I don't know how much time had passed. Days? Weeks? Hopefully not years. I drifted—at least, it felt like I was. I couldn't move my body or limbs. It was as if I were being carried away, slowly, by the soft current of the sea.
There was no sound. Just quiet—the peaceful kind. It felt… nice.
Still, my thoughts wandered. I couldn't help but think about what happened before I blacked out. *Are they okay?* I wondered. I couldn't shake the worry.
Then, I felt something near—hovering above me. I couldn't see it, but I heard it: a buzzing, like a fly circling overhead.
I frowned—or tried to.
**\[Why are you doing this? There will be no change whether you resist or not. I only did what's necessary to protect you.]**
Its voice was high-pitched, almost mechanical.
I said nothing.
Suddenly, my vision shifted. The weightless void around me cracked into something else.
I blinked, dazed.
A crumbled, colorless world stretched before me. Everything had fallen sideways—except me. I stood upright.
It was empty. Still. So quiet, I could hear my heartbeat.
Time felt frozen. The air was wrong. Shadows lingered in the streets—creatures, watching. They didn't move, didn't strike. Just… observed.
It made my skin crawl.
I started walking. The ground trembled. Dozens of light pillars erupted from below, slicing through the grey city.
I stopped, staring. Then, in the distance, I saw a figure.
A woman—at least in shape. Blurry. Indistinct.
"Have you ever wondered what happens when the light becomes too lofty?" she asked.
I tried to speak. Nothing came out.
"It forgets the shadow it created."
She raised a finger. The pillars of light vanished.
In their place, a serene hillside bloomed beneath a pale sky.
A lone shepherd walked toward a cliff, eyes open, unblinking. His flock stopped behind him, refusing to follow.
The shepherd stepped forward—and vanished.
Then her voice echoed—disembodied, heavy like mist.
**"The chambers of light often misguide the shepherd… but not the sheep.
The shadows cast by that light, however, shall bear the cost."**
Thunder rumbled in the distance. A heartbeat pounded in my ears.
I looked down. Cracks ran through my skin, leaking light. Smoke curled from my fingertips.
**"You are not supposed to be its consequence."**
She stepped forward, then dissolved into shadow.
**"When the gears of fate begin to crumble…
Will you be its main piece—or a rusted cog left behind?"**
I wanted to speak. I needed to answer her. She was already fading.
So I reached out and grabbed her hand.
She paused and turned, just slightly.
I pulled out my vape and took a breath in. Exhaled slowly. Smoke curled into the air—and then I moved my fingers. The smoke responded, twisting to form words.
**\[Not my job to be the cog. Maybe I'll sell the scraps.]**
I let go of her hand.
She smiled faintly. "Then perhaps the world deserves what it gets." Her smile faltered into something unreadable. "Still… I wonder. Even scrap metal can wound, if it's sharp enough."
Her form faded into mist.
Silence. Then distant sound.
I opened my eyes.
Clara was leaning over me, concern etched into their faces. Relief washed through Clara when my eyes opened fully.
"Did I miss something fun?" I asked, voice dry.
Clara shook her head. "No. You're just in time."
I sat up. We were surrounded by Honors.
I glanced around. *Thought Calvin's mech was supposed to be a good distraction.* Then I spotted him—collapsed, unconscious.
*That explains it. If the summoner goes down, the summons disappear.*
"Sunny. Surrender, or die," one of the Honors said.
"You kidding? And miss all the fun?" I took a puff. Exhaled slow.
"How do you expect to get out of this?" another one asked.
"Clara, return to your cell, and we'll act like this never happened," said a third.
Clara looked down. Her hands clenched at her sides. Her body stiffened. She trembled.
"I…"
The ground shook.
All eyes turned to me.
"Bullying a girl now, are we?"
A smoke-forged sword coiled in my hand like a living thing. A pistol sat warm on my hip.
"This doesn't concern you," one of them snapped.
"Of course it does. She's my friend. And I don't take kindly to bullies."
I chuckled. Then my smile dropped. "You'll pay for that."
"You're a fool," one said.
Let's name them for convenience: **Pulse, Echoblade, and Aetherlock.**
They charged together.
**Boom.**
Pulse stomped, unleashing a shockwave that split the ground. My ears rang. I grit my teeth and flicked my sword.
Echoblade vanished—then reappeared midair, two swords flashing.
I ducked, rolled, and fired a smoke round upward.
It burst.
**Puffy entered the battlefield.**
A phantom cloaked in black vapor. Tall. Faceless. Wielding twin crescent blades. It moved like wind given form—intercepting Echoblade mid-swing.
Steel clashed.
Puffy didn't block. It *read*.
Every strike Echoblade threw, Puffy was already there—anticipating, mirroring, countering.
Meanwhile—
Aetherlock raised a hand. Six translucent zones shimmered in the air like cracked glass. One hovered behind me. Another floated just above the floor.
"Traps," I muttered, grinning through the pressure. "Cute."
I fired a smoke bullet at one zone. The bullet froze midair—caught in time.
Perfect.
I vanished into mist, voice echoing across the battlefield.
"Three on one? You should've brought more."
Pulse charged another sonic blast—
—but smoke coiled around his gear. When the pulse fired, it *imploded*, knocking him off balance.
I reappeared behind him, pistol pressed to his back.
"Too loud."
*Bang.*
Smoke burst from the barrel—not to kill, but to blind.
Puffy clashed with Echoblade again, driving her back. The phantom pivoted, sensing Aetherlock—not seeing, sensing.
Aetherlock panicked. "You can't be—!"
He summoned another zone in front of himself.
But Puffy didn't enter it. *I* did.
I burst out behind Aetherlock.
"You zoned me out of your world…"
The smoke sword lengthened mid-swing.
"…Now I'll erase you from mine."
Aetherlock dropped.
Only Echoblade remained. Her breaths were ragged. Hands shaking.
I exhaled. "Puffy."
The phantom floated to my side, blades gleaming.
"One chance," I said. "Drop your swords. Or keep dancing—and meet the smoke that remembers everything."
Echoblade hesitated.
Then vanished.
Puffy dissolved into vapor.
I turned to Clara. "Hey, everything's alrig—"
*Thwack!*
Something slammed into me. Hard. Like being hit by a truck.
My mind blanked. I flew, bounced, and landed still.
"No!" Clara screamed, rushing to my side.
I forced myself to look up.
Porcelain skin. A smooth, smiling face. Sleek. Emotionless. I knew her. Kids loved her for her charm and flashy powers.
Funny how the same person who entertained children now stood to protect people who *hurt* them.
"You're kinda late," I muttered, coughing what taste like iron from my mouth. I spit. Blood mixed with saliva.
"Sunny, don't move," Clara said, helping me up.
"I'm fine. Just a scratch." I puffed my vape and conjured Puffy again.
"Take her and Calvin. Get out."
"What? No—!"