As a reminder in case you haven't seen the latest poll, this is TECHNICALLY the start of Act 2, as some chapters have been shuffled around. The next chapter will be the END of Act 1.
Chronologically, this doesn't matter, and you're free to read them in any order you want without affecting any understanding. This is just a big of clarification in case anyone gets confused.
♛———♛—————————♛———♛
The back room of the Nexus Hub settled into the kind of quiet that only came after a long day.
Out front, the shutters were drawn, and the door barred, leaving the shop in a rare lull between the steady churn of customers and contracts. The faint scent of herbs lingered in the air, mingling with polished wood and the last warmth of the day.
In one of the back rooms, Garrelt and Dr. Maria sat across from each other at a small table, their conversation easy and unhurried. A few scattered notes and a half-finished ledger lay between them, long since forgotten. Every so often, Maria’s gaze drifted to the design plans for a large building, and a quiet, fond smile touched her lips.
The building would be nothing like the Silver Path Pavilion, but that was fine. It wouldn’t be the first time she had started from nothing.
Though this time she wouldn’t be alone.
The door creaked open softly, and Hugo stepped inside, carrying a tray.
A simple tea set rested atop it. He crossed the room without ceremony and set it down with a quiet clink before taking a seat between them.
With the practiced ease of a seasoned teamaster — though one still working the rust from long-disused habits — a golden-hued liquid filled each cup, faint steam curling upward. He placed one in front of each of them.
Maria lifted her cup and studied it with quiet curiosity. She inhaled slowly, eyes half-lidded as she took in the aroma. A soft smile spread across her face.
“Oh?” she murmured. “This is Four Joy Clover, yes?” She paused, tilting her head slightly. “With a bit of Shadow Pepper, if I’m not mistaken.” Her lips curved faintly. “An interesting combination.”
Hugo paused mid-pour and looked at her.
“…It is,” he admitted after a moment. “Though I’m surprised you can tell. It’s a new mix I’m working on. Now that my mother’s garden has started to recover, I’ve been able to experiment more.”
Maria’s smile sharpened. “You pick up a bit of alchemy after enough years as a healer.”
She took a sip and closed her eyes briefly, letting the flavor settle on her tongue. A quiet hum slipped from her throat as the heavy, grounded taste of the clover gave way to the faint heat of the pepper.
“You know,” she added, opening one eye, “there are some smaller clans that would demand your head if they knew you were using spirit herbs for something so… mundane as tea.”
She took another sip, savoring the blend. “Not that I’m complaining.”
Hugo chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.
“I used to think my mother didn’t really know what she was growing back there,” he said. His voice softened, his gaze drifting past the wall toward the unseen garden beyond. “But these last few days… learning how to care for them properly…”
He trailed off.
“I’m starting to wonder how true that really was.”
“Speaking of which,” Garrelt said from the other side of the table, lifting his cup just enough to hide the edge of a grin, “tell us about this new ‘roommate’ of yours.”
Maria gave only a token effort to hide her own smirk behind her cup.
Hugo’s expression twisted into a sneer, and he rolled his eyes.
“You know something?” he said, setting his cup down with a dull tap. “When you join the Guild, no one ever bothers to warn you that adventurers are worse than a group of bored housewives.”
Garrelt barked out a laugh.
“Of course, my friend!” he said, grinning broadly. “Keeping your ear open for the right rumor can mean the difference between fortune and folly.” His grin lingered a moment longer before fading into something more serious. “Or life and death.”
Garrelt lowered his cup and met Hugo’s eyes.
“Can she be trusted?” he asked, his tone sharpening.
“I’ve been asking questions around the Guild, and Kailin Sharp isn’t some unknown. In fact, she’s rather well known among the lower-ranked adventurers. She’s got a reputation for supplying high-quality potions at a reasonable price, without diluting them with trash like some others might.”
Hugo took a sip and considered the question.
After a moment, he gave a small nod.
“I believe so,” he said. “Alpha seems to trust her. Or at least…” He exhaled lightly. “He seems to think the knowledge she brings is worth whatever risk she carries.”
Maria hummed, thoughtful.
“That makes sense,” she said, turning her attention to Garrelt. “Though I see why you’d be concerned. Someone like that should have been picked up by a clan or sect by now. Or bought out by one of the larger shops.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “If for no other reason than to remove her from the market.”
She swirled the tea in her cup, peering into its depths.
“That she hasn’t been is unusual.” She tilted her head. “Either someone is preventing it, or the girl has certain… quirks that make her less than appealing to the larger organizations.”
Hugo gave a sharp, brief laugh.
“Oh,” he said, shaking his head. “You have no idea.”
Garrelt raised a brow.
“I’ve dealt with enough alchemists to know they can all be somewhat… eccentric,” he said. “But surely she can’t be that bad, right?”
The words had barely left his mouth when—
A dull, muffled boom rolled through the building.
The floor shuddered beneath them.
The teacups rattled against the table, liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rims. Somewhere deeper in the shop, something heavy toppled with a sharp crash.
The three of them froze.
For a heartbeat, the room held still, save for the faint settling creak of wood and stone.
Then Hugo pushed back from the table and rose in one smooth motion. Garrelt was already moving beside him, his chair scraping harshly across the floor as he stood. Maria followed a half-step behind, her expression sharpened to focus.
Their eyes met for the briefest instant—
Then all three turned and bolted for the door.
——————————————————
Hugo reached the basement door first, with Garrelt and Maria close behind.
He barely had time to reach for the handle before it jerked inward.
Smoke rolled into the room in heavy waves — green, black, and sickly white — carrying a sharp bite of sulfur and something cloyingly sweet that burned the nose on contact. Hugo recoiled on instinct, dragging his sleeve over his mouth as he staggered back.
Garrelt swore under his breath, turning his head as a cough tore loose from his chest. He stepped away from the doorway, eyes watering. Maria moved just as quickly, one hand clamped over her nose while the other braced against the wall as the fumes washed over them.
The cloud thickened, billowing outward. It filled the doorway, then spilled across the floor in slow, curling tendrils that clung low to the ground.
Something small shot out of the haze.
A [Wasp] drone darted free, its silver frame dulled beneath a layer of dark ash. It zipped past them, then looped back in a tight arc before settling into a hover at eye level. A faint vibration ran through its body, and the soot slid away in a fine cascade.
Within seconds, it was spotless again.
“You might want to take a step back,” Alpha said calmly.
Hugo and Garrelt exchanged a quick look, then shifted aside, clearing the doorway.
A heartbeat later—
“WATER! I NEED WATER!”
Kailin burst through the smoke.
She hit the threshold at full speed and nearly tripped over her own feet as she staggered into the kitchen. Her robes were streaked with soot, her hair blown out into wild, singed tangles, and her face was blackened almost completely, except where sweat had carved pale lines through the grime.
Arms outstretched, she lurched forward and slammed into the edge of a counter hard enough to rattle it. The impact knocked a strangled sound from her throat as she bounced off, spun halfway around, and collided with the opposite wall.
“Where—?!” she choked, coughing as she turned in place, hands searching blindly.
She stumbled again, caught herself on the edge of a prep table, then finally brushed the rim of the sink. She lunged for the control array, slapping at it until a cascade of clean water burst from the faucet.
Kailin immediately shoved her head under the flow.
Steam curled faintly where it struck her overheated skin. Blackened residue ran in thin rivulets into the basin, washing away in muddy trails. She stayed there, motionless, as the water rose steadily around her face until it nearly submerged her head.
Hugo opened his mouth—
Then closed it again.
Garrelt folded his arms, watching with a raised brow.
Dr. Maria sighed and shook her head
Several long seconds passed.
Then several more.
“…You should probably breathe now, Ms. Sharp,” Alpha called, a smirk in his tone.
Kailin jerked upright with a sharp gasp.
Water streamed from her face and hair, dripping from the ends of her sleeves. Her once-bushy hair had collapsed into a tangled, sodden mess that clung to her face and neck. Ash had turned to muddy streaks across her skin, leaving her features smeared beneath it.
Her head snapped around, and bloodshot, slightly swollen eyes locked onto Alpha’s drone.
She pointed at it with a trembling finger.
“I told you that wouldn’t work!” she snapped.
Alpha gave a soft, amused hum.
“No,” he replied, “I distinctly remember you saying—”
There was a sharp click, and Kailin’s own voice echoed from the drone:
“Uhhh… I don’t think that’s going to work...”
Another click.
Alpha’s voice returned, smooth and unbothered.
“Now we know it doesn’t work. Besides, now we also know why the HTS catalyst was being consumed without triggering a proper liquid-gas shift.”
Kailin threw up her arms, let out a strangled, wordless scream, and began pacing in tight, frantic circles like an agitated animal.
“Why is it,” she demanded, her voice climbing, “that whenever you speak, half the time you ask basic questions even the most novice acolyte should already know—”
She jabbed a finger toward him.
“—and the other half you’re spouting concepts I’ve never even heard of?!”
Garrelt let out a quiet laugh as a flicker of nostalgia passed through him. He knew that frustration well. It hadn’t been long ago that he had asked that same question while staring at the Dungeon Core’s array work — though by now, he had long since begun to suspect Alpha was far more than he claimed.
Even if Alpha’s recent work had far surpassed anything Garrelt could hope to understand — something he could admit to himself — the dissonance of those early days had been… frustrating.
Kailin stopped mid-step, her head snapping toward the sound.
For a moment, she simply stared at the three of them, eyes wide and unblinking, as if only now realizing they were there.
Her entire body went rigid.
Color flooded what little of her face wasn’t already smeared with grime.
Then she made a small, strangled sound and spun around, turning her back to them as both hands flew up to cover her face.
Maria let out a soft chuckle and stepped forward.
Kailin flinched as the doctor’s hand settled lightly on her shoulder, and Maria could feel the faint tremor running through her.
“It’s alright,” Maria said, her tone gentle but steady.
Kailin didn’t respond.
Maria reached to the side, took a towel from the counter, and pressed it lightly against Kailin’s cheek.
“Hold still,” she said.
There was a brief pause.
Then, slowly, Kailin lowered one hand just enough to let Maria work.
Behind them, Garrelt cleared his throat and looked away, his earlier amusement fading.
Hugo rubbed the back of his neck, glancing between Kailin and the still-open basement door, where smoke continued to drift lazily into the room.
While Maria cleaned Kailin up, Garrelt and Hugo turned their attention to Alpha.
“I see you two are having fun,” Garrelt said, folding his arms as his gaze flicked from the smoke-filled doorway to the hovering drone. “Learn anything interesting?”
Alpha’s [Wasp] bobbed once in the air. “Quite a bit, actually,” he replied, a faint smirk in his voice. “I was correct in my original assumption that alchemy and the chemistry I’m familiar with are related.”
He paused, a soft hum escaping him as his voice shifted, more reflective now. “Though that relation seems closer to cousins than siblings.”
Hugo raised a brow. “Not that I know much about either,” he said, “but in what way?”
Alpha stilled for a moment, as if sorting through the answer.
“Chemistry,” he began at last, “is fundamentally concerned with the interaction of physical substances based on measurable properties — structure, composition, energy states. As systems grow more complex, so too do the interactions.”
He adjusted slightly in the air.
“Alchemy appears similar on the surface,” he continued, “but it places far more emphasis on the vaguely defined nature of a substance rather than its measurable physical properties.”
Footsteps approached, and the group turned as Dr. Maria and Kailin returned.
Maria carried the damp towel over one arm, and Kailin trailed half a step behind her. Most of the soot had been wiped from her face, though faint smudges still clung near her jaw and hairline. Her hair hung in wet, dark strands, combed through just enough to tame its earlier chaos.
“Not natures,” Kailin snapped, pointing at the drone. “Aspects. I don’t get why this is so hard for you to understand.”
Alpha turned toward her. “Because you’ve yet to accurately describe or isolate one of these supposed aspects in any meaningful way.”
Kailin groaned and dragged both hands down her face.
“And I’ve told you it doesn’t work that way,” she said. “Individual aspects are always tinted by the others present in an object, and that can vary for any number of reasons. Where it was grown. When it was harvested. How it was processed. The environment you’re working in.” She flung one hand toward the basement in a sharp, frustrated gesture. “Everything matters.”
She exhaled slowly, visibly forcing herself to settle.
“Think of it like this,” she said, her voice tightening into something more controlled. “Each ingredient is a bottle. You don’t know what’s inside it. All you see is the final color, some mix of a bunch of unknown colors.”
Her fingers twitched as she spoke, restless.
“You also know there are multiple ways to get similar results. Red and green make brown. So do blue and orange. But they’re not the same brown. Get it?” Her gaze locked onto the drone.
“Now, without already knowing what colors are inside the bottle, would you be able to tell me what mixture made that final result? And in what proportions?”
“Yes,” Alpha said flatly.
He didn’t even hesitate.
Kailin stared at him, then threw her hands into the air.
“See?!” she shouted, spinning toward Hugo and jabbing a finger at the [Wasp]. “This is what I’m working with!”
Hugo chuckled and shook his head. “If you two aren’t making progress like this, maybe it’s time to try something else.”
Kailin rounded on him so fast he barely had time to register the shift.
One second she was furious. The next, every trace of irritation vanished as if it had never existed. Her eyes went wide, bright, hungry. Something feverish sparked behind them with such intensity that Hugo instinctively leaned back.
Then she lunged and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“But we are!” she said, almost breathless. “You don’t understand! Do you have any idea how much progress I’ve made on unified melding theory in the past two days?”
Hugo blinked. “Unified what?”
“Years!” Kailin shouted.
She shook him once for emphasis. “YEARS!”
Her voice tipped into sharp, manic laughter.
Garrelt took several slow, deliberate steps away from Hugo, who shot him a betrayed look.
Kailin’s grip tightened.
“And the equipment!” She went on, words spilling over each other. “The things it can do! I doubt even some of the high-end labs the—”
Her hands went slack.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth slowly parted as the manic edge drained from her face, replaced in an instant by pure, unfiltered terror.
For a heartbeat, her gaze went hazy—
“MY EQUIPMENT!” she screamed.
Her hands flew from Hugo’s shoulders to her hair, fingers tangling in the damp strands as she pulled.
Without another word, she shoved Hugo aside hard enough to send him stumbling a step, then bolted for the basement door, vanishing into the smoke-choked darkness beyond.
All four of them stared at the open entrance. Smoke still drifted upward in thin, bitter strands.
For several heartbeats, no one moved.
Then Alpha spoke.
“We should probably make sure she didn’t collapse at the bottom,” he said mildly. “The air scrubbers are still working on cleaning everything.”
Hugo closed his eyes and let out a long, tired breath, dragging a hand down his face.