The only thing he can think of is getting home as quickly as possible. The medallion dangles from the strap as he does just that. Helmet on and back to the road, he tries to ignore the nerves and instead focus on the calming thrums of the engine below him.

After all, there’s no way that girl knows Lyra or anything about him for that matter. Soren doesn’t know any personal details about his mother. Daichi doesn’t either. So…how in the world does this tiny little woman know what Lyra would say?

Zye gives a shake of his head. Another few corners and he should be back to the main street. Once he’s there he’ll be home free. At least, that’s the plan. From the corner of his eye, he sees it. At first, he doesn’t think a thing of it, tries to brush it off and ignore it.

Getting closer proves he can’t do that.

Tendrils of darkness slither out from an upcoming alley between two shops. They’re not quick but they’re large. He slows down once he can get a closer look. The sunlight casts long shadows that it crawls throughout— long, thick, and looking like vines from a plant with barbs all along them. They begin to multiple until he can barely see the ground.

His gut says to speed up, just leave, and he intends to. Until one of the largest obstructs his path. The heat of the day does little to quell the sudden onslaught of cold air that settles around him. He swallows hard as he comes to a stop. There’s no way he’s getting past it — it’s as wide around as his bike.

Peering down the alley, he wishes he hadn’t.

The vines begin to pulsate with crackles of blue throughout their inky black existence. It’s not just the color that seems to be alive. The vines themselves begin to tremble. Zye looks up, staring down the alleyway as a bulbous black thing barrels toward him.

It looks no different than an overgrown bouquet of lilies with weeds strangling its base. A head of sorts peeks out from the “flowery” growths and gives way to two large cerulean circles. Something he can only imagine is its eyes.

The most disturbing part to Zye is how fast it’s moving, the vines tugging and yanking it in his direction at an alarming speed. Yet just as it gets close, it seems to stop. He can only stare. He’s frozen in place with his heart thudding loud in his ears. He can’t hear the footsteps at all over his heartbeat.

Boots slap against the asphalt just before a man launches himself into the air. White strings materialize around his gloved fingers then fan out. They extend out from his hands in arcs wide enough to catch the creature from every angle; vines, head, base, and everywhere in between.

Zye eyes are wide with wonder watching it all happen. It’s so smooth and effortless. The man tugs on the strings, using the creature as leverage to kick off the ground and launch himself into the air. He lands in front of the being, between it and Zye, before waving his arms out in front till they cross at the elbows.

Doing so has the strings tightening until they seemingly slice through the creature. For a moment it’s sliding apart from where it’s been cut. Just before it begins to wilt, it explodes into a shower of sparkling dust. It rains down to the ground where it vanishes before it touches the pavement.

The entire time, Zye is staring. He turns his bike off against his better judgment then gets off, making sure the stand is kicked out. He swallows past the lump in his throat. “What…the hell was that?”

Finally, the man looks at him and Zye realizes just how…strange he seems. It has nothing to do with his light green eyes or the sky blue hair. It’s the glowing strings that have begun to dissipate as if they were never cinched around fingers clad in black gloves. Although, it has a lot to do with the arrogance in his stance despite being half a head shorter than Zye.

“You saw that?”

“You. That…thing. And whatever the hell you did to it!”

The man quirks an eyebrow. “Well…this is strange. You shouldn’t have been able to. I even set up a barrier just in case.” The man turns on his heel, bringing a hand up to cup his chin. “What went wrong I wonder…”

Zye listens in, realizing that the man isn’t talking to him, which he does find a little rude. Not that he minds. It gives him a chance to peer at him. To be honest, this man looks like anyone else and dresses like one too. A simple green jacket with white fluff around the collar and short sleeves. All black attire of pants and shirt. Yellow stars dot the shirt from what he can see. A brown belt matches the knee-high boots.

Nothing weird or out of the ordinary.

The man finally swivels back around, walking straight up to Zye. “You are mortal, yes?”

“The hell? Mortal? Uh…Are you okay?”

“I see.”

“Yo! Orion what’s taking so…long…?”

Zye glances over the man, Orion’s, head to see another approach. Rather he jumps from the roof of the shop and lands as if he had only hopped from one stepping stone to the next. He’s not hurt in the slightest and his knees don’t even give under the weight. Even so, this new person is…something else.

He’s the one that doesn’t look normal. His clothes seem like something a pop idol would wear. Green boots and matching fingerless gloves reaching up past his elbows. A sweeping blue coat with waves painted along the hem. It rests over a white-blue shirt with one strap, leading it to crop down low to show off most of his chest. Baggy gray pants tuck into the tops of his boots while an orange choker is bound around his neck.

But it’s not that which has Zye so incredulous. It’s the man’s hair. The bangs are cerulean. The remainder of the long, shaggy strands are dark navy that seems to have small glittering golden stars woven throughout like a night sky.

Orion glares over his shoulder. He scoffs and steps up to Zye. Reaching up, he’s quick to draw a circle then tap two fingers to his forehead. Zye can’t even ask before he loses the ability to form words. His vision blurs as he drops to his knees. He looks at Orion as he sags up against him, falling unconscious.

The man chuckles as he strides up behind Orion. “So, take care of the Nether?”

“No thanks to you, as usual.”

“Hey, I helped.”

“Helped chase it right to a mortal that could see it— and us.”

“So…what now?”

Orion gestures down to Zye, not wanting to touch him any more than he has. “Take care of it. I’ve locked away this part of the memory. Thankfully, no one else is around.”

“Yeah, yeah I know. Be more careful.”

The man walks around Orion and tugs Zye to his feet, half carrying and half dragging him over to the alley the Nether came from. “Oh hey, do you want me to set up a barrier just in case?”

“Of course, Aster. It’s a nuisance, yes. Doesn’t mean we want it to die. That’s more work in the long run. We don’t need more Nether running around.”

Orion begins to walk away, waiting for Aster to do as he’s told. It has the blue-haired man chuckling. “Just my luck.”

It takes him a few moments, to say the least. He sets Zye down and props him against the wall. He even goes the extra mile to wheel his bike over. Once he has that settled he weaves his fingers through the air. A glittering, sphere of transparent hexagons shimmers into place along the alley floor, the shop walls, and up into the air just to cover Zye and the bike. Once it’s in place, it begins to vanish from sight.

“Haa…I could use a nap. Too much work today.” He stretches his arms over his head while strutting over to join with Orion. “You’re still here?”

Orion sighs. “Something isn’t right. But we don’t have time today. Better to report back that we’ve lost our lead.” He spares one more glance back at the alley before leading Aster away.

By the time Zye’s coming to, the sun is already beginning to sink into the horizon. The cold darkness he’s been left in has him shivering as he opens his eyes. The lights to the back of the stores are already beginning to glow. It gives him something to focus on as he tries to recall why he’s here on the ground with the worst headache he’s ever had.

“Dammit…”

Nothing comes no matter how long he sits here. The last thing he remembers is leaving that house. Any time he attempts to think harder has a sharp pain ricocheting between his eyes and into his teeth. Something he doesn’t do more than twice. It’s not that important right now.

Getting home is.

Regardless of how tired he is, Zye begins to push himself to his feet. Nothing outright hurts and that’s comforting. It means no one beat the crap out of him. The weariness that makes his body feel so heavy isn’t shaking no matter what. It means it takes him even longer to get home than normal.

Zye is relieved when he does arrive at the apartments. The wind has chilled his bare arms and the ache in his head has only grown steadily worse. As much as he’d love to run up the stairs to get to his room, he can’t. The steps are labored and sluggish. By the time he’s shutting the door, he just wants to collapse.

He idly glances at his phone on the table. A vague thought to check it passes through him. There’s nothing planned for tomorrow aside from going to the hospital after all. He keeps walking until he’s at his bed, which he plops onto. Rolling over and curling up into the blanket, he lets out a long breath. Nothing matters as his eyes close. Sleep grasps onto him with ease and doesn’t dare let go.

The warehouse, empty of all its employees, is dark and haunting as it welcomes its guest. The man’s strides are confident and unrelenting. He stops for nothing— not even the way the door rattles shut behind him as he enters. Regardless, his hands aren’t simply idle at his side. Fingers flex and curl, anticipating anything and everything.

He stops briefly just before Soren’s open door then proceeds to walk inside of the brightly lit office. The man stands just inside the room. He doesn’t care to go any further. The least he does is let his silver eyes level with Soren.

In response, Soren leans forward on the desk. “And what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“I hope you have a good reason for going against Hax’s orders.”

“I don’t know—”

“Whatever deal you two have, I don’t care. But it’s not smart to cross him. He knows what you did today and he’s not happy.”

Soren laughs as he relaxes into his chair. It squeaks as it arches back enough to where he can prop his feet up on his desk. The dress shoes he wears shine under the blinding light. “And what do I care? Daichi should have it taken care of as long as he doesn’t get distracted.”

The man doesn’t flinch. He does take a step forward. A move that has dark brown bangs sweeping between his eyes and to the sides of them. They stop just near the yellow markings between them; three dots with two lines beneath and separating each. His gaze hardens, trying to urge some more information from the unreliable man.

“You only have your position because of Hax, remember that. Don’t take him lightly. We both know he’s the strongest.”

Another chuckle, steadily rising in volume. “Jace, please, I’m not an idiot. Daichi will have it under control I’m sure. He’s too obsessive not to. You remember his last mission.”

Jace turns, intending to leave it at that. The last thing he wants to talk about is Daichi. At the door he hesitates, fingers drumming against the door frame. “Oh, they’ve been seen around here lately. Keep undercover at all times when you’re in this area or pissing off Hax will be the least of your worries.”

Fingers slip from the wood to reveal small scorch marks where each finger had touched. An additional warning that has Soren glaring at Jace’s back as he disappears back into the darkness of the warehouse. Once he’s gone, Soren looks up to the ceiling. Hair falls away to let both eyes stare up into the luminescent bulb.

“I suppose it’s a good thing I’ve never trusted Hax. If that’s all it took to ruffle his feathers then I won’t have to try as hard to get a better reaction.”