NG EY

10 | One more time.

Everyone is desperate. Word would spread fast. 

What would we do, though? We can't overpower their magic. 

We don't have to. 

Oh?  

A mechanism in the cracked stone door clicked when Rigo's unlocking spell touched it. "There we go," he smiled. "I think second-rank unlocking used to work on these doors, but not anymore."

"I remember when I would've done anything to get a third-rank unlocking scroll," Kellyn said.

Nalia laughed grimly. "I miss those days."

While Rigo yanked at the door, which appeared to be jammed, Fox said, "I never even knew this place existed." They had walked to the far southeast edge of the city to find the decrepit stone building that they now stood in front of, and it was covered with bluish moss and ivy.

"There's one just like it to the southwest," Rigo grunted. "More run-down, actually." He stepped back from the door and whipped out his cyon gold, wrapping a stream around the handle and pulling with impressive force. The door careened open and nearly slammed into the outer wall, but Rigo pulled the gold thread taut just in time.

Kellyn stepped in and gaped at the room. A chandelier hung from the tall ceiling, and the walls were composed of beautiful blue marble that swirled like wind. There were cobwebs in the corners, but overall, the place was in very good shape, and most importantly, there were no guards in front of the misty archway at the back of the room. "This way," Rigo said, heading for the arch.

Kellyn cocked his head. "Wait, you don't have to cast that spell on your cyon again?"

"No. I only had to cast it the first time to remove the lock enchantment that Cato placed on it. That may have been what got us caught yesterday, in fact. I'd been working on that spell for a very long time, and I imagine I still missed something." Rigo's age was particularly apparent in that moment.

"What about all the other times you snuck into the Collective?" Kellyn asked.

Rigo smiled wryly. "A white lie. But now you know the real reason why I've been in the Collective before." The fog rippled, beckoning them.

"You can trust-" Fox began.

"I trust him," Kellyn interjected. "I was just wondering."

Rigo was visibly relieved, and he stepped closer to the foggy archway. "Alright. Come. Hold your breath."

They passed through the fog and descended a large set of marble stairs, and it quickly grew dark. Fox was about to light his symbol when enchanted lanterns noticed their presence and started to flick on. A stone tunnel stretched out before them, with doors and branching paths up ahead. Kellyn spotted a billboard with worn flyers on it, but the ink had become unreadable in the damp environment. The tunnels were cool and humid, almost cave-like. A strange rotten smell hung in the air, but it was faint.

"These tunnels exist under a good portion of the Collective grounds," Rigo told them as they walked. "It's mostly old offices and labs down here. Athael had a much larger team of magic scientists than Cato does now."

Kellyn could feel Quissel sitting on his shoulder. Or, rather, in his shoulder. He was fairly sure that it was working on eating the first harvest from the webs. He had felt it crawling all over his soul during the latter part of the walk. Now, it was holding onto the top of the soul shard in his right arm, staying quiet.