading glow, it was clear none of them intended to stop.