The transport jolted again, rattling through uneven ground. Every impact echoed through Akiko's frame like a slow, bruising metronome.

She leaned back against the cold metal wall, forcing her breath into rhythm. In. Out. Steady.

Kaede's voice surfaced from somewhere deep. An old memory, sharp as glass and twice as fragile. Back then, breathing drills had been practice. Now, they were survival.

Her HUD flickered at the edge of her vision.

Mana Levels: 2%.

Not enough to matter. But not nothing.

She kept her breathing slow, catching the faintest flicker of energy threading through her veins like static caught in a dying signal. Barely there. But alive.

The transport lurched to a stop. A hiss of hydraulics. A blast of cold air.

Akiko opened her eyes.

Gray walls. Nondescript structure. The kind of place designed to be invisible. Guards flanked the entrance, rifles slung with idle confidence. Nearby, the second transport sat silent. No sign of Skadi. Inside already.

Akiko swallowed the tight knot clawing at her throat. Her face didn't flinch.

"Out," a guard snapped.

Akiko moved slowly, every muscle screaming protest. She bit it down, stood tall as her boots hit solid ground.

Vehrin waited like a man stepping onto a stage he'd already claimed. His hands were clasped neatly behind his back, posture relaxed, smile razor-thin.

"This way," he said, gesturing toward the building.

Akiko followed. Step by aching step.

The halls swallowed them. Gray on gray, broken only by flickering holo-displays pulsing meaningless data. Personnel passed like clockwork, eyes sliding past her like she didn't matter.

Vehrin led them down a narrow corridor to a plain door. It hissed open.

A chair. A table. A recording interface humming in idle standby.

Akiko let herself drop into the chair without ceremony. Her cuffs dug into her wrists as she leaned back, head tipping toward the ceiling.

She felt Vehrin's eyes linger.

"We'll speak soon, Ms. Tsukihara," he murmured.

The door whispered shut.

Akiko exhaled, slow and hollow. Her shoulders sagged against the unyielding frame of the chair.

HUD flicker.

Mana Levels: 3%.

She smiled, bitter and small. Might as well rest. She'd need it. She let her eyes fall closed, just for a moment.

The hiss of the door snapped her back.

Vehrin entered with the composure of someone who had all the time in the world. A slim folder tucked under his arm like a prop.

Akiko cracked one eye, lips twitching.

A folder. Paper. Really?

She blamed Sifra. A few too many hours with a fae who quoted ancient stories like they were scripture, and suddenly everything had a mythic shape to it. Tricksters. False calm. The interrogator with a prop.

Vehrin placed it on the table with slow, deliberate care. His hand tapped the holo-interface, activating the recording icon. A soft, pulsing eye hanging in the air.

Akiko leaned forward, chin resting on her bound hands.

"Going old-school, Vehrin?" she rasped. "What's next? A trench coat? Fedora?"

Vehrin didn't blink. "Some traditions are worth preserving."

"Right." Her smirk widened, teeth flashing sharp. "Nothing screams efficiency like paperwork."

He didn't take the bait. Just opened the folder with a soft rustle, exposing clean, ordered sheets of data.

Akiko watched him with narrowed eyes.

He flipped through the pages like he had all the time in the world, every movement slow, deliberate, his gaze flicking to her now and then, measuring.

Akiko didn't flinch. She leaned back in her chair, settling into a posture that looked casual but wasn't. Her eyes half-lidded, her breath steady. She let him have his show.

"You've had quite the eventful career, Ms. Tsukihara," Vehrin began, his voice smooth as polished steel.

He tapped a page with two fingers, the sound soft but pointed.

"Your... unique talents show up in more than a few reports. But what interests me most, what interests Haven, is how you seem to find yourself at the center of every major disruption in recent memory."

Akiko huffed softly, shaking her head. "What can I say? Trouble's got a thing for me."

Vehrin's smile twitched like a blade. "Or you've got a thing for it."

He leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing, voice dipping lower.

"Let's start with the obvious. The frigate in orbit. What's your connection to it?"

Akiko held his gaze, the smirk fading into something flatter, colder. Her pulse stayed even. This was the game. Feed him just enough. Keep him guessing.

"Nothing," she said. Calm. Steady. "Never seen it before in my life."

Vehrin's brow lifted, like he was almost disappointed. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't care what you believe," she shot back.

He reached into the folder with that same theatrical slowness. Slid a photo across the table. Tapped it once, lightly.

Akiko glanced down. Her stomach twisted tight.

There she was, suit shimmering under distant starlight, suspended in the void near Stygia. And behind her, sharp and unmistakable, the alien frigate. The one that had started all of this.

She bit back a curse.

Vehrin's voice oozed satisfaction. "You were saying something about never seeing it before?"

Akiko leaned back again, jaw tight. "Alright. Fine. I've seen it. Once."

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Vehrin slid the photo back into the folder like he already had her pinned.

"Let's try again," he said. "How long have you been working with its operators?"

She didn't hesitate this time. "I haven't."

Vehrin arched a brow. "A bold claim. You were there when it first appeared near Stygia. And here it is again, coincidentally arriving alongside you."

Akiko leaned forward, breath sharp. "Let me save you some time. That ship isn't mine. I don't work for its operators. If you're looking for someone pulling strings, start with Karn."

Vehrin's smile flattened. His fingers drummed once on the table. "And where, exactly, do you believe Karn is now?"

Akiko weighed her options. She could give him a direction. Send him chasing shadows. But Haven charging into Karn's nest would just make more of a mess. And she wasn't done with Karn yet.

"I don't know," she lied. Clean. Precise. "He doesn't exactly send me status updates."

Vehrin leaned back, studying her in silence. Long enough to make the air feel heavier.

Finally, he spoke, voice clipped. "Evasive. Disappointing."

Akiko's lips twitched into a dry, hollow smile. "Yeah, well. Add it to the file."

Vehrin stood, gathering the folder with the same precision as before.

"We'll speak again soon," he said, his voice silk-smooth but cold.

The door hissed shut behind him, sealing the room in sterile silence.

Akiko exhaled, slow and sharp. Her shoulders sagged, the weight of the encounter finally slipping off like cracked armor.

She closed her eyes, settled into the chair again, and started counting breaths. Let the numbers drift, let the tension bleed from her muscles. Just… for a minute.

The room hummed around her, distant and muffled. The faint scrape of dishes, a door closing somewhere down the hall. It all folded in on itself, softened into a haze.

Some time later, she stirred, forehead stuck to the cold edge of the table. She groaned softly, peeling herself upright. Her HUD flickered into focus, numbers sluggishly updating.

Mana Levels: 22%.

Not great. But better than before.

A faint hum drifted through the air. Light flickered at the edge of her vision. She squinted.

Sifra sat cross-legged on the table, glowing faintly, wings catching the dim light like glass-thin crystal. A comically tiny manila folder sat in her lap.

"Ms. Tsukihara," Sifra drawled, voice pitched in a dead-on imitation of Vehrin's clipped professionalism. "You've had quite the eventful career, haven't you?"

Akiko groaned louder, rubbing her temples. "Oh, for the love of—"

Sifra flipped open the folder with a flourish, posture stiff and overacted. "Your... unique abilities have been noted in several reports," she continued, fluttering a tiny holographic projection into the air, the same one Vehrin had shown her earlier.

"Let's start with the obvious," Sifra continued, lifting her chin in mock authority. "The frigate in orbit. What's your connection to it?"

Akiko slumped back in her chair, deadpan. "You're unbelievable."

Sifra wagged a finger. "Don't dodge the question, Ms. Tsukihara. This is a very serious investigation."

Akiko's lips twitched despite herself. "Fine. My connection is that I'm sick of people asking me about it."

Sifra clutched her chest, gasping like she'd been shot. "A hostile witness. How scandalous."

Akiko shook her head, scrubbing a hand down her face. The smirk cracked wider. She didn't fight it this time.

"Done yet?"

Sifra snapped the folder shut with a tiny, self-satisfied grin. "One last thing."

She fluttered closer, dropping the performance. Her voice dipped softer, the edges of her usual sharpness smoothing out.

"If you had to choose… which Haven bureaucrat gets the award for Most Punchable Face?"

Akiko laughed before she could stop herself. "You're gonna get me killed."

Sifra's grin softened. "Maybe." She hovered closer, wings slowing. "But you needed the laugh. Even you can't run on foxfire and snark forever."

Akiko exhaled. The smirk lingered. "Thanks, Sifra."

The fae waved her off with mock arrogance. "Gratitude's a dangerous thing. Might make me soft."

Akiko leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. Steady now.

She stood, rolling her stiff shoulders with a low grunt. Her eyes cut toward the door Vehrin had left through. Sealed, as expected.

She walked over, gave it a pointless tug. Locked. "Of course."

Takuto chimed softly in her mind. "Query?"

Akiko tilted her head. "Think you can crack it?"

A pause. Then, flatly: "Insufficient resources to bypass military-grade encryption."

Akiko sighed. "Figures."

She reached out. Gently. Carefully.

The suppression field Haven had in place pushed back. Subtle but thorough, a mesh of nullification woven into the very air. Not enough to sever her connection to mana within her, but enough to smother any attempt to project it outward. A reminder that Haven didn't take chances with anomalies like her.

Except… she had changed. She wasn't so weak anymore that something like this could stop her for long.

Akiko closed her eyes. She inhaled, slow and deliberate, and let her awareness unfurl. Pressed outward into the space beyond her self. Her aura flared, tenuous as breath on glass, then stronger. Blue-white light shimmered across her skin, flickering against the resistance.

The suppression field tensed.

She bared her teeth and pressed harder, sweat beading on her temple.

Foxfire crackled faintly at her fingertips, flickering like embers fighting for air. The air grew heavier. Static tingled against her skin. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she poured herself into the boundary, willing it to break.

The field groaned. A sharp whine vibrated through the walls. Her skull throbbed. Her hands shook.

The suppression unit somewhere above sparked. Then cracked. Light burst outward as the field shattered. The room snapped sharp with returning sensation.

Subskill Progress (Mana Manipulation, Adept): Contested Aura Pressure– 4.2% milestone achieved.

Relief flooded her system, but it came laced with nausea. She swayed, breath ragged, muscles twitching from overuse. It had worked. Barely.

Akiko stared at her trembling hands, foxfire sputtering along her knuckles. That had been more difficult than expected. Maybe she should have expected it, for her first time attempting it. She wouldn't be able to do that again any time soon. Not without consequences.

She jabbed the nearest access panel, sinking the claw deep into the circuitry. Sparks flared. Lights overhead flickered.

A soft groan issued from the door.

Akiko stepped back, a tired smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"See? Who needs a lockpick?"

She slipped into the corridor beyond. Alarms whispered in the distance. Faint, but rising.

She flexed her fingers once, checked the flow of mana again.

23%.

Just enough to start making trouble.

Two guards rounded the corner ahead, rifles rising as the harsh corridor lights flared off their visors.

"Halt!" one snapped, voice tight with authority.

Akiko didn't even slow. A crooked grin split her face. "Make me."

Foxfire flared. She was on them before the first breath could settle.

The first guard swung wide, sloppy with panic. Akiko ducked under the arc, claws lashing upward in a clean strike. The rifle clattered from his hands as he stumbled back with a sharp cry, clutching his forearm.

The second guard lifted his weapon, but Akiko twisted inside the barrel's reach, grabbing it with both hands. She wrenched it sideways and sent it skittering across the floor. Her other hand snapped forward, foxfire bursting against his chest. He crumpled without a sound.

Applied Spellform Initialized: Foxfire Flare (Tier I)

The first guard backed up fast, eyes wide, clutching his arm like a shield.

Akiko tilted her head, voice light. "You should probably stay down."

He didn't argue.

The alarms were getting louder now, boots thundering toward her from deeper in the facility. She rolled her shoulders, glancing toward the far end of the corridor.

No stopping now.

Her HUD flickered, pinging softly. Skadi's signal, close.

She started forward again, boots silent on polished flooring. Her breath came steady now, the fatigue coiled tighter beneath adrenaline.

Another turn. And there he was.

Marcus Vehrin stood dead center, flanked by four Haven guards, rifles already trained on her. His posture screamed control, but his eyes held a flicker of irritation that hadn't been there before.

"Well, Ms. Tsukihara," he said dryly. "You've certainly made a mess."

Akiko raised her hand lazily, foxfire curling like smoke around her fingers. The glow danced in the dim corridor, casting flickering light on the squad's tight grips and white-knuckled fear.

"Stand down, Akiko," Vehrin said, voice clipped. "You're outnumbered and outgunned."

Akiko's smirk didn't waver. She tipped her head slightly. "You sure about that?"

Her fingers brushed her mana necklace. Power hummed faintly beneath her touch, just enough to remind her what was still left in the tank.

She scanned the guards. Boot camp heroes. Too green to know they were already beaten.

Akiko let out a soft sigh and dropped the foxfire.

"Lucky for you," she murmured, stepping back a half pace, "I'm feeling generous."

Vehrin's jaw twitched. "This is your last warning—"

"Yeah, yeah," Akiko cut him off, rolling her shoulders. "Let's skip to the part where I make you look stupid."

Before anyone could react, she crouched low and launched herself upward, foxfire flaring behind her. The moon's light gravity carried her toward the ceiling in a twisting arc.

Rifles snapped up. Gunfire spat wide.

Akiko grinned midair, twisting hard. She pushed off the ceiling with a burst of foxfire and dropped straight into the center of the squad.

Chaos snapped the formation apart.

The first guard swung his rifle like a club. Akiko sidestepped and drove her elbow into his ribs, sending him sprawling. She pivoted fast, catching the second guard's jaw with a sharp upward strike. He crumpled.

The other two lunged in tandem. Akiko let the momentum carry her into a spin, her foxfire claws flaring bright. She struck one rifle clean out of a guard's hands, then ducked low to sweep the other's legs from beneath him.

Four down. The corridor fell silent again, littered with groaning bodies.

Akiko straightened slowly, brushing a lock of hair from her eyes.

Vehrin stood frozen, lips parted, composure fracturing just enough to show the crack.

Akiko turned toward him, amber eyes gleaming.

"Stunned into silence?" she teased. "That's new."

Vehrin's fists clenched. "You think this changes anything?"

Akiko smiled wider. "Nope."

She stepped past him like he wasn't even there, boots whispering over tile.

Vehrin spun. "Secure the perimeter!" he barked, fury breaking through. "And get me a status update on the remaining prisoner!"

Akiko didn't look back.

She had bigger things to do.

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