Reality snapped back into focus like a held breath finally released. Solstice stood exactly where he''d been before the void claimed him – in the Guild''s vault, sword in hand, Wyvern mid-sentence about the mansion. Time here felt like a river that flowed in all directions at once, yet somehow remained perfectly still.


    "—need specialized equipment to breach those walls," Wyvern was saying, then paused. His eyes narrowed. "You felt that shift too, didn''t you? Most don''t notice."


    Before Solstice could respond, an explosion rocked the vault. Not from above or below, but somehow... sideways. Through a wall that should have been solid, a figure tumbled in a cloud of rainbow-colored smoke. She landed in a heap of scrolls and potion bottles, somehow managing to look both graceful and completely uncoordinated.


    "Sorry!" she called out, waving smoke away. "Slight miscalculation in the transmutation matrix. Although technically, according to my calculations, that wall shouldn''t have even existed in this dimensional plane, so really this is more of a successful proof of concept than an actual accident."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Wyvern''s professional demeanor cracked slightly. "Catalyst. I might have known."


    "Oh! Wyvern." She straightened her robes, which seemed to shift colors with each movement. "I didn''t expect... I mean, this isn''t... I can explain the hole in reality. Probably."


    Solstice watched their interaction with interest. Wyvern''s carefully maintained composure showed hairline fractures, while the woman – Catalyst – seemed to be trying to look anywhere but directly at him.


    "We were just discussing how to infiltrate the mansion with the black gates," Wyvern said, recovering. "Perhaps we could use someone with your... unique approach to physical limitations."


    "The mansion?" Catalyst''s eyes lit up. "With the weird energy readings that shouldn''t be possible according to any known thaumaturgical principles? I''ve been trying to get close enough for proper measurements, but the guards are surprisingly resistant to scientific inquiry. Also, surprisingly resistant to being turned into frogs, but that was an accident. Mostly."


    Solstice felt something click into place. Like pieces of a puzzle he hadn''t known he was solving. "We need a way in. You need access to whatever''s causing those energy readings."


    "And I need both of you to not completely destroy my city''s power structure," Wyvern added. "Though I suspect that ship has already sailed."