**One month ago. Ocean Kingdom Jurisdiction.**
The Ocean Kingdom. An ally Kingdom with the Valley was a jurisdiction—like any other—with two Sub-Kingdoms: the Reef Kingdom and the Island Kingdom. The main Kingdom was spread out in three factions: the Sunlight Zone—where the northern main city, ports and trades happen, the Midnight Zone—where the southwestern Kingdom's residents homes, alley's and midtown areas are, and the Abyssal Zone—which was an extension of the Midnight Zone, but on the southeastern area that was home to casinos, underground clubs, and special merchants. And in the center of all the Zones, there was a colosseum popular among the Ocean Kingdom's residents, where they often gathered to watch games, host battles, and hold tournaments.
Surrounded by mechanical buildings that spilled light shows and glitching screens, the Kingdom was like a mechanized haven during the day and an underwater utopia at night.
This was also usually the place where intelligence brokers and shadowy trades like to operate. And the best place for these kinds of work was under everyone's nose.
It was night, and the game in the arena featured two teams, all with hover boots on their feet. As they floated there, their objective was to obtain a floating ball and toss it into one of the goals from each team. A goalie was stationed at each of the two goals, which were positioned on a hovering wall behind them. The position of the game shifted each round, not only changing perspectives for the crowd but also throwing off the players' spatial awareness, as the positions of the goals wouldn't always be the same. The game was made to imitate players playing underwater, but in a spectacle for an audience on land. Purple and blue spotlights lit up the whole place, accompanied by engaging stage music and the beaming awe of the Kingdom in the night sky.
The game was called Boko, and it was one of the most popular sports, not just here in the Ocean but also in the Valley, Sky, and Mountain jurisdictions.
Up at a higher bleacher area where many people were sitting and watching the game, a certain mage stood up from the crowd and made his way to a hallway section of the colosseum. The crowd went wild when the team of their choice scored a goal—all except for this mage as he continued to exit.
He was wearing an off white cloak with gold seams on the hood and sleeves, and his face was not visible. When he made it to the hallway, there were two other dark figures ahead that faced him, then turned the corner. And he followed casually.
When he turned where they did, they faced him in the middle of that new hallway. The walls were mechanical, with pipes running in random directions. The two dark figures faced the one mage that followed; all with hoods over their faces, only their noses and mouths visible in the dim light. All mages, from what it seemed.
"Does the Flightless Hawk ever regain its wings?" the mage in white asked.
The two mages in black remained silent for a moment as the crowd cheered faintly in the background.
"Only when it chooses to not fly into the storm." One of them answered.
The mage in the white and gold cloak nodded, raising his hand with a silver pendant within his palm. The other two mages in black took their time looking at it, taking a moment before one of them reached out a hand to grab it. But once he did, the mage in white reeled it back to himself slightly, "First, the information requested," he said.
The mage in black that stood before him lowered his hand, silent as the crowd in the distance roared once again. He reached into his black cloak and pulled out a small notebook, flipping page after page before stopping at a certain section, then flipping it around to show the mage in white.
"I believe this is what you are looking for?" he gestured to him.
On the page where he had flipped, there was a map of some unknown location with a date on it. The date was set for a month from now…
"What exactly am I looking at?" the mage in white asked.
"It's exactly as it is… a map," the other mage in black from behind replied.
"A map to where?"
"We didn't ask for details. We provided what you asked. Now… the pendant…"
"Who was your source?"
Silence from both mages in black, and another cheer in the background from the audience erupted. Then one of them responded, "You hired us for information, and information is what we got you. If you wanted more, then you should have brought more than one…" Gesturing to the silver pendant in the mage in white's hand.
The mage in white then put the pendant back into his pocket, standing there casually now, "The information you gave is quite different than what was requested."
"How so?"
"For one. You were asked to retrieve intel on the Ocean Kingdom regarding any planned future attacks, if any, and to provide the source. You then provide me with a map whose origins you do not know, and then dodge my question about who provided this information to you. It wasn't a second request… it was a two-part to a single request. Failure to concede to the terms results in withdrawal of exchange."
The two mages in black were silent once again as the mage in white went on, "And two… You two are from the Ocean. I chose to do business with you because you know every inch of the Kingdom and its Sub-Kingdoms. If the map you provided me is not a map either of you know… then it is not a map here, is it?"
He lifted his head, and the shadows still lingered on his face, "I'm going to ask you one last time, because I believe in grace…" but one eye revealed and glowed a haunting crimson in the darkness. "Who was your source?"
Both mages in black were silent again, refusing to speak. The air thickened, and the tension rose. Both sides deciding what they should do… and then…
One of the mages in black formed an orange sigil within the air over his hand, and the other mage in black from the front clasped his hands together, dropping the notebook. Right then, metal snakes shot out from the mechanical walls and pipes that were all around them.
The sound made was like a muffled boom as smolder filled the space. But though spells were cast, it had appeared they missed their mark.
"Fools," he said from within the smoke as he took out another item—a gavel from his sleeve. And once revealed, he tapped the air with it and it made a sound as if striking a sound block.
Then as quick as it happened, a metal net, like intertwining chains that expanded and scaled down captured both mages in black.
"How?" one of them asked as they struggled from the binding links of metal, observing the mage in white coming out of the smoke unscathed. "Our spells… how did you dodge them?"
The mage in white halted and then amused the question, "I didn't."
At last, the smolders faded out, revealing their spells caught within yellow rings of aura. It looked as if their spells had paused mid cast and the smolders were set off by a slit pipe nearby.
All the the while, the net of chains binding both mages in black became tighter to the point their magic was finally dispelled, and they grew weaker by the second.
"What… What is this?" one of them asked breathlessly.
The mage in white proceeded his saunter to them, grabbing the notebook that was dropped. He dusted it off twice and then took his time observing its contents.
"Have you ever heard of Prometheus Chains?" he finally responded.
The two mages within the chains merely grunted as they neared the point of exhaustion.
"No matter… You won't be alive in a few short seconds anyway. The details are wasted on you. However, I did want to confirm one thing…" He knelt to one of the mages within the chains, flipping over the notebook with the same map and date back to him, "Might this be the Valley?"
The mage flared his nose from within the net, and his eyes raged aggressively. He spat toward the ground in an attempt to defy, but the mage in white did not even flinch as he slowly rose to his feet.
Once he did, the chains that contained them instantly crushed into a ball the size of a watermelon. Blood gushed and splattered the floor and mechanical walls, but once it made it to him, they stopped in the air and spilled down like it had hit an invisible wall.
The mage in white looked mercilessly at the bloody mess he made.
"Quite the mess there, Alphonzo…" a male's voice echoed in the hallways behind him. The mage in white, Alphonzo, paid him no mind as he dispelled the chains, releasing the blood and guts of the two mages on the floor, flooding the place now. When the blood ran, it flowed around him, not coming near just like the splatters of blood in the air around him.
"Quarrels during games happen all the time here in the Ocean. Some worse than others…" he replied to the male. "Now, leave your cloak, Henza."
Henza revealed himself from the shadows, at last. His eyes twitching from tiredness, complimented by the bags under his gray eyes, and he was entirely wrapped in bandages underneath the fitted suit he wore under his white and gold robe; his arm was in a cast as well. "Ah… that's the purpose of my 'tagging along'… You're framing me for murder."
"Not just murder. Illegal concoction of magical items to bargain and sell into the black market. Espionage within the walls of an allied Kingdom… the list goes on. Would you like me to bullet-point them all for you?"
"You're a despicable man. I don't know who's worse, you or Syemore."
"And yet either way, you chose to follow both men."
Henza snickered like he had been had, "Aye… apparently my biggest crime is my life choices."
Alphonzo said nothing and just stared at him.
"Alright, alright. I understand…" Henza said as he stripped his cloak and dropped it into the pool of blood; he watched as it became entirely crimson.
"Think of it this way, if you get caught, the case on you is already built. Your transfer to Tartarus will be swift." Alphonzo said like a bland jest, though his face was anything but…
"And then you are the same man I will face in Trial if things go south… you are the Vice Chairman in not just the Valley, but the ally Ocean as well…" Henza sighed.
"Meaning I am also the one who can pardon your crimes. But that all depends on how well you cooperate."
"Keeper… and then the cycle for me continues…" he said lazily as he gave up the futile debate.
Alphonzo walked off with the notebook in hand as the blood avoided his boots with each step he took. And Henza followed suit, knowing that he was stuck with this man until he no longer needed him.
The two then walked away into the darkness of the hallways, and the crowd continued to cheer faintly in the background as they disappeared back into the shadows.
***
**Present. Valley Kingdom colosseum**
Greed:
My fist hovered just inches from Henza's face. Seeing it triggered the thought of him almost killing Star over a month ago. It looked like he was still recovering from the injuries he received from Nash with all those bandages under his professional attire—that unironically matched Alphonzo's. He seemed to also only have one working arm; he was in pretty rough shape… and yet, I still wanted to ram this fist into his face. I thought I would never get this chance, so I wasn't going to hold back like I did with Terek. But…
"I'd appreciate it if you stand down, Greed. That's my subordinate after all." Alphonzo said once more.
"If by subordinate you mean 'slave', that'd be a more accurate description…" Henza lazily jested.
I didn't waver my glower at him. At this point, I was just waiting for Alphonzo to release me, then I'd immediately proceed with the strike. However, it seemed Alphonso already knew that…
"Very well, if you won't stand down, I'll keep you bound until we pass."
"Why are you working with him?" I blurted.
"Why do you have Arabella Housekeeping serving you at your home?" he countered.
I remained silent.
"Your crew was able to forgive them and let them atone, so why is Henza any different?"
"Because he almost killed one of my crewmates," I said, and Henza's expression changed. It was subtle, but he looked almost… remorseful. I wasn't going to buy it, though.
"Had that been the case for your other members against the three ex-Execs, would you want to kill them as well?" Alphonzo went on.
I began thinking about them and each of their desires to be better. It was after such a thought that I replied, "Only if they didn't show a desire to change."
"And how do you know Henza lacks such desire? You didn't even give him the chance to speak. Instead, you went straight for his head."
I hated talking with Alphonzo. Even back in the Trial, he had a way to say everything as truth in a way that made you reconsider—made you believe you were the one in the wrong… Though he may have a point with this one.
Henza finally spoke, "If I'm being quite frank with you, Acting Captain… I actually don't have a desire to live." He held my glare, "I want you to punch me half to death. I want you to kill me, if you can…"
The chains that held me from Alphonzo's shadow began to rattle. I had never witnessed Alphonzo startle until that moment. It was as if he thought there was going to be a chance that I was going to break the chains.
Behind me, Rex nervously tried to calm me down while simultaneously apologizing to Alphonzo at the same time; distracting him from the thought of that rattle I had just made, if only for a short second…
"Say your peace and leave. And we will be on our way as well." I said, speaking to Alphonzo.
His expressionless face was once again studying me. How I hated that look… "We got a lead from the Ocean Kingdom of something that's happening here in the colosseum," he replied. I listened with my fist still held up to Henza's face. "People in the audience are disappearing."
When he said this, both Rex and I took a silent, but sharp breath. Rex had changed his awkward, nervous demeanor to one of calm focus. It had seemed his team's reporting's were right on the mark.
"We were given a map of the underground passageways of this colosseum. Halls that were not the same as the ones we all know… Halls we are in right now. You might have noticed it already when you figured out you are in a constant loop before we showed up."
"Confirmed. The halls changed, and then somehow we were put under some illusion-type magic. I was about to have Greed here break the spell, but looks like you took care of that for us." Rex said to Alphonzo and then looked my way with a smile that I ignored.
"Indeed. When we first received this map, I didn't quite know what it was until I studied the dimensions and make of the walls in the blueprint. When I came to the conclusion that it was these very halls, Henza and I made our way back here from the Ocean. The halls and the map, though identical, did not match. It's when we got caught in a loop ourselves that we found out the true purpose of this map."—he took it out at last. A notebook with information on it; flipping to the page of the map that took up both pages when he revealed it to us. It was like some intricately drawn maze—"this is a map of someone's Dimensional Territory, or rather, Sub-Space Creation magic."
Dimensional Territory… Alternate Space… an ability like Alice or Code?
"I'm familiar," I said. "But whose ability could this be? And why are they targeting people in the audience?"
"Well, that's what we're here to find out," Alphonzo said, gesturing to Henza to me. Once more, inviting me to stand down.
"For now. You two should be focusing on the Tournament and letting us and the rest of security handle this case. Arcane King Daz is already aware as well, but he doesn't want the citizens to worry."
"Let me help you then," I said hastily.
To which Alphonzo loosed a breath, closing his eyes for a moment before replying to me, "That won't do."
"And why not?"
"For starters, you're not allowed to forfeit the Tournament unless you are in the ring. Forfeiting behind the scenes is prohibited to avoid an easy way out."
"That's not even what this is about—"
"Perhaps not, but that is how it will be perceived. You may not care about reputation, nor this Tournament. But others rely on you to carry out your duties as either their Captain, friend, or… significant other. A duty to show up and be present—just like Daz. As much as he would like to join us in this hunt as well, he has a duty to be seen by his people, to be present to them so that they are reminded that they are protected. Reminded that their King and the Guilds of the Valley are the ones standing in the way of the threats of the world. If you are always away, how can you ever hope to be relied upon?"
I thought of Zeno, then, and how he willingly chose to stay in the Valley for that same reason. His words resonated with me—for once, and without condescension. We were not in Trial, no, but he was my superior in this very moment.
"I understand," I said endingly, almost like a salute.
To his surprise, I reeled back my fist from Henza's face at last and stepped back; the chains from his shadow were still attached to my ankles just in case. I didn't blame him.
"By the way" I brought up, "I thought you were another one who got sealed by Syemore. How are you able to use your magic after he had used it in battle?"
He breathed out a huff. That might have been the most expression I've ever witnessed from him, ever. "You asked me earlier why I chose Henza as my subordinate. Well, his magic can not only bond things in place. He can also bond magic abilities into tangible objects."—he pulled out a gavel from his pocket, and it glowed a yellow ring from it—"It's because of this that I am still able to use my ability."
I looked sidelong to Henza, but it seemed that Alphonzo was just using him. Even when I had my fist to his face and him being able to move freely, I sensed no hostility. If my fist had connected, I just might have felt bad… almost.
"Plus," Alphonzo added, "he's my scapegoat in case my investigations go south. I am allowed any and all methods to retrieve information. If we are compromised, he is first to be sent to Trial. A trial of which I will be the judge."
That reasoning was almost maniacal… he was basically using Henza as a human shield and his Bonding magic to reclaim his own magic. No wonder he said he was basically a 'slave'. Perhaps this was punishment enough for him as it was.
I relaxed myself at this time and threw my hands in my pockets, tilting my head down and closing my eyes; proceeding to turn around from where Rex and I had come from.
"Fine. I suppose we can leave this to you two then." I said, hinting to Rex that we should return to the keep. "Oh, and you missed a spot."
As I said this, I took one of my hands out of its pocket and tapped a nearby wall, and it shattered after that mere gesture.
They all watched me do it as Rex's eyes gleamed, Henza scoffed, and Alphonzo studied me eerily.
But before I could proceed any further, he asked, "How is it that you knew?"
"Huh?" I asked.
"The fact that I was sealed by Syemore was private information among the Royal King and select Guild captains. I made sure it was. Was it Ryo who told you? Even so, how did you know my magic was one of the ones taken after use? Did Symore use my magic against you when you fought him?"
I was taken aback from that question. I almost didn't know what to say in reply. I had nearly forgotten that he—not Rex, not even Henza—knew it was I who had fought Syemore. So I merely froze and refused to turn around.
"I jest. How could you have possibly fought against him? It was Captain Belle and her alone who defeated Syemore in the end…" he ended.
"Right." was all I said.
Jest… with that expressionless look he had? Doubtful. I heard the playact in his tone clear as day.
Rex bowed, then followed me as we proceeded off.
All the while, Alphonzo and Henza watched us disappear from their view.
***
After Rex and Greed had finally left. Alphonzo and Henza found themselves in another section of the labyrinth passageways.
"Curious fellow… that Greed…" he said aloud.
Henza sighed lazily and replied, "You should have just let him kill me…"
"And let you go free from your duties? I would never grant you the pleasure of escape."
"You're a cruel man. I don't care what your title is in the Kingdom—you're despicable and cruel."
"Regardless of your morbid obsession with death, I saved you… Though, you could have saved yourself… Perhaps I'll tighten the seal on you that prevents you from killing yourself and letting others kill you."
"If you're implying that I didn't use my Bonding magic on him, then maybe you're not as sharp as you come across…"
Alphonzo said nothing. He merely glanced at Henza sidelong.
"I bonded him… well… I thought I did, but he broke the spell the second I even thought of it… I was so ready to die in that moment… and you prevented it from happening. You are cruel because you keep me alive to do your biddings, not because you saved my worthless life."
Alphonzo kept to himself after that comment, and unbeknownst to Henza, he let his thoughts wander,
I had thought that when he shattered the rest of that Dimensional Territory, it was merely the residue of what had been dispelled… but to reject a spell before it was even cast… Could he be…