Midnight Invasion

Midnight.

In Ravela’s ideal world, I would be asleep in my bed, resting up for my first day of salvaging.

But this wasn’t her ideal world. This was the world where she was still fated to die.

And in this world, I was crouched in front of the temple we had visited earlier in the day, dressed in my “Total Stealth & Infiltration Costume”—which, to be clear, was just a black cloak, black gloves, boots with rubber-wrapped soles, a black respirator and a snug little cap I made from an old stocking and some earthly knitting skills.

I eyed the outer wall of the temple. Get past the first few feet of piping, and then there were no handholds, no obvious seams, no convenient ladder. Just stone and architectural magnificence.
No matter. I had Alchemy.

I reached into my belt pouch and unscrewed the cap on Compound 27A—an alchemical gel with adhesive qualities described in Timaues’s notes as “slightly useless.” I applied this to the palms of my gloves and the tips of my boots. It would stick to me for about two to three hours.

Then came the real genius: Compound 28B.
Slathered on top of 27A, it formed a tacky outer film that could adhere to almost anything except air, water, or itself. With 28B, my hands would stick to the wall. It also had a quirk. Applying pressure to it would cause it to unstick with a pop, allowing re-sticking. The compound had a life of between 500 to 700 pops before it would start to flake.

I clapped both hands against the temple wall.
They stuck beautifully. I gave a test tug and the wall held me like it loved me and never wanted to let me go. Why, the only thing more powerful than this wall’s adhesion was my admiration for the moms.
“Nice,” I whispered.

Then I lifted a foot, pressed it in, popped the opposite hand, and began to climb.

“I’m a goddamn gekko,” I muttered to myself.

Sweat, some corrosive compounds, and one saw later, I was in the attic.

It was more open than I expected. Furniture stood along the walls, shrouded in ghostly white sheets like there was an expectation that they would see the light of day once again. There wasn’t really much of anything else. The only light was moonlight seeping in from the saw hole above and the round stained glass window on the street-facing side.

I activated Mana Vision.

Ninety-eight percent of the room stayed the same.

The other two percent? In the far left corner, a candlestick glowed with a soft, unfamiliar pulse. It wasn’t like it was spewing mana, but rather, that mana was clinging to it.

And then, the window—one of the segments of glass, was infused with mana. It was brighter than the rest.

I tiptoed toward the candlestick with a grace that Ravela would surely award a passing grade to.
When I reached the candlestick, I carefully plucked it from its holder.
It did nothing in my hand, but the mana was still enveloping it. There was nothing overtly magical about it either. I could only guess that it must have been made of some naturally mana-holding material. I slipped it into my pack and contemplated the glass.

No, breaking glass was way too much. The candlestick would suffice.

I scanned the room again. There was a door along the interior wall, almost flush with the beams. I pried it open, dust puffing into my face, and stepped inside.

The staircase was narrow and stone, descending in a gentle spiral. It didn’t feel like a tower stair. It wrapped around something central, and as I descended, the air began to cool. Definitely peculiar.

Each step gave a faint echo.
And each echo mocked me and my attempts at stealth. What was up with the acoustics here? Was the place trying to dissuade me? But I’d already broken in. I’d already sweated. Already made the world one reliable saw poorer. And already had a brand new candlestick. I was in too deep, dammit!

For the moms, I would do anything… Even damn myself to whatever Hell-equivalent this world has.

I descended quietly, cloak tucked close, breathing shallow.

There was a faint light at the bottom of the stairs. Looked like lantern light—the place did have a ton of lanterns sitting around.

Exercising caution, I held my breath and poked my head out from the stairwell.

It was perplexing. Sister Anvey was kneeled in front of the altar, praying. Was this just what she did? It was midnight. Who does this?

No matter; I came prepared. I pulled a pellet from my satchel, crushed it once and then threw it into the space. The little thing was powerful. After being activated, it would emit sleep-inducing colorless vapors.

Sister Anvey would be asleep within a few minutes. And then I would be free to scale the wall and pluck that source of vibrant mana. I just had to take my time and wait—

“Step out from the shadows.”

A chill went down my spine. I peered out and saw Anvey standing, facing my direction. There was no way she could see me—

“You may be shrouded by darkness, but your aura is bright.”

Holy crap. The damn aura-seeing power. Of course. My Invisibility extends to objects because they’re inside my aura, and my aura is what determines the area-of-effect. But since the aura is the container, it probably doesn’t become invisible.

That’s good to know, as miserable an encounter as this is.

“Are you a cowardly thief, too? Unwilling to face a humble servant?”

I gulped.

“Step out from the shadows!” she roared.

Fine. Teach me, Anvey. Teach me the limits of my power, and the heights of yours.

I stepped out, still invisible.

“So, you found your courage, spirit—hold on.”

The shift in her tone was abrupt.

“Alchemist?”

No way. How did she—wait. Was she able to identify people by aura?

“That sickly aura of lust and perversion…”

Oh, come on, I couldn’t be that bad.

“It’s you. Alchemist… Timaeus!”

Her scowl formed, but it was pulled further and broader by the rage that was making her veins throb on her face.

“You foul man! You invade this temple! This home!?”

I stayed still and did not deactivate my Invisibility.

Anvey shook her head. “No… You will not do as you please. You will not defile the women of this temple with your perverse powers—wherever you may have plucked them from.”

Ahh, she almost got a retort out of me, but I bit my tongue.

“Heh, you will not do me the honor of showing me your face? You’re a coward after all… I can hardly believe you have any relation to Ravela.”

Again, she mentioned Ravela. No matter; I stayed silent.

Anvey let out a dry, empty chuckle. “Very well then.”

She reached under the altar, and swiftly pulled a staff out. My Mana Vision on, I saw the trails of mana leaking from the gem lodged in the pointed at me.

A staff! A real staff!

I ran, hiding behind a stone beam, narrowly avoiding a blast of blue fire. The flames exploded against the wall and faded.

The staff-type weapons had their own source of mana—so the people here had them too!

“You hide, Alchemist?!” Anvey shouted. “Face the fury of the Saints like a man!”

Another blast of blue fire flew and splashed against the wall once more—even from a few feet away, I could feel the strange chill from that flame.

Anvey’s steps reached my ears. She was repositioning. I had to decide what I wanted to do.

The staff-type weapons in the game gave the players long-ranged, elemental-type attacks. Staffs only had one “spell” they could cast, but they always looked cool. Fireballs, water lasers, lava spouts spreading from you—really, I was lucky she had the standard fireball spell.

That said, I couldn’t just stand here.

I ran from behind the pillar.

“I see you scurry, Alchemist!” Anvey roared, launching another fireball.

I jumped and dived behind a row of pews, and watched the fireball fly overhead. I sucked in air, and my Invisibility came undone.

“Your aura does not reveal you to be a rat, but I’m not surprised that you hide like one, Alchemist,” Anvey called.

I focused on my breathing. Nymph’s Bane wasn’t made to be coupled with hair-raising, sweat-inducing activity. With how this was going, I would only be able to hold my breath for half as long.

And then a new voice came.

“Sister Anvey! What are you doing?!”

I went invisible immediately and ran out.

“No, you fool!” Anvey screamed. “The Alchemist is seeking your flesh!”

Anvey fired another fireball at me, the other sister’s scream echoing in the background. I ducked easily, happy that Anvey didn’t have the best aim.

“Anvey! What are you doing?!” the sister—one of the girls I saw earlier today—screamed.

I got behind her immediately and pumped my fist.

“Elesca! Get away from there! That perverted Alchemist is behind you!”

“What?” Elseca asked, looking around. The look of confusion slowly turning into concern was one of the most beautiful transitions my eyes had ever seen. “Anvey! There’s nothing there!”

“No! Move,” Anvey yelled, pointing the staff at Elesca. “He’s right behind you!”

“Sister!’ Elesca screamed.

Elesca put her hands up immediately and then another scream erupted from the side. The other sister had walked out, and she had walked out with two drowsy kids.

“No! Hide the children!” Anvey cried, rattling her staff. “You fools! The Alchemist will take you!”

“Anvey! Calm yourself!” Elesca shouted. “There’s no one here!”

“No, he’s right behind you!”

“Anvey!”

Anvey took a step forward. “He’s there! I—ugh—”

She finally stumbled. The sisters went silent. Anvey jammed her staff into the floor and tried to keep herself standing. Her eyes—filled with rage—landed on me. “He’s there… He’s… going to defile you all.”

She fell to her knees, her face perfectly expressing her fight to stay awake.

“That perverse man…”

Anvey collapsed. The sleep pellet had finally brought her down.

Elesca called Anvey’s name and ran toward her. I was already a few steps ahead of her, running for the pellet. The last thing I wanted was for Elesca to fall unconscious as well.

I picked up the pellet, stowed it, and then stuck to the wall like a shadow, praying that Elesca would leave quickly.

Thankfully, the girls were quick. They lifted and carried Anvey off, Elesca repeatedly describing madness gripping Anvey.

It was unfortunate for Anvey, but I was glad I managed to resolve that encounter without getting injured.

Now, to scale the wall and get out of here.

I was practically a pro now, climbing up the wall with gecko-like ability. Hanging upside down was a bit nerve-wracking, but it went as planned. Worried about something going wrong with the paint on the ceiling, I was careful to stick to the ribs of the ceiling, and breathed a sigh of relief when I got to the stonework of the hanging statue.

The mana was so bright that I couldn’t see what I was going for when I had Mana Vision on. Without Mana Vision, all that was there was an unassuming, dust-covered, palm-sized gem. I had a bar to pry this thing with, but I was surprised to find that with some strength and a turn, I could unscrew this thing.

I was there for a bit more than six minutes, just turning this gem and revealing more of its length, until I finally got to the “drill” portion at its end. Another three minutes and I had a long red, roughly octagonal prism that ended in eight inches worth of a drill. That drill portion was of the same material, meaning someone had worked this thing into that shape.

It would be better to say that I was holding a cumbersome dagger rather than some gem suited to being an art piece.

By the time I dropped back to the temple floor, I was sweaty, dusty, and with the strange gem sticking out of my satchel, but I felt great. Aside from the Anvey encounter, this went perfectly! I had thought I was going overboard with my prep, but it was better to be equipped than sorry. Good mission. Now, I just needed to get back—

“Congratulations.”

…

When I was a child, I would not listen to my parents. I would stay up later than I should, watching scary movies that I shouldn't have. Then, I would go to the bathroom, scared out of my mind, and I would brush my teeth while keeping my eyes closed. And then, I would race to my bed, scared out of my mind over whatever ghost or demon could be lurking in the dark.

Tonight, I became a child again.

I heard a woman’s voice, and it sounded in my mind so clearly—but there was no one there.

No, I was a child again. And I raced back up those steps, never once looking back, going in and out of Invisibility. I climbed out of the hole I made, almost forgot to put adhesive to seal the replaced tile, and nearly rolled down the roof in my haste.

I refused to ever come back to this cursed temple.