I sat back on the marble counter, legs crossed, coffee in one hand, watching the chaos that was my little "family" of troublemakers ravaging the breakfast I made.
The Null Handmaidens had just come back through a portal crashing, of course. Syraleh had landed upside down. Rielinne's hood was halfway over her face. Naelle was laughing while stealing Iserra's sausages before she even stood up straight. By the time I was making all of this for them, I told them about the Chronological Palace and who Esmodra is. I also explained about the Archeons, which also made Esmodra understand it a little more.
"Unbelievable. I make breakfast, not a buffet for feral assassins."
"You're just mad we beat the fridge to the sausages, Master," Naelle teased, already munching.
"Beat the fridge? You didn't even close it. You all smell like blood and despair. Eat, then shower. I'll burn your uniforms if I have to."
They didn't even respond. They were too busy devouring everything in sight. Syraleh had three pancakes stacked in one hand, a fork in the other. Iserra and Rielinne were seated across from her, eating quietly but clearly starving. Esmodra sat at the end of the counter, cup of coffee in her hands, just watching them. She looked calmer now, calmer. She seemed unsure whether to laugh or be concerned at how fast the women ate.
"Don't mind them, Esmodra. They were probably raised by wolves."
Observa's voice spoke through the kitchen. "Master Nihris, Rielinne has finished her food. Perhaps now she can deliver her report?"
I glanced at Rielinne, who was already dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She's always the most composed one when it came to duty.
"Alright. Tell me what happened in Dungeon Rush."
Rielinne nodded, folding her hands neatly.
"We managed to reach Stage Three from Stage Twenty-Seven."
Esmodra blinked. "That sounds… like a lot."
"It is. Dungeon Rush is a hidden Fluve Field with twenty seven stages. The lower stage gets worse. Stage Twenty-Six, Twenty-Two, Eighteen, Fourteen, Ten, Six, and Two are the Fluvium Boss stages. Each one is stronger the lower you go. Stage Two's the second worst. Stage One is… well, let's just say it's not for normal Fluxers."
Rielinne continued.
"We fought through the upper stages easily enough, but the time dilation nearly broke us. We were trapped for a month, even though only two days passed in reality."
Naelle chimed in with a grin. "Still worth it. We got through the first twenty stages like it was nothing. But when we reached Stage Ten, things got weird with gravity breaking, elemental damages and hallucinations. We had to restart ten times."
Syraleh groaned dramatically, leaning back in her chair. "And don't even get me started on Stage Three. That boss roasted us alive."
"You died?"
"Yeah," Syraleh said, slamming her fork down for emphasis. "She calls herself the Umbra Phoenix Charlotte. She's the only sentient boss we met. Big, shiny, winged thing with legs and eyes like molten metal. She's humanoid too."
That name struck a chord. I hadn't heard it in years. Umbra Phoenix Charlotte… huh. She's number three on MoDS's top five strongest bosses. It used to solo entire factions back when the game was still alive.
Naelle was nodding rapidly to Syraleh's words. "Exactly! You would think she's weak. We revived like fifteen times before the Dungeon itself told us we were out of resets. By the way, the dungeon said that the reset happens every two months."
"So next month?"
Rielinne confirmed with a small nod.
"August. We'll have another window then. If we defeat her, we can claim her as a companion beast. You could declare her under your name, Master. It would triple our Faction Power."
That caught my attention. "Triple, huh?"
Syraleh leaned forward, grinning. "And imagine it. An Umbra Phoenix under your command."
Naelle laughed. "The intimidation factor, though! One screech, and half the world would piss itself."
I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help but smirk. "You're all too dramatic for assassins."
Rielinne, ever the calm one, added softly, "If we manage to tame it, we could also boost out reputation. It could benefit the Handmaidens long-term."
"Good. Then we'll prepare. Until then, we've got rebuilding to do. Observa, coordinate resources for training simulations."
"Already on it," Observa said. "Also, Master Nihris, may I suggest a combat rehearsal for Miss Esmodra? Her Archeon synchronization is only at twenty percent."
Esmodra blinked. "Wait, I'm part of this now?"
"You're an Ophaniel now, remember? We don't sit on the sidelines. Besides, you've got something none of them have. Brains."
Naelle gasped mock-offended. "Excuse you, I'm the brains!"
"You're the chaos. Big difference, Naelle."
Syraleh was giggling with her mouth full. Iserra was quietly sipping her tea but hiding a small smile. Rielinne shook her head as though she couldn't believe she was part of this mess. Esmodra looked around. For the first time since I'd met her, she looked like she belonged somewhere.
"You still want to destroy the Russian government?"
She met my eyes. "Yes."
I smiled faintly. "Good. Then we'll destroy something bigger first."
"What's bigger than a government?"
"Finish your food. We've got work to do. And Rielinne, tell me everything about Charlotte's attack pattern. We'll need a plan."
As Rielinne began her detailed recount, the others started chattering again. In the corner of my eye, Esmodra smiled faintly into her coffee. For the first time in her life, maybe she felt like she wasn't just surviving.
°°°°°°
Hours later, it was evening, though here in the Chronological Palace, time didn't really move unless I told it to. I made the time move to Altera time so right now, it's the evening of July 6th.
I built a massive training facility in the basement a few days ago.
The training basement stretched wide beneath the palace. Thanks to Observa, the white training ground was so massive and durable to even handle Ennèa Category Fluxers.
"Master Nihris, I've calibrated the gravity levels to standard Fluxer tolerance. Would you like me to enable Flux suppression fields as well?"
"Already on?"
"Yes, sir. Miss Naelle insisted on a purely physical training session."
"Of course she did. She would wrestle a god barehanded if you told her not to."
From the observation platform, I watched the two of them below. Naelle was training Esmodra.
Naelle was all motion and rhythm, her hair tied back, assassin uniform half-unzipped at the collar. She wasn't using any Xana. Just old-fashioned martial arts. Esmodra, by contrast, still looked like she was figuring out what her limbs were supposed to be doing.
But she was fast.
Even with sweat streaming down her forehead, she learned at an absurd rate. Every mistake she made was corrected the next minute. Every stance she took wrong, she fixed instinctively. The Archeon gloves shimmered faintly every time she deflected a blow, guiding her slightly like some unseen tutor.
"Focus your center of gravity," Naelle said, circling her. "Your balance is too high. You'll get knocked down if you fight that way."
Esmodra nodded breathlessly, adjusting her footing. "Like this?"
"Better. Now block!"
The two collided again, fists and legs moving in sharp sequences. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed I leaned on the railing, watching quietly. Esmodra's stamina was low but her adaptability score was off the charts.
"She's learning fast, Master Nihris." Observa said.
"Yeah. Too fast."
I opened my Masquerade Tablet. The screen lit up immediately, and the first thing that appeared was a notification from OuterChat.
OuterChat was the global communication hub for Outers. It worked on an asynchronous time layer since the Palace's internal time was slower, but I wanted to see it in real-time now.
"Observa, did you sync temporal flow with real-world time?"
"Yes. Temporal drift was compensated. You are now observing OuterChat in synchronous real-time."
Immediately, messages began to flood in.
[VoidTamer]: Bro, the Null Handmaidens actually made it to Stage 3??
[Crimera]: They cleared from Stage 27 downwards in one run. INSANE.
[BlackRain]: No one's done that since the beta era.
[Techni_8]: Time's different in Dungeon Rush tho. It's been like a month for us here.
[Rainscar]: Who is their leader? If their leader was with them they would have completed it already.
Flipping to the faction dashboard, I saw the accumulated resources from their Dungeon Rush run.
Stage 27: 100 Pearlesia, 1000 Gold.
Each lower stage added +50 Pearlesia and +500 Gold. That meant they had earned a total of 3250 Pearlesia and 32,500 Gold. Not bad.
"We're rich."
"Do you wish to open the Gold Shop, Master?"
"No, not yet. I don't want to rely on it."
"Your reasoning, Master?"
"Because I want to know I can still stand. Power that comes from a store is borrowed power. I'd rather bleed for mine."
"Understood."
Below us, Naelle and Esmodra were still at it. Esmodra's punches were slower now. She slipped on a dodge, barely catching herself.
"Keep your stance!" Naelle shouted, though her tone wasn't harsh. It was more like she was teaching a little sister. "Don't flinch. You're not glass anymore."
Esmodra grit her teeth and struck again. Naelle caught the punch, twisted, and threw her over her shoulder. Esmodra hit the mat hard with a thud that made even me wince.
"Again!"
To her credit, Esmodra rolled back up, bleeding a bit at the lip, but she stood again. I found myself smiling a little.
"She's stubborn."
A moment later, Naelle's voice came up through the comm line. "Boss!"
"What now?"
"She's injured."
I looked down. Esmodra was sitting against the wall, clutching her ribs, panting hard. Her gloves flickered faintly as if trying to heal her, but they weren't meant for that. Naelle stood over her, wiping sweat from her brow.
"I didn't hit her that hard," she said defensively.
I jumped down from the platform, landing soundlessly on the metallic floor. Walking toward them, I could already see the bruising forming under Esmodra's ribs.
"You good?"
"I… I'll be fine."
I sighed, resting an arm on my knee. "You're not fine. You're stubborn. There's a difference."
Naelle crossed her arms. "She's improving though. She's got reflexes."
"Yeah. But not enough yet. We've got a month before August. If we're going to face the Umbra Phoenix Charlotte again, we need every edge we can get. That means you need to be stronger."
Esmodra swallowed hard but met my eyes. "I'll get stronger."
"I know you will. You've got a promise to keep, remember?"
She blinked up at me for a moment before taking my hand. The Silver Gloves shimmered faintly as her fingers tightened around mine.
As I pulled her up, I glanced toward the distant end of the training hall where the holographic interfaces still floated from earlier.
"If we get Charlotte under our command, we'll have the strongest companion. Strong enough to burn down a government."
Naelle smirked, rubbing her neck.
"Sounds fun."
"Fun isn't the word I'd use, but it's something."
Observa's voice chimed softly through the room.
"Master Nihris, shall I begin setting up advanced training protocols for tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow. She needs to rest tonight. Then we break her limits. I have to go back to Rome tomorrow. I have a match and I also have to talk with a Princess. I can't believe only one day has passed in the real world and 22 in here."
I turned to leave, the metallic floor echoing under my boots. Behind me, I heard Naelle say quietly to Esmodra.
"You're doing good. Really good."
Upstairs, I closed the interface on my tablet and leaned against the railing. The OuterChat was still buzzing with people talking about the Handmaidens, about the Ophaniels revealing the Russian government, and the myths that were slowly becoming reality again.
They had no idea what was coming next.
And for once, neither did I.