“You go first!” I growled, still mad that she poisoned me.

Mardella let out an audible sigh and pleaded. “Can you at least let me have some water first?”

“Position the pebbles,” I replied, waiting for her to make the first move.

She slowly dragged herself to her feet. It was strange watching a being made of pure mana slither around as though her non-existent body was crippled.

Mardella spread the rocks around the room. First, I made her a fluffy couch. I figured it would be comfortable as well as something she could sleep on. Then, I made a coffee table next to it.

After instructing her to place a few more pebbles on the table, I made her a fish plate at her request as well as a glass of red wine. It was odd for someone who was dehydrated to drink alcohol but then I reminded myself that it was all just mana in the first place.

I made her some more furniture as well as a commode. It wasn’t magical or anything as I didn’t know how to make those. That was something I would have to learn.

“Alright, I gave you what you wanted. Now, tell me more about the poison.” I insisted.

Mardella made a show of slowly chewing the food before washing it down with a long sip of wine. “Very well. It’s not poison. Though I can see why you would think it is. It’s cursed mana. One of my familial skills is the ability to infuse our mana with emotions. If you paint your sword with a strong enough hate, it becomes potent enough to consume a person. I am not surprised that it did not affect you.”

“But you don’t have a bloodline,” I said, confused by the explanation.

She took another bite before explaining. “My kind existed before bloodlines. It’s only natural that we were bypassed when they were handed out. The creator probably thought we would be too powerful. Either that or he thought we were extinct by that point. We were in hiding for many years because of what the Celesteans did to us.”

“My mother would never hunt you down!” Kalli screamed. “It was you who burned the castle to the ground and killed countless people.”

Mardella sighed and took a few seconds to reply. “I agree, that was a mistake. There was no way for me to know that at the time. All I knew was that the Celesteans' existence was a threat to me. We fought and scraped to become powerful enough to end your line. I just needed one of you alive to take me back to Luna. I had no clue you had been banished.”

“How do we cure the cursed mana?” I asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

She stood and hobbled over to the door. “If you let me out of here, I could help you fix it.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” I admitted. “Even if I did, we don’t have a body for you.”

Mardella sighed and ran her fingernails over the coarse wood of the door. “You said that two others were affected by the curse. Give me one of their bodies. They are dead anyway. They just don’t know it yet. I will cure the other unintended victim as well as the two of you.”

I looked to Kalli, running out of ideas. She shook her head. Absolutely not! We can’t sacrifice an innocent person just to cure ourselves.

But what if they both die?

She grimaced. At least we wouldn’t be the ones to kill them.

They wouldn’t be dead. Whoever we choose would be in here.

Kalli gave me a piercing look. That might just be a fate worse than death. You saw Mardella, she’s in agony.

I heaved a heavy sigh.

You’re right. You always are.

She cracked a smile and I turned back to Mardella. “We can’t do that. We will have to find another way to get you out of here. Is there anything we can do about the curse for now?”

Mardella cackled. “Why would I tell you that? Curing the curse seems to be my only ticket out of here.”

I pounded my fist on the door, eliciting a squeal of surprise from Mardella. “Any help you give us today will be the only motivation I have to help you get out of here. If we figure this out without you, you can rot in here for all I care.”

A booming voice from behind me made me jump. “If you wish to purge your core, come to me boy. I am the master of all things ethereal.”

I left Mardella to negotiate with Kalli as I walked down the hall to investigate. The voice had come from the first door. A shirtless man with a long wispy beard stood at the door with both hands on the bars in the narrow window.

Standing a good distance back, I asked, “How do you know what to do? You don’t even know what exactly the curse looks like.”

He laughed. “It doesn’t matter, boy. Purifying the soul is an ancient art and a well-trained monk can void any manner of corruption.”

“And you just intend to tell me how to do it?” I asked, trying to inspect him.

Name

Longinus Rei

Class

???

Level

???

Affection Level

Wouldn’t you like to know

I blinked at the menu, unsure why it was telling me what it was. His gruff voice replied to my question. “Good question. I’m not sure. Perhaps I’m just bored. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve taken a disciple. Either way, you’re the ring bearer for now so I might as well get in your good graces. As things stand, you’re my only way out.”

Kalli made her way down the hall to me. She’s useless. I don’t think she will help unless we let her out. What’s the deal with this guy?

I shrugged.

I don’t know. He says he wants to help us for free.

Finally, I made my decision. “How do we start?”

“Well, I suppose it’s too early for you to trust me.” He began. “So getting you to touch my hand is out of the question. Tell me, have you begun refining your mana at all?”

I nodded, remembering my lessons with Chogu and the refinements I’d set up in my core. Then I realized he probably couldn’t see me well through the door and replied. “I started refining my mana back on Earth about a year ago.”

“Well, that’s a start.” He said softly. “What about the girl?”

Kalli and I exchanged a glance and she admitted, “I haven’t…”

Longinus twirled his beard around his finger. “Hmm. I suppose a good place to start would be for you to show her how to do that. The other prisoner already admitted that your core is filled with hate. You are going to have to purge it from the inside. To do this, you are going to have to not only refine your mana to a greater extent but you are also going to have to infuse it with qualities that counterbalance the hate. This is a very high-level technique. Outside of that woman in the other cell, I may be the only person in existence who can teach you properly. Now, if you’ll just let me out…”

“I don’t trust you,” I said, not meaning for my voice to carry but it did. “Thank you for the advice but I am going to work this out for myself.”

“Have it your way,” Longinus muttered and I heard him walk away from the door. “Remember, I offered to help.”

Without answering him, I took Kalli’s hand and withdrew from the ring.

We both woke at the same time, drenched in sweat. Kalli wiggled in my arms. What will we do now? We can’t trust either of them.

I let her go and sat up.

Well, we still have options. There’s no sense stepping into a trap unless we try everything else first.

A glance at the clock told me that it was eleven AM. We were running late. Kalli noticed as well and gasped. We have to be at the guild by noon.

Don’t worry, I have a plan.

The two of us darted into the bathroom, rushing to get cleaned up and ready to go. When she was satisfied, Kalli made her way over to me. Okay, so what’s the plan?

I took her hand and wrapped mana over both of us.

We’re going home.

For some odd reason, my childhood home always felt like home no matter where I was staying. I thought I saw a glint in the cosmos was Quetzalcoatl’s shame as I stepped into the void.

Then we were there. Back in that tiny apartment. Mrs. Garcia was the only one home cooking lunch in the kitchen. She screamed when we arrived. “I thought you said you weren’t going to come back.”

“Sorry,” I replied. “We just needed a way to get to town quickly. That smells good by the way.”

When we let ourselves out, I led Kalli over to a grass field next door to the apartment complex. I only stopped once I was sure we were out of sight. Kalli raised an eyebrow at me. What now? Why are we here?

I think it’s time we brought your old friend back.

Meanwhile in Poland…

A young woman sat in a leather chair surrounded by screens. While she appeared to be a small child in stature, she was a full-grown woman. Disheveled cyan hair fell across her shoulders, entwined with over-ear headphones. Thick glasses rested on the bridge of her nose and she wore a long white lab coat which wasn’t entirely necessary while she was sitting at her command center. She just felt at home in it.

On one of the screens, a man she’d never seen before gave his report. “The sky was green. I was taken to a place with trolls, goblins, and ogres.”

She cut him off. “How did you get back? I received data that the portal closed.”

“Well, sir, that’s difficult to explain.” The man began. She was used to being called sir. The woman went to great lengths to mask her identity. That included the deep male voice of the administrator. The man continued his report. “There was this boy. He used magic to move me from one place to another. Then they took me to a bedroom in a castle and took me to a door in the bathroom. Next thing I knew we were back on Earth. Then this beautiful woman brought me to an American government facility and I flew back on a giant winged bird.”

That settled it. The High House of Earth was involved. While the woman had never interacted with HHOE, she had heard a lot about them. They were how her contact got her involved with IMP, the International Magical Prisons corporation.

She let out an involuntary sigh before she could mute her microphone. “You’ve done well, what was your name, Antoni? Thank you for returning with this report. I will see to it that you get a special bonus on your next paycheck.”

She didn’t wait for Antoni to reply and cut the connection. What was Natalia thinking, sending a fool through the portal? She was the next one to interview.

Pushing a red button, the woman spoke into her microphone. “Get me Natalia Boszczyk.”

“Right away, Administrator.” A voice confirmed.

The woman twirled in her chair while she waited, craving the dizzy sensation the motion brought. Then she took a moment to go over the readout from the portal generator.

Portal Projection Project:

Test 01: Failure

Test 02: Failure

Test 03: Failure

Test 04: Failure

Test 05: Failure

Test 06: Failure

Test 07: Failure

Test 08: Failure

Test 09: Failure

Test 10: Failure

Test 11: Failure

Test 12: Partial Failure

Note: Stable portal manifested on the 12th and final test. Test subject passed through the portal. Portal collapsed 7 minutes 23 seconds after creation.

Conclusion: Unsuitable for interdimensional travel

That wasn’t good enough for Zofia. That was her name, though nobody knew about it. To everyone still in her life, she was merely The Administrator. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“Mr. Administrator, sir.” The voice chirped over the speaker. “I have researcher Boszczyk on video feed three.”

“Connect her,” Zofia said flatly.

A disheveled woman appeared on the screen. Zofia had woken her. “Can I be of service, sir?”

Zofia leaned closer to the screen. It wasn’t that Mrs. Boszczyk could see her. She just wanted to see her face twitch when she chastised her. “Tell me something, Natalia. Why did you send a grunt through the portal? Do you consider yourself above doing field research? Please tell me I was not mistaken when I assigned you to your post.”

Mrs. Boszczyk’s left eye began to twitch as she gathered herself to her full height. “No, sir! I am the right scout for the job. You see, the other researchers assumed the twelfth test would fail and didn’t show up. I stayed behind to gather data while utilizing a worker to test the stability of the portal. Unfortunately, the portal closed of its own accord before I had the opportunity to follow.”

“Is that so?” Zofia sneered into the microphone. “It appears to me that this mere worker showed you up. What do you intend to do to make up for it?”

“Anything.” Mrs. Boszczyk replied.

A sinister grin appeared on Zofia’s lips. “Excellent. Prepare another mana battery. I am sending a special scout to accompany you this time. She has my utmost confidence and you are to obey her every command as though they were my own.”

“Yes, sir.” Mrs. Boszczyk answered. Zofia could sense reluctance in her voice.