"Fine. Without wasting time, I can execute you right here and now, Thief of the Shadows. Or you can do a real job for me. One far more difficult than that arm brace. What do you say?"
Lux stayed silent. His thoughts spiraled. Could this damn lion not have come to them directly instead of setting up that whole arm brace nonsense? But there was nothing Lux could really do here.
He did not think long.
A quiet response slipped from his lips."Okay. What is it?"
Suddenly, Lasa appeared behind the lion, aiming a red assault rifle straight at Red Lion. Instantly, the Fireslicers redirected their weapons from Lux to her.
Silence filled the air.
The lion did not even flinch.
He continued speaking calmly."So, Lux. What do you say? Do a great job for me, and I will create a name for you that will be heard across all of Glas."
The Fireslicers released Lux, allowing him to stand. He staggered slightly but managed to get back on his feet.
"Yes. I will do it," Lux said. "Lasa, put the weapon down."
She nodded immediately and tossed the red assault rifle into the sand.
Lux looked straight at Red Lion."Then release my group, and I will listen to everything."
The lion laughed cruelly. A deep sigh followed.
"Very well. Deal accepted. A name for you, and your group will be released. Hahaha!"
The dusty scrapyard turned into a sandstorm as the helicopter descended and landed a short distance away. The Fireslicers stood behind Lux, positioned so that one wrong move from him would end with a hole in his body. Lux did not dare to try anything. Maybe he would have acted if he had understood the abilities of this body, but he did not. So he had no choice but to walk behind the Red Lion.
Just before boarding the helicopter, the lion stopped and looked back.
"Leave the rest of the group here. We are only taking him."
The lion raised a claw. Lux flinched slightly, but thankfully, the lion did not attack. Lux knew exactly what had happened the last time the lion made that motion. He glanced toward the car where he had taken cover earlier. That place was soaked in red. The remains of the Fireslicer were still burning.
Lux blinked a few times and turned away.
He saw Lasa, Monty, and Arow looking at him. Then Lux was forced into the helicopter. The microphone in his ear was removed, cutting off all contact with his group.
Lux felt like he was about to lose it.
"Okay, okay. Let me sum this up," he thought. "I somehow ended up in this world. But how? How? I cannot remember anything. Just that… that… I do not know."
Lux gave up trying to figure out how he had arrived here and instead went through everything again.
"We had a mission. We got set up. And now we are getting a real job. Hopefully a real one this time."
The flight itself became an opportunity. Setting everything else aside, Lux could at least use this time to learn more about the world. He looked out of the helicopter.
He saw nothing but a vast desert.
Disappointed that there were no high tech buildings in sight, only endless sand, Lux looked back inside and turned his gaze away from the window.
Next to him sat a Fireslicer holding a red assault rifle. Below them, the Red Lion was being transported in a cage, hanging beneath the helicopter, apparently secured to it.
Lux looked toward the front passenger seat. There sat another Fireslicer, holding two handguns. The man shot Lux a threatening glare. Lux quickly looked away and turned back to the window.
"I could try something… no. I cannot do anything without a weapon. Shit," Lux thought.
He did not even try.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
"I have abilities. I have to try. I could… no. I will not. My group is still with the Fireslicers."
So Lux stayed silent, sitting still, waiting for them to arrive wherever they were going.
After a while, Lux looked out of the window again. It was still desert. But then he noticed something. A thin white pillar was sticking out of the sandy ground.
The helicopter hovered above it and slowly descended until it landed on the sand.
After a few minutes, Lux was escorted outside. With an assault rifle pressed against his back, he was forced forward. The Red Lion was already there, standing beside the white object protruding from the sand. The lion pressed something on it.
Suddenly, Lux heard an enormous, deafening noise.
There.
Lux watched as the sand farther away split apart, revealing a massive opening. Stairs formed, leading downward. A white underground base emerged from beneath the earth.
A few minutes later, they descended the stairs.
Lux found himself in a long corridor. The walls were white, lined with hundreds of doors. Most of them were very small, while only five doors were large. All of them were labeled. The small doors had dull, black lettering, while the large ones glowed brightly.
Lux could make out one large inscription and, on the smaller doors, numbers.
[Room-09-]
He looked away.
The lion walked ahead of him, threatening as always. He strolled through the corridor as if nothing here interested him. Then one of the large doors opened.
Lux read the glowing red inscription.
[RED LION]
The Fireslicers stopped at the doorway and forced Lux inside. The massive door closed behind him, and the lights in the room turned on.
Now, only Lux and the lion remained.
Lux immediately examined the room. In one corner lay many bones. Above them was a stone hollow that looked like a cave, but it ended almost immediately. The rest of the room was empty. The white ceiling glowed softly, and the white floor was scratched in several places. On one wall, deep claw marks were carved into the surface.
This was clearly Red Lion's room.
Lux swallowed and looked the lion in the eyes.
Then the lion laughed.
"Do not let the bones intimidate you. Let us get to work."
Lux stood there, waiting. By now, he was extremely curious. What kind of job could this possibly be?
The lion sat down in front of Lux and stared at him intensely. His eyes glowed red.
"Lux, I chose you because people say you are a good fighter. But more importantly, an excellent thief. I want you to travel to the region of Wiel and enter Volum. There, you will steal the Bottle of Form and bring it to me."
The lion fell silent, waiting for a response.
It was too much information at once. Wiel was a new region, and Volum and the Bottle of Form meant nothing to Lux. He had no idea what they were.
But he could not refuse.
Lux simply nodded and spoke.
"Alright. I will need information. And… a place to work."
The lion nodded and blinked a few times.
"Good. You will receive a workroom. A large hall where you can plan and go through everything. The information will be sent there."
The lion finished speaking and waited again.
"And my group?" Lux asked quickly. "Will they come as well?"
The lion nodded.
"Yes. They will be here soon. You have three days. In four days, new and reinforced guards will arrive, and it will already be nearly impossible."
His voice sounded slightly irritated as he continued.
"But it does not matter. You do not have much to lose. If you fail to steal it, you will die by my hand. If you are shot by them, well… same result. So the best option, Lux, is that you succeed and bring me the Bottle of Form."
Great. A few more motivational words, Lux thought.
He nodded once more.
"Okay. Understood."
Then Lux was brought to his new workroom. But before he could enter, he was stopped at the door. A Fireslicer handed him several folders full of papers.
"So these are the informations," Lux sighed and took the four folders.
The Fireslicer only laughed and gave him a wink."Have fun!"
With a grin, he walked away.
"Idiot. I will kill you," Lux thought, but he stayed silent.
Then he stepped into his new work office.