The rooftops of the Hoshimaru Shrine were a labyrinth. Rielinne and Syraleh moved across them like ghosts. Their feet barely made a sound as they dashed from one gable to the next.
Below, chaos echoed through the courtyards with the clash of steel, the howl of burning winds and the cries of samurai being shredded by smoke and claws. Naelle and Esmodra were putting on a show, exactly as planned.
"Sounds like they're having fun down there," Syraleh muttered with a smirk, leaping over a wooden beam.
"Naelle always has fun when someone's bleeding."
They sprinted across another stretch of rooftop before stopping on the central pavilion. From there, the entire district sprawled beneath them. They both saw a sprawl of paper lanterns and slanted rooftops. It was eerily alive. There were people down there running through streets but they were being killed by Iserra's Null Hands.
Rielinne narrowed her eyes as the facts refused to align.
"Something's off."
Syraleh tilted her head. "Off how?"
Rielinne crouched, her fingers brushing the tile as she scanned the landscape below.
"If this is a trial inside a Fluve Field, there shouldn't be humans here. These trials manifest their own constructs, not actual living civilians."
"Then what the hell are we looking at?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. First question, if this is a trial, why are there people here who clearly aren't Fluxers? The people in that district are just humans. That's impossible because all humans went to Antarctica after the Fluxwave Phenomenon."
Syraleh frowned, following her gaze.
"You're right. They're just living."
"Second, how did they even build an entertainment district inside a Fluve Field? You can't just walk in and start constructing infrastructure. They would be suffering from Flux Corrosion and Fluve Syndrome if they stay for too long."
"And the third?"
"The guards. They're not acting like constructs. They're too real. Why are they guarding the Blood Odachi so tightly? What exactly are we walking into? Either way, we'll find out soon enough."
They dropped down from the roof, landing silently on the inner hallway that led toward the heart of the shrine. The air inside was calmer, colder, and strangely serene. There were no guards. Syraleh's brow furrowed at the sight.
"Weird. This should be packed with soldiers."
Rielinne's eyes flicked to her.
"Exactly. Which means someone sent them away."
They exchanged a glance and slid open the final pair of shōji doors. Inside the chamber, moonlight filtered through paper walls, falling across a woman seated cross-legged at the far end of the tatami floor. She wore a pure white priestess robe, her hair tied neatly in a bun. Her hands rested on her lap with her eyes closed. Without opening her eyes, the priestess spoke softly.
"You've come for the Blood Odachi, haven't you?"
Syraleh's daggers flashed into her hands. Her biological daggers appeared.
"Depends who's asking. Who the hell are you?"
The priestess didn't flinch. She simply breathed out slowly, as though amused by the aggression. Before she could respond, Rielinne raised her hand.
"Syraleh. Wait."
"What?"
"She's the reason this room's empty."
The priestess's lips curved faintly.
"If they went to such lengths to guard the Blood Odachi," Rielinne continued, "then there should have been an entire battalion here. But there's no one. Not even a scout. That means someone gave the order to clear them out. And since this place reeks of reverence, that someone would have to be you."
For the first time, the priestess opened her mouth to speak again, though her eyes remained closed.
"You're perceptive. It seems the rumors of your analytical nature weren't exaggerated."
She turned her head slightly, facing the far side of the room. "But tell me… how long do you plan to hide, Master Phaser?"
A shimmer of distortion flickered beside them and in the next instant, the veil shattered. Phaser appeared. Rielinne and Syraleh froze.
"Master?!" Syraleh gasped, taking a step back.
"Master?" Rielinne's tone was less shock and more disbelief, like she was processing the impossible. "How... when did you—?"
He stood before them in his usual casual posture. He took a few steps forward, glancing briefly toward the priestess.
"Don't act so surprised. I was suspicious too. You two weren't the only ones who noticed something's off. Humans in a Fluve Field, a man-made district in a trial meant for Fluxers, and a sacred weapon guarded like it's a holy relic. Doesn't that sound too deliberate?"
Syraleh frowned.
"So… what are we walking into, then? If this isn't a normal trial—"
Before Phaser could answer, the priestess suddenly rose to her feet. She approached slowly, her white robes whispering across the floor. And then, without warning, she bowed. Her forehead nearly touched the tatami.
"Please, take me as your subordinate."
The room went completely still.
Rielinne's eyes widened. Syraleh's daggers lowered halfway in sheer confusion. Phaser blinked in the most expression anyone had ever seen on him.
"Wait," Syraleh stammered, "what?"
Rielinne took a slow breath, her analytical mind grinding to a halt for once.
"You're joking."
The priestess shook her head, still bowing.
"I swear on the Goddesses that I have no allegiance to the mortals outside. I have been waiting for a true bearer of authority. And I sense it in him."
Phaser rubbed the bridge of his nose, half-exasperated.
"You're saying you want to become my subordinate because you felt something?"
She looked up at him and her eyes opened. They were not human. Instead, they were dark irises with white concentric rings spun faintly, burning with a Japanese symbol that meant time.
"Not felt. Recognized. You are not bound by this world's order, Master. You move outside the laws that govern the Fluve Fields. I know a being blessed by a Deity when I see one."
Syraleh gaped. "She just... she... did she call him a God-touched Fluxer?"
Rielinne pressed her fingers to her temple. "Oh, for— this is getting absurd."
Phaser looked at the priestess for a long, silent moment, then sighed.
"You know, I came here to supervise my students, not adopt a fanatic priestess."
But the priestess didn't waver.
"Call it what you will but I have no intention of leaving this Fluve Field alive unless I follow you."
Syraleh looked from her to Phaser, then to Rielinne.
"Uh… what do we do now, Master?"
Rielinne folded her arms. "I suggest we don't take spontaneous job applications mid-trial."
Phaser chuckled softly. "You'd make a terrible recruiter, Rielinne."
She shot him a look. "And you'd make a terrible cult leader, Master."
"Probably, but I'm starting to think I don't have a choice."
The priestess stayed kneeling, her head bowed low. The seal of the Blood Odachi glimmered faintly behind her. For a long moment, none of them spoke. Finally, Phaser sighed again, folding his arms.
"Fine. You can explain everything once we get the Odachi and leave this village. Until then, get up."
The priestess lifted her head, her lips curling faintly in a serene smile.
"As you command."
Syraleh whispered to Rielinne, "He actually said yes."
Rielinne groaned. "I'm adding that to the report under 'unnecessary chaos.'"