Empty Soul

Nothing. Another wrong room. She didn’t understand how there were so many. It was disturbing how large the operation was to house this many conflicting criminal factions all politely agreeing to sell under the same roof. Perhaps because none of this had to do with territory, and just the sale of merchandise for them, it didn’t break down into massive turf wars. But she also didn’t understand how the different organizations interacted. It was only an assumption that they were all at war with each other on some level. It didn’t matter at the moment.

Miho still couldn’t find Shiori and the Lotus section. She was running out of time and protection. She mostly looked like she belonged, but another guard stopping her would probably be the end of her luck. She feared that there wouldn’t be another chance. It would be a fight against the best that they had to offer quickly.

It felt more like a matter of time than anything. She just tried not to think about it. If she could reach her sister, nothing else mattered. The world could rise up in front of her, and she would carve a hole through it for her to escape. Nothing else mattered.

Panic wormed its way into her heart and mind. She looked more paranoid than determined as she frantically increased her scanning. There was still so much of the space to search, and it was just row after row of captured citizens. Each one not her target, but still deserving. Maybe Yori was right.

She had to remain focused. Miho forced herself to march a little more aggressively. Shiori was near. She had to be. There wasn’t any other possibility. Miho believed it. They would be reunited finally.

“Hey! Who are you?” The voice was loud, breaking through the area. Her eyes darted around, seeing it drawing far more attention than last. “What do you think you’re doing?” Several sounds of boots stomped towards her. She kept marching for as long as they would allow. Stealth was coming to an end.

‘I’m sorry, Yori…’

Miho wished she possessed the extrasensory talents that Yori trained. She’d be able to better position everyone who approached. For now, all she could do was roughly guess how far apart. Her first strike had to be carefully timed. All hell would break out. Once Yori could take out a bunch with his eye, it’d hopefully level the field.

Every one of them was a sorcerer. She wouldn’t have much time to surprise them. Even without a standard cast, they’d be able to sense the mana build she needed. The Veil might not have noticed, but humans couldn’t be tricked. She had to wait on the timing as she pushed her luck.

“Stop her! Intruder!”

‘Damn, no time…’ Channeling her mana through the tattoo, a green glow burst from her as she groaned. She preferred to properly construct and mold the mana, but there wasn’t time. Like forcing a ball through a straw, she winced under the strain. But she had to hurry; speed casting wasn’t her talent. Brute forcing it hurt more than she expected, nearly damaging her arm in the process. “Emerald fields of Sleeping Poppies!”

Across the ground, spreading from underneath her, a rapidly expanding wave of green shot away from her. A large circle grew, capturing several of the sprinting sorcerers. From the glowing mana sprouted hundreds of flowers in a blowing sea of wild grass. Purple blossoms opened, coughing up pollen into the air.

Immediately, the sorcerers slowed, with some even recognizing the spell. But all were too late. They were already within the field. The fast-acting sleeping toxin took root in the lungs of everyone who breathed it in. One after another, a guard dropped as Miho broke into a full run.

Miho had no course other than ahead. Shiori remained unknown, and fighting wouldn’t locate her. She couldn't keep engaging in brawls. ‘C’mon, where are they keepin’ ye? You’re here, I know it!’

With the opening spells and mana in the air, the alert had been completely thrown. Any sorcerer in the area was sprinting after what happened. Those that caught up in her spell already started to throw down spells of their own to stop her. So far, they weren’t trying to kill, probably wanting answers first. But it meant that she could evade them. Nothing was more than a stalling tactic.

Though as she continued unabated forward, they began to put more effort into stopping her. So far, it looked like she was dealing with mid-grade sorcerers. None of their spellcraft was complex or potent. The threat just came from how much mana was being tossed at her. As much as she could, she avoided direct hits, but they were clipping her suit jacket or pants frequently now.

She considered another spell, but she wanted to save the focus. Miho searched another cell in passing, nothing. Before she could make it to the next section, two sorcerers cut off her path. However, she just sprinted into a defensive Hana stance. They approached to subdue her. Miho countered with a redirect. The two collided with a dull crunch as she pushed through.

There were just more and more coming after her. The only relief was that none of them were powerful. This was what she was used to dealing with on a daily basis in Mado. It was when the stronger ones appeared that she’d be in trouble. The one that summoned the Cu Sith before could be here, and she really didn’t want to deal with that again.

After another minute of fighting and searching, she came to a sudden stop. Miho froze completely in her step. She couldn’t believe it. “Shiori?” Her sister had finally been found. Her feet didn’t move quickly, almost unable to believe it. She hadn’t seen her in almost two weeks. But she pushed through her hesitation and sprinted to the cell. “Shiori!”

Calling her name didn’t elicit a response from her. Miho continued regardless of coming up to the bar. Anyone else disappeared from her. The fighting, the Lotus, Yori, nothing mattered. She finally could reach her, hug her, and tell her that she was safe again. “Shiori, I’ll get ye out!”

“Who are you, Miss?”

Miho was in the middle of casting to melt the metal when she stopped. Her blood ran cold with the words. She slowly looked back more clearly. There was no light in her eyes. Nothing but a vacant stare; existence, and even that, seemed to be thin. “What have they done to ye?”

The others had the same look. And she remembered the warnings Yori had given about what happened to her people on this side. He didn’t have specifics, but knew they used spells and techniques to make people subservient to their new masters. But it was even worse. She lacked any sense of identity, just a shell of a person. “Sister…” Tears came to her as realization started to set in.

However, she didn't have time to grieve for her sister as a massive shockwave of mana erupted behind her. Miho clung to the bar by her sister, unwilling to leave, but turned slowly. It was even worse than she feared.

Standing ten meters away from her was a summoned elemental of metal. She had seen small summonings in Mado before. Of the elemental types, it was the most difficult to manifest. Even the most skilled sorcerers could only bring forth a sprite-ranked entity. Yet that wasn’t what she saw. It towered over her, barely fitting in the ten-meter-tall chamber.

Formed of eight metallic limbs and six legs, it had a vague form of a build structured as thinly spun liquid metal. A complex lattice that bordered on a near fractal design that boasted flexibility in range and adaptability in shape transformation. She didn’t know how to face such a thing.

This was a military-grade summon. The first she had witnessed. And something that should have been impossible to summon. The Veil should have seen it immediately. Which only worsened her image of how advanced they had become in hiding their craft from the Veil now. Sorcerers on the mundane side could be nearly as powerful as those unbound in Mado.