WM [79] Actually Fun


    <span style="font-weight:400">The group followed the orange line, which, ording to the text over the desk in the lobby, would lead them to the Aetheric Processing Core Room. Tanisha wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed, but given that it was their only guidance, she hoped for more instructions once they arrived.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The facility’s interior was just as sterile and unweing as the lobby, its walls bare and illuminated by the clinical glow of overhead lights. Passageways branched out like a spider’s web from the main corridor they navigated, creating abyrinth of sterile white hallways. asionally, a new colored line would merge with the orange one they followed, only to veer off at another junction, disappearing down a random corridor as if leading to unseen corners of the sprawlingplex.


    <span style="font-weight:400">As they moved at a brisk pace, Tanisha’s thoughts drifted back to the meeting with Bjorn’s mother. Well, an abridged version of it, one that conveniently omitted the fact that the True she spoke to was Bjorn’s mother or that he was a True himself. The weight of the news from that encounter still lingered. Fuyumi, especially, had been visibly shaken by the revtion of a potential world-shattering event they now had to prevent. By contrast, Aurelius had remainedposed, his demeanor like a stone wall, offering nothing to hint at his thoughts or emotions.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“The line turns up ahead.” Aurelius said.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The group turned the corner and was greeted with a metal st door. They looked around until Bjorn hissed loudly and Tanisha noticed he was standing next to another of the thin rectangr devices she had to put aether into. She nodded and walked over cing her hand on the ck metal thing and pushed magic into it. The device greedily devoured the aether, but there was no other reaction. Frustration mounting, Tanisha pushed more and more magic into the device, emptying her reserves until she waspletely drained. She slumped down, winded.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What’s wrong?” Fuyumi asked, her voice tinged with worry. “Why didn’t it open?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tanisha sat down. “I don’t know.” Tanisha turned to Bjorn who looked equally confused. “Maybe it needs more aether than I have and Bjorn doesn''t seem to have any ideas either.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Maybe there is another way around. I can scout some of the halls we passed.” Aurelius added as he thumbed back down the hall.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“That is a good idea, but don’t go too far.” Fuyumi said as she examined the door. “We haven’t seen anyone or run into traps but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Okay,” Aurelius said as he took out his sword. “Be back soon.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tanisha watched the elf closely, now that she knew his magic was primana and not corruption she wanted to see how it worked. As she watched she saw his magic circte through the air into his unusual sword. She noticed that she had never really looked at the de. The sword was a bluish crystal etched with intricate carvings, and as she focused, she noticed the primana weaving through the lines, both on the surface and deep within the crystal.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The sword glowed with energies that felt like monster magic but as he held the de forward it refined for the briefest moment. If she hadn’t been watching so intently she would have missed it. Then, for the briefest moment, the primana refined itself, shifting into something else… mana, aether, material energy. It felt like all of them at once. In that same instant Aurelius was gone. His speed left him as little more than a sh of light with the trail of primana lingering in the air before it too dissipated.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I am going to see if I can force the door open.” Fuyumi said as aicallyrge ice bat with spikes appeared in her hands. “I rmend stepping back.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Still drained of magic, Tanisha doubted she could stand, but before she could voice her predicament, Bjorn’s tail wrapped around her waist and lifted her with surprising ease. He draped her across his back like luggage, earning a huff of amused protest from Tanisha as he moved to a safer distance. Fuyumi nced at them and gestured for even more space, her tone firm but calm. Bjorn obeyed without hesitation, ensuring they were well clear of whatever magic Fuyumi was about to unleash.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The two watched as the yuki-onna took a step back from the door gathering her mana into the summoned weapon. The temperature in the area around her quickly dropped. Bjorn had to back up further as the sudden shift in temperature caused an implosion of wind that nearly lifted him off the ground and pulled them towards Fuyumi. Tanisha saw as the air in the area began to condense and pool on the floor. The change in pressure made it more difficult to breathe and Bjorn again had to back up.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Fuyumi’s mana maniption was mesmerizing. Tanisha watched as the pressure she exerted on the oversized ice weapon steadily increased, causing it topress visibly. The once massive, jagged bat glistened as if it were no longer ice, but instead polished metal. It groaned under the strain, shrinking from a colossal weaponrger than Fuyumi herself to apact, gleaming baton. The sheer force radiating from it made Tanisha’s eyes widen.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Bjorn! Run! We need to get back further!” Tanisha yelled, her voice sharp with urgency.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Bjorn didn’t need to be told twice. He turned and bolted as fast as his legs could carry them both, Tanisha bouncing slightly on his back. The deafening boom of Fuyumi’s strike came an instantter, the sound crashing through the corridor like thunder. The force of the impact sent a shockwave rippling outwards, catching Bjorn mid-stride. Both he and Tanisha were flung into the air as if caught in a cyclone.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Fortunately, Tanisha’s Chain Breaker’s Mantle had already activated when the temperature dropped, and Bjorn’s Aetheric Scales shimmered faintly, protecting them from the brunt of the st. Still, thending wasn’t graceful. Tanisha saw Bjorn tumbling end over end before she herself was sent spinning toward the ground. Before impact, however, Aurelius appeared, rounding the corner at full speed and collided directly with her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The resulting tangle was a whirlwind of limbs and surprised shouts. Aurelius and Tanisha tumbled across the floor, their momentum only stopping when they crashed into an equally disoriented Bjorn, whoy sprawled out on the ground. The three ended up in a heap, groaning and disheveled.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What in the name of the Divines is going on?” Aurelius groaned, his voice muffled as he struggled to sit up. “Is she fighting something down there?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tanisha, caught somewhere between exhaustion and amusement, burst intoughter. The absurdity of the situation was too much to hold back.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No,” she finally managed between giggles. “She wanted to see if she could break the door down. That was actually kind of fun.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Aurelius blinked, looking incredulous. “That? That was her trying to open the door? You sure she wasn’t trying to blow up the ruin?” He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Nearly getting turned into an icicle doesn’t exactly scream fun to me.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Come on,” Tanisha teased as she rolled off him, still grinning. “We were far enough away. Besides, I’m pretty sure we’d survive standing right next to her as long as she doesn’t hit us.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Your definition of fun needs serious reevaluation,” Aurelius muttered, brushing himself off as he helped Tanisha to her feet. “Let''s go see if she opened it.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Bjorn groaned from where hey, tail flickingzily in defeat, but even he couldn’t suppress the faintest of hissing chuckles. Tanisha patted Bjorn’s exposed belly while she had the chance before the Hydra got up and followed after them.


    <span style="font-weight:400">As they approached, they found Fuyumi standing beside the door, a shattered, brittle baton of ice in her hand. Despite her formidable disy of power, the door itself bore no visible damage, its surface as smooth and unyielding as ever. The only evidence of her efforts was the bone-chilling cold still lingering in the air, frosting the walls and floor around her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I didn’t find much,” Aurelius admitted as he arrived behind them. “Most of the other passages have doors like this one. Whoever built this ruin made sure everything was locked up tight before they left.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“So, what now?” Fuyumi asked, her breath misting in the frigid air. “We need to get in there.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tanisha nodded thoughtfully. “I guess I just need to keep pushing aether into the device until the door powers up. I’ve recovered a decent amount of power by now, so I can give it another shot. Unless anyone has a better idea?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">No one spoke, and the silence hung heavy between them. Taking that as agreement, Tanisha approached the smooth ck panel affixed to the door and ced her hand on it. The surface was cool to the touch, sending a faint shiver up her arm. She closed her eyes to concentrate—but a faint vibration from her bag interrupted her focus. She frowned for a moment before realization dawned. Themunication device. Someone was trying to contact her. She reached into her bag and pulled out the device, turning away from the group.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Hello?” Tanisha asked.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Tanisha,” Signe’s voice quickly responded. “We have news of Joha and a warning. An anomaly has been spotted in the region. The mana storms have formed a mana hurrican I advise returning to Yuhia and we will arrange another transport for you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I won’t be able to do that. I am in the middle of the anomaly right now.” Tanisha admitted urgently. “What news do you have with Joha?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“He wasst spotted on a direct heading for the Force Isles. We believe he will be in the country within a few days. He also had been shedding items from his inventory. We have what is left of your wagon. Monsters were apparently attracted to some of the items contained within it. Our people have gathered what they could. Now what is this about you being in the middle of the anomaly. That is not good, you need to leave.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I don’t think we can. There is an avatar of the True Great Serpent here and the corruption is so high outside that leaving is not an option.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What in the name of the Forest Father?” Signe eximed. Her voice betrayed both shock and worry.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Signe, we need your help,” Tanisha said. “Let me exin.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">She quickly recounted the events leading up to their current predicament, including their discovery of the ruin, the door they couldn’t open, and the lingering danger outside. Carefully, she left out which True had delivered the prophecy of destruction. When Signe assumed it was the Forest Father, Tanisha chose not to correct her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Signe exhaled audibly as she thought. “There are simr locks that enchanters use. The less sophisticated ones only require a steady flow of mana to unlock. But more advanced locks are different. They’re designed to require mana to flow in specific patterns—like a key fitting into a lock. I’m not familiar with aether, but instead of flooding the device with raw power, try to trace the path the aether takes. Use your magical senses to feel for any patterns or maniptions the mechanism might need. It’s delicate work, but it could work.”@@novelbin@@


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll give it a try,” Tanisha said. “Thank you, Signe. We’ll keep you updated.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Be careful,” Signe warned. “And if the situation worsens, don’t hesitate to call for help. May the Forest Father guide you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tanisha ended the call and turned to the group, determination hardening her expression.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Let’s try this again.” Tanisha said.