Annabelle stepped through the portal, and arrived in a central hub in the city of Dustreach. Their arrival portal fit almost perfectly into a recession in the wall, and she saw several other recessions in the walls nearby. One of them had what appeared to be another portal in it, to an unknown destination.

As she had passed through the portal, she had detected a subtle mental attack, which after a brief analysis turned out to be memory manipulation. That would be one of Sanctuary's wards acting to conceal any clues of Sanctuary's position. Acting almost on instinct, she shut down the line of attack before it could do anything. She had been slightly worried her mental resistance wouldn't work against magic, but this proved her defenses would still be applicable here.

"Raiks? I thought we were the only group who had those portal gates. Why is there a whole portal hub here?"

"Most major cities have them," Raiks said. "This city's status as a temple city draws visitors in from distant lands."

Annabelle watched the other portals as the trio exited the chamber, but saw no arrivals. When she exited the arrival building, she surveyed the city. Even though it had a god's protection, the city was still heavily fortified, with a stone wall circling the outside of the city, and stone wall encircling the temple grounds. The temple itself seemed highly out of place, with its walls apparently solid gold. It was probably either just a gilding of the walls or a magical enchantment, but even so, it was an odd decision, and an indication that the temple probably had way too much spare time on their hands.

Raiks led her and Darius towards the central temple, until they came up to the inner wall's gate. The guard was confiscating weapons, but no one in this group was carrying anything. Honestly, it wasn't an effective security measure: even neglecting her natural infiltration potential, any mage could just sneak in and then start throwing fireballs. Granted, it was hard to check for mages (at least if they were smart enough to not obviously dress like mages).

"So what are we doing here, anyways?" Annabelle asked as the group moved past a group in prayer. Raiks shushed her for violating some sort of rule, so she repeated the question using telepathy, startling Raiks, but not getting a response.

Eventually, they reached their destination. Raiks told them to wait at the door, and walked in. Annabelle waited patiently for about a minute before deciding to sit down. Darius remainded standing, and looked at her curiously.

"I suspect we're going to be here a while," Annabelle said. "Might as well have a chat. So, how did you come to be a part of the Resistance?"

"The Resistance found me in a jail in a town they were raiding. They offered to free me in exchange for me joining them, and I took the deal. I don't regret it."

"Why did you end up in jail?"

"I stole the wrong thing. I am, or at least was, an expert thief. With my small size, I was able to evade detection and get away with stealing valuable items. But then I stole a wizard's staff, and realized too late that he had a tracking spell on it. I'm honestly lucky he didn't kill me on the spot.

"Anyways, after my recovery, I took the role of lead covert agent in the Resistance," Darius continued. "I'm probably the best infiltrator this resistance has, especially with my ability to unlock magical items."

"Your what?"

"Many magical items are designed to have their use restricted. For instance, that mage's staff, in the hands of anyone that he didn't willingly give it to, would just be a fancy stick. It's normally a difficult process to remove those restrictions, but I've found a way to do it much more easily."

"Interesting," Annabelle said, even though it wasn't that interesting. Sure, it was a highly useful ability, but it was also the boring kind of useful ability.

"So, what's your story?" Darius asked.

Annabelle considered whether or not to give out her true origins. All anyone knew here was that she materialized out of nowhere, and the potential problems with exposing her true origins for Daraken's divinations to pick up on (such as giving an Archmage an invitation to invade Earth) were not worth any potential benefits. She decided to be about as vague as she possibly could be.

"I was a random civilian in a world under attack by a powerful invading race. Then, I got captured by a third party, the Ascent Foundation, taking advantage of the war. They-"

She suddenly realized that she had just almost disclosed the existence of something incredibly dangerous. She rapidly backpedaled.

"They wanted to awaken an innate power I possessed, then enslave me to become a human weapon. The good news for them is that, after torturing me for a month, they succeeded. The bad news for them is that I resisted their brainwashing, and my new powers were easily enough to obliterate them. I destroyed their base, the same way I devastated Daraken's prison a few days ago."

In reality, she had discovered her powers before she had been kidnapped, and had kept them a secret as much as she could (though it didn't stop them from finding her). Although the torture was responsible for them being as powerful as they were, her efforts to adapt and escape, their main goal was attempting to find a way to replicate her powers.

"Their base was in the middle of a major city, and its destruction immediately drew the attention of the military. They offered me protection and a chance to finish off the organization responsible for my abduction, so I took the opportunity to join them."

"I fought with them for about a year, destroying the Ascent Foundation, and later being a key asset in the fight against the invaders. At the end of the war I was the core of a final mission, a direct assault against their headquarters and leadership. We managed to destroy their defenses, and I finished the job with my own powers. As their base fell around me, I attempted to escape through a portal back to my own world, but somehow ended up here instead."

Darius seemed barely able to understand what she had just said. She had, after all, left out significant bits of context, including the fact that said invaders were aliens, their headquarters was an orbital mothership, and that Earth's technology base, even before they began reverse-engineering alien technology, was far above that on this world.

And she had left out something even bigger. The Ascent Foundation's research had succeeded. She knew how to create a psychic amplifier, a device that would allow anyone to harness their own psychic potential. Of course, the materials used in their construction likely did not exist here (due to being a combination of highly refined metals, plastics, and a few alien materials that humanity never figured out how to replicate), and it normally took a few months of training to get combat-useful powers, but there was a reason why the technology was going to remain classified after the war ended.

**********

Raiks met up with Julia on the other side of the door. After exchanging greetings, she led him deep into the temple's inner sanctum. Hopefully they were far enough from Annabelle that she wouldn't be able to read off anything they were saying. They sat down on opposite ends of a table.

Raiks noted that the high temple of Helios was almost too ornate. To the point where he wondered how they actually helped people. Everywhere else, Helios' temples were somewhat minimalist, but at their High Temple, they had gilded iconographics on almost every wall, even in the inner chambers that shouldn't even be seen by the outside world, a waste of resources for no practical gain.

Julia herself was garbed in ornate robes, denoting her place at the head of the temple's leadership. She disliked the temple's love for gold almost as much as Raiks did, but part of that might have been due to the fact that she had to wear a lot of that gold herself. It probably weighed about as much as a heavy suit of armor.

"Annabelle is a dangerous anomaly," Julia declared. "But one that is on our side, for now."

"So you think she might turn against us?" Raiks asked.

"Potentially. She doesn't hold any particular loyalty to you. But my divinations are coming up blank on her."

"Your divinations aren't working on her?"

"For the most part. But there is one thing, a prophecy."

"Right, one of those things that usually ends up completely misinterpreted. Or, in one case, completely wrong."

"Both Annabelle and Daraken should die on the same day," Julia said. "Otherwise, disaster will occur."

"That's- unusually simple, for a prophecy." They were usually more than complicated.

"It seems that in this case, Helios ditched the formalities."

Raiks thought that over. It made some sense. If Annabelle's only known motivation at the moment was eliminating Daraken, she might end up just taking over after his death, or doing something else undesirable. But on the other hand, if she died early, Daraken would have little left that could truly oppose him.

"I can see why," Raiks said. "Although, is that really all you brought me here for?"

"Unfortunately, no." Julia sighed. "I know Daraken's true objective. He aims to ascend, to become a god. With that power, he would be unstoppable."

"Ascend? How?"

"I do not know. Helios himself is unwilling to disclose information on that regard. All that he said on the matter was that Daraken is still a bit off from completing an ascension. A few months at most, but likely less given his schemes."

"That is a serious threat. If he becomes powerful enough to oppose Helios-"

"Which is why I wish to send you additional aid, both in manpower and in supplies. As much as I can, without being overt."

"That would be much appreciated." Raiks began a discussion into what resources the temple of Helios could provide without being drawn into the war. He did, at one point, propose that they just declare war outright, but Julia declined the offer. Even if Daraken was unwilling to directly engage Dustreach, he would still have multiple means to isolate and starve out the city.

"Although," Raiks said, "If the threat is truly as dire as you claim it to be, why do you not join the war actively?"

"It would be ineffective," Julia claimed. "We can defend this city, but we are not equipped to launch an offensive operation. Even if we were, we would be taking forces off this city, and as soon as the city is exposed, Daraken will strike."

Suddenly, the building shook, as if it was under attack.

"What was that?" Raiks said.

He recognized the signs of Julia receiving an instant message. "That would be a rogue mage that's been plaguing us. Hopefully we can take her down this time."

"I brought Annabelle here," Raiks admitted. "Does that change things?"

There was a second explosion.

"You- what?" Julia said, shocked. "Why?"

"I thought you would want to see her."

"You've probably made things worse." Julia leapt to her feet and rushed in the direction of the explosions. Raiks followed behind her.

*****

An explosion echoed across the temple. Annabelle immediately jumped to her feet, and was about to reach for a weapon before realizing she didn't have one. Well, not a physical weapon, at least.

"I'm presuming this isn't normal, right?" She asked.

"Our orders are to stay here," Darius responded.

Another explosion occured, maybe a bit further away than the last one.

"Then again, this isn't exactly something he planned for," he admitted.

"If I had to guess, the problem is most likely an utter lack of countermeasures against mages," Annabelle said. "How do you confiscate weapons when someone literally is a weapon?"

"Whatever it is, it's not our problem to solve."

"That sounds like explosives," Annabelle said. "Or some magical equivalent. Guards armed with swords aren't going to be able to handle it."

"The clerics of Helios can handle this problem," Darius countered.

"I doubt medics would be much better than guards in a fight," Annabelle replied.

Before Darius could object further, Annabelle was already running towards the explosions. He followed behind her, somewhat reluctantly.

As she rounded a corner, she saw a streak of light in front of her, and ducked back, just as a bolt of energy flew past her. The bolt impacted the wall behind her, then detonated in a fiery explosion. She was slightly stunned by the shockwave and lightly burnt by the flame, but it wasn't significant damage.

"The next one's landing at your feet," a voice said from behind the corner.

"Bring it," Annabelle retorted. She popped out of cover, spotted her enemy, and threw up a telekinetic barrier just in front of her opponent just as she launched a second fireball. It was a trick she had originally learned to blow enemies up with their own grenades.

As she expected, the mage's fireball detonated on the barrier, in an explosion that she thought would take down a squishy wizard in one hit. Unfortunately, when the dust cleared, her opponent seemed unharmed. Not just that, but she was now levitating several feet above the ground.

The sorceress appeared to be underdressed, at least by medieval standards. By modern standards, her clothing was surprisingly tame. She was wearing a bright red sleeveless dress that barely reached her knees, as well as elbow-length red gloves.

She managed to figure out that throwing impact explosives around wasn't a good idea, and switched to firing streams of flame out of her hands. Annabelle was forced back behind the corner again, and then took a few more steps back due to the heat of the fire.

The stream of fire stopped briefly, as the sorceress flew up high around the corner. Annabelle knew that she had no way to evade her next fireblast, so instead of attempting to flee, she forced herself to jump through the stream of flame, rolling when she landed. She used a telekinetic burst to ward off most of the flame as she jumped through it, then fired a blast of kinetic energy, staggering and knocking back the sorceress.

Before the sorceress could recover, Annabelle moved to finish her off, initiating telepathic contact and attempting to seize control of the sorceress' mind. The sorceress put up a significant resistance, but Annabelle knew she was winning. She would just need a few more seconds...

Then, she was blindsided by a devastating blow. A punch hit her so hard that she was blown backwards, sliding along the floor for several meters before she managed to roll back onto her feet, in a bit of a daze. She looked back at her attacker, and saw a giant, brutish man wearing common clothing that seemed too small for him. Above her, the sorceress was even worse off than she was, having taken the wrong end of broken telepathic contact. She was barely conscious, but her magic kept her levitating in the air, as if she was weightless.

Annabelle pushed herself to her feet, and noting her lack of weapons, prepared to attempt to fight hand-to-hand. Of course, any training she had went out the window when the thug charged her at almost superhuman speeds. She barely got her hands up to block before she was kneed in the chest, and as she staggered backwards the thug spun around and hit her with an elbow in the gut.

She rolled to the side, dodging a punch that went straight for her head. Then, a thrown knife hit the brute straight in the chest. Annabelle looked behind her to see Darius, with one of his knives in hand.

Where did those blades come from? Annabelle asked Darius

I hid them, he responded offhandedly. Apparently the Church's security, in addition to not stopping mages, couldn't even confiscate weapons properly.

The brute was somehow not even fazed by the knife in his chest. He calmly ripped the knife out and threw it to the ground. The hole from the knife seemed to closed itself, and Annabelle couldn't see any blood. Annabelle had seen Raiks shrug off a knife wound and keep going, but this brute seemed to take no damage.

Then, he rushed Darius. Darius maneuvered to put the thug between him and his blade, and then triggered something on his knife, causing it to be pulled back to him and hit the thug in the back, again to little effect. Then, he leaped with an augmented agility, jumping straight over the thug as his momentum carried him out of reach. At the same time, Annabelle attempted to incapacitate him with a psychic attack, but came up against an incredibly strong defense (almost as strong as the psychic defenses of the alien leaders), doing nothing but drawing the thug's attention. It didn't make sense, brutes were supposed to be weak against mental attacks!

The thug went after her, even as Darius used the same effect to pull the knife out of his back. She made a futile attempt to fight him in hand-to-hand, slipping left of the first blow, and then delivering a right hook into his face. But the brute stood completely firm, then hit her with a roundhouse kick, sending her crashing into the wall with a massive thud. She went limp soon after, partly to avoid being beaten to death and partially because she had multiple broken bones.

Darius did better in the engagement, and she saw him evading the thug's hits and landing several counterattacks with his thrown knives, but the thug showed no signs of slowing down. It was only a matter of time before the thug landed a hit, smashing his light frame into a wall. He rolled away from a follow-up hit and get up to his feet, but was still clearly dazed.

Annabelle made another attempt at seizing control of the sorceress, hoping to use her to eliminate her minion. But then, she called off her minion of her own accord.

"Silence, stand down!"

Apparently, her minion was named Silence, because he stood down. Darius noticed this, and backed off as well.

"Well, this is a bit awkward," she said. "I've accidently stumbled into a new ally."

She descended to the ground, and introduced herself.

"I'm Lorso Razo, and my friend calls himself Silence. And you, if my guess is correct, are a psion."