Chapter 26: Katarina’s Lab

A lot can happen in a few days. I just didn’t expect everything to shift after one mission.

Aside from what happened with Adrian.
Terrence’s squad, almost whole again according to Terrence, with Spencer, Anton, Johnny and Little Lou, after Khaterinth, had basically crowned me king. Dennis cursed like a drunken bard, someone tried to stab someone else over bread, and I still hadn’t turned off the damn child filter.

Oh and Weiss Shi—I mean Diana, was already en route to the final boss location. Which meant the path was clear. No interference. We could teleport in without a hitch.

Aster found me outside the war tent. No armor, no sharp words, just guilt in her eyes and a cracked apology on her lips. She didn’t say much. Didn’t need to. I saw it in her face,  regret, and something like hope.

Thor wrapped us both in a bear hug before I could answer. "Family fight. Family fix," he muttered.

Later, Seressia one of the Knights, caught up to me with Lysindra and Caelren. "Back from training again?" she teased, though her eyes kept glancing toward Terrence’s room.

"She’s been asking about him non-stop," Caelren whispered with a grin.

"She loves him," Lysindra added with a knowing sigh.

Seressia rolled her eyes, cheeks flushing. "Shut up."

For your information that happened in one day.

I was wandering through the town when I noticed a group of people gathered near a giant tree just outside the city walls.

Curious, I went closer to see what they were doing.

They held candles, each marked with writing. At the center, a man stood with a book in his hands, speaking to the people as if preaching.

I lingered at the edge, watching silently, until I sensed someone beside me. It was the Queen herself.

“This is known as the Ember of Remembrance,” she said.

“Forgive me for asking… what is that?”

“On the final day of each week, during times of war, people gather here to honor those who are no longer with us. It doesn’t have to be only soldiers of this war—anyone who has passed may be remembered.”

I glanced down and saw three candle in her hand. Each a small tags were tied to it, each bearing a name. One of them was Carmilla, her daughter.

When the pastor finished speaking, every candle suddenly flared, the flames swelling into glowing red orbs that drifted upward into the sky.

It was breathtaking, almost beautiful… but I knew better than to take comfort in it.

“This is their way of paying tribute,” the Queen said softly.

I clenched my hand around my weapon. I hope I’ll never have to do this.

Yeah. A lot really had changed.
Despite having already crossed paths with everyone else, I still couldn’t find Katarina.

They said she was helping out in town, but I wasn’t going back there. Not after getting hopelessly lost the last time.

As I wandered around the castle grounds, I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Hey there, everything alright?" I asked.

It was Ysanthe. She didn’t look like herself. Her eyes were restless, her posture tense, like she couldn’t stand being here another second.

She opened her mouth, hesitating. Then finally said, "Let me join your mission."

"…What?" I blinked. "Why?"

"I checked the survivor list from the Khaterinth Mountains. My friends… they’re not on it. Not among the living or the dead. That means—" She paused. "I think they’re where the final boss is."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, firm. "Fairly sure."

I exhaled slowly. "Ysanthe, the last three bosses we fought were nightmares. Each stronger than the last. I’m not saying we need fewer people, but the more we bring, the more who might die. It’s not something I can risk lightly."

I hesitated, then lowered my voice. "The Khaterinth Mountain mission… was brutal. Only 49 out of 205 players survived. That’s not a stat—it’s a massacre. I won’t give you false hope that your friends are waiting at the end, but if they are… I promise I’ll try my best to save them. What are their names?"

She took a breath, then said quietly, "Stephanie and Mayu. But you have to take me there, or else—"

She abruptly stopped.

"…Or else what?" I asked, confused.

"I have to go." Ysanthe turned on her heel and bolted, not even giving me time to respond.

What the hell was that?

I turned around just in time to see Adrian walking by. He passed without even acknowledging me.

…Does she not want Adrian to know something? I shook my head. "I should stop overthinking," I muttered and slapped my forehead lightly. "This isn’t the time."

I focused again on finding Katarina.

Some of the guards said she was in her room, but finding it in this labyrinthine castle was like trying to navigate Khaterinth Mountain all over again.

Eventually, I reached what I thought was her room. I knocked, no answer. The door was slightly ajar, and I reached out to open it.

"Is there anything you need from Miss Sylrielle?"

I flinched. The voice came from my right… but no one was there.

"Down here," it said again.

I looked down.

A dwarf stood beside me, short, stocky, with a thick braided beard nearly reaching his boots. He wore a metal helmet and carried a stack of scrolls, some weird glowing jars, and a few plants I couldn’t name.

He lifted a hand in a casual salute, his eyes crinkling cheerfully under the beard. "Hey there!"

"…Um, hi?" I replied, totally confused.

"I see you’re here for Miss Katarina. Guess she roped you into running errands too. What’d she make you carry?"

"I’m actually here to ask for her help. I want to upgrade my Dangatana."

"Your Bangatana?"

"No, Dangatana. With a D."

"Oh, right, right. I always mix up my B’s and D’s. My bad." He chuckled. "Wait—hold on. Are you the Glitchwalker everyone’s been talking about?"

I smirked. "The one and only. Jack Knockout, Glitchwalker extraordinaire."

He tilted his head. "That’s your real name? Huh. I was expecting something a bit more… righteous. Then again, you’re an outer-realmer. Probably has some sacred meaning where you’re from."

"Yeah… you could say that."

"Since you’re not here as her lackey, I’m guessing you must be one of her only real friends… if I can assume?"

"Only real friend?"

The dwarf adjusted the box under his arm with a grunt. "Well… Miss Sylrielle isn’t exactly what you’d call sociable. She’s kind, sure, sweet, even, but always buried in her work. Crafting, studying spells, building strange things out of stranger materials. Half the time I don’t know if she’s making a weapon or a teapot."

He chuckled to himself before lowering his voice.

"She sends most of it to Princess Alina, oddly enough. Even though, far as I know, they’ve never met. Katarina was always clear about that part—so I trust you don’t tell anyone. Never did say why, and I never pried."

That piece of information made something shift inside me.

What is she hiding?

A few bits and pieces about Katarina had trickled out over time, but never the full picture. And now, thinking back to the Khaterinth Mountain… that moment when she called Alina her sister, it hadn’t made sense. Not then. Not now.

The Queen kept Alina locked away like a bird in a gilded cage, barely letting her breathe without permission. So how could Katarina, who supposedly never met her, speak of her like family?

The dwarf gave a low sigh, gaze drifting.

"She wasn’t always like this, you know. It all changed after… the incident."

"Incident?"

"She nearly died," he said, voice tightening. "Katarina was on death’s doorstep. Her family was told she wouldn’t make it. Everyone started preparing for the worst. Then—somehow—she pulled through. A miracle, they called it."

His eyes grew heavy beneath the rim of his helmet.

"But she wasn’t the same afterward. Not quite. She did survive, yes… but something about her changed. As if she’d seen something the rest of us couldn’t."
He set down the boxes beside Katarina’s door.

"You’re just leaving them here?"

"Who’s gonna steal it? The world’s ending, kid." He gave a hearty laugh. "Name’s Durgan Flamegüter, by the way. One of the Champions. Looking forward to fighting beside you."

"Likewise," I said with a nod.

"Well then, off I go! Gotta meet the others for some training. Or, as your friends call it—meeting up with the Ditches."

I froze
"Ditches…"

I open my eyes wide open, with an incomprehensible smile.
"…Oh god," I muttered under my breath. I better talk with Terrence and his gang about controlling in what comes out from their mouth.
As I stood in front of her door, the quiet of the hallway made every passing second feel longer. My fingers tapped idly against my thigh, the Dangatana slung across my back, waiting for its next evolution.

Then, finally, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Katarina appeared.

A mix of relief and curiosity washed over me. I’d been hoping to find her, to ask for her help upgrading the Dangatana. But judging by the slight mess of her hair and the faint pillow crease on her cheek… I wasn’t the only one looking.

"You’re finally up," she said, stopping just short of me, arms folded. "You left early."

"I went for training," I answered. "I didn’t want to wake you up."

She gave a light huff. "Well, too bad you didn’t. I was waiting near your bed like an idiot and ended up falling asleep myself."

My eyes widened. "Oh I know, thanks for the view by the way."

She glanced away, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Don’t make it weird. I had plans to modify your weapon anyway. You just beat me to the thought."

A small smile tugged at my lips. "So you were dreaming about my Dangatana?"

She narrowed her eyes, unamused, but I caught the twitch of a smirk before she turned. "Well of course, so why don’t you Just get in here already so we can start."

I followed her inside.

The moment I stepped into her room, I paused. It was like walking into a forgotten corner of time, a fusion between a medieval physics lab and a grand, dust-scented library. Ancient scrolls lay half-opened beside enchanted crystals, mechanical devices buzzed softly on cluttered desks, and bookshelves bowed under the weight of texts in languages I couldn’t read.

It was chaos. It was genius. It was… so very Katarina.

"You sure you don’t sleep in a cave of runes?" I asked as I looked around.

"Welcome to my mind," she muttered, already moving toward her workbench.

She gestured for the Dangatana. I unslung it and handed it over. With practiced hands, she set it down under a magitech lens and began inspecting its runes and circuitry.

"So," she said, not looking at me, "what kind of upgrade are you thinking?"

I leaned slightly against the edge of her desk, watching her work. "You remember how it absorbed my Nova Bloom magic before? The charged shot was great, but I want more. I want the energy to extend through the blade itself—so I can cut with it. Maybe even send out a slicing wave."

She whistled low under her breath. "You want to weaponize pure elemental essence through direct edge contact and ranged arc?"

"That a problem?"

"No." She smirked. "It’s hot."

I blinked. "Hot?"

"Shut up," she muttered, cheeks slightly pink as she turned her back to me.

I couldn’t help it. "Is it the blade or the wielder you’re talking about?"

"Don’t flatter yourself, Jack."

“Don’t worry I won’t, for now.”
Her ears turned red.

She began modifying the blade, carefully adjusting runes and aligning the embedded magic crystals, her hands moving like an artist’s. I found myself watching the way she worked, the small crease in her brow, the faint glint of focus in her eyes.

I leaned a little closer, lowering my voice. "Say, I’m sorry that Alina’s still being held hostage."

She paused for half a second, but kept working.

"So… what’s your relationship with Princess Alina?"

"She’s someone we need to save from Niobeorth," Katarina said flatly.

"That’s all? You two seemed… close."

She sighed, her hand tightening slightly around a tool. "Did Durgan open his mouth?"

"Umm…"

"It’s complicated," she said quietly. "I’d rather not talk about it right now."

I frowned. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I just thought…"

She didn’t respond, only adjusted a glowing component with extra care.

Maybe it was none of my business. Her secret didn’t seem like one that would harm anyone, but maybe it could hurt her. Maybe I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in it.

I took a breath. "I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I didn’t mean to touch a sensitive topic."

Finally, Katarina looked up at me. There was no irritation in her expression, only weariness.

"I’ll tell you when the time is right," she said gently. "But for now… we have to focus on Niobeorth."

I nodded silently.

And for a moment, nothing was said. Just the soft hum of magic, the steady movements of her hands, and the quiet space between us, filled with unspoken things we both weren’t ready to say.