Abell woke to the sound of chains rattling against stone.

  His head pounded. He tried to lift his arms, but cold metal bit into his wrists.

  His vision was blurry at first. As he came to, he noticed stone walls adorned with flickering torches and a foul smell surrounded the area. The air was damp and stale, with water dripping somewhere in the distance.

  His hands were chained to a wall.

  Abell pulled hard against the chains, but they held firm. The metal cuffs were bolted deep into the stone behind him, and his wrists were already raw where they pressed against his skin.

  His heart pounded as he scrambled, looking for Genevieve’s blade that was usually at his back.

  The cell was small, maybe ten feet across at most. The torches cast dancing shadows across the rough stone walls.

  He tried to remember what had happened.

  That girl, she took me down in one hit.

  The frustration burned in his chest. He hadn't even come close to fighting back.

  He forced himself to breathe. Getting angry wouldn't help. He needed to figure out where he was and how to get out.

  As his eyes adjusted to the dim torchlight, he noticed movement across from him. Someone else was chained to the opposite wall, slumped forward with their head hanging down. Dark hair matted with sweat and blood. Torn, stained clothes.

  The other person looked like they’d been beaten badly. Red marks tattered his skin with deep cuts all around his limbs.

  "Hey, you there?" Abell said, his voice rough. "You alive?"

  The figure's head lifted slowly. Their dark eyes opened, tired but still alert.

  "Yes," the voice was quiet, strained. "For now."

  Abell squinted through the dim torchlight, trying to make out the person's features.

  "Who are you?" Abell asked.

  Then the other person let out a weak laugh that turned into a wince. "You really are a dumbass."

  "What? The hell are you on about?"

  "It's me, Gaius."

  Abell stared at him. The voice was familiar, but—

  "Gaius? "

  "Yes, it's me."

  "I've never seen your face before. How was I supposed to know what you look like?"

  "Context? Common sense?" Gaius shifted, chains rattling. "You really are dumb."

  Abell scowled. "Whatever. Anyways, why are we here?"

  "Obviously because of Raxus." Gaius coughed.

  They sat in silence for a moment.

  Then Abell spoke. "How long have you been here?"

  "I don't know." Gaius's expression turned more serious. "A few hours, maybe more. They brought you in about two hours ago.

  “Dammit, that girl beat me so easily…” Abell muttered.

  “Girl?”

  “Yeah, some girl with a hood approached me, saying Raxus told her to come get me.”

  “Interesting, seems like he’s hired new people.”

  "Anyways, where are we?"

  "Underground somewhere. Maybe one of Raxus's warehouses." Gaius leaned his head back against the wall.

  Abell pulled at his chains again, testing them. Still didn't budge.

  “I’m surprised you got caught,” Abell said.

  “I evaded them for months…” Gaius coughed. “ My luck just ran out.”

  "Did they say what they want?"

  "Not yet." Gaius's eyes moved to the door. "But Raxus will be here soon; The guards made that clear."

  As if on cue, footsteps echoed from somewhere beyond the cell. Heavy boots against stone, getting closer.

  Abell tensed, his fingers curling into fists despite the chains.

  The door swung open with a loud creak.

  The man who stepped through wasn't what Abell expected. He was tall, white-haired, with a cut down his left eye.

  "So finally the two trouble makers are here," he said. “I’ve known about the thief giving my boys trouble for a while now, but when I heard he had a friend…”

  He glared at Abell, eyes full of disdain mixed with intrigue.

  “I had to end his little game.”

  Abell met his gaze fearlessly.

  “Get me out of these chains and fight me, you bastard.”

  Raxus pulled the stool over and sat, unbothered by Abell's outburst.

  “I can’t do that. If what I heard is true, I get to kill two birds with one stone.”

  "I heard you came into the city with Hugo Creed."

  The mention of Hugo’s name caused Gaius’s hand to jolt, shaking the chain.

  Abell said nothing.

  "Is that true?"

  "What's it to you?"

  Raxus’s hand shook, maybe from excitement or fear. Abell couldn’t tell.

  “So it’s true then. A big shot Luminary comes to town… bringing a new pup with him.”

  “The hell are you on about—”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “So tell me… does the little pup believe the stories, too?

  “What stories?” Abell asked.

  “The stories about Luminaries,” he said finally. “Being Heroes and Protectors governed by the Order that keeps the country safe.”

  He let out a quiet laugh.

  “Big names like Hugo running around playing hero.”

  His fingers drummed slowly against his knee.

  “You know what irks me? Those guys actually think that they’re the good guys.”

  Abell frowned. “So?”

  Raxus’ smile faded.

  “You young kids, always think the world is that simple,” he said. “

  He gestured vaguely toward the stone walls around them.

  “You know how many people wait hoping for one to show? How many get ignored while the Order chases glory somewhere else?”

  Abell stayed quiet.

  Raxus leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering.

  “Luminaries show up when things get loud. When malignants start tearing through towns or when some noble starts screaming for help.”

  He tapped the stone floor with the heel of his boot.

  “But…” he said. “Places where people are starving, fighting each other just to survive?”

  He shrugged.

  “The great Luminary Order doesn’t care about that.”

  Gaius shifted against the wall, chains rattling softly.

  “You talk a lot for a guy who runs a gang of thugs,” he muttered.

  Raxus glanced over at him.

  “I know exactly what I am,” he said calmly. “I don’t pretend to be a hero.”

  His gaze returned to Abell.

  “But Luminaries?” he continued. “They swing their swords, save a few people, and walk away thinking they’ve fixed the world.”

  His lips curled slightly.

  “Fine. If they’re going to be like that…”

  He gestured around the dungeon.

  “I’m just gonna exploit those they don’t care about.”

  The room fell quiet for a moment except for the faint dripping of water somewhere deeper in the dungeon.

  Abell met his eyes.

  “Do you get it, little pup?” Raxus asked.

  Abell straightened, chains rattling softly against the wall.

  “Honestly? I don’t give a crap about anything you’re saying.”

  A faint spark of Energy flickered around his hand.

  “Hero. Villain. Whatever.”

  His grip tightened.

  “As long as you’re strong enough, none of that matters, right?”

  The spark grew.

  Golden light crawled up Abell's arms, bleeding down to his wrists. His Luminous sword flickered into existence, and the energy radiating off it was enough — the chains groaned, strained, and snapped. Links scattered across the stone floor.

  Abell dropped forward onto one knee. Caught himself. Stood.

  Raxus looked at the broken chains on the floor, then back at Abell. He didn't look worried.

  "Hm."

  Abell raised his blade.

  The familiar warmth spread through his arm the moment it materialized. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until right now.

  Yeah. That's more like it.

  Gaius watched from the cell without a word.

  Raxus came forward first. His first swing was casual, testing. Abell didn't slip it cleanly — he crashed through it, blade swinging wide and wild, and caught Raxus across the forearm on the follow through. Raxus pulled back and looked at the cut.

  Then at the glowing blade.

  "So that's your Lux."

  Abell didn't answer. He was already pressing forward.

  He swung his blade hard reckless, relentless, that forced Raxus to keep moving. For a moment it was working. Raxus was on the back foot, reading him but barely keeping up with the aggression.

  Then Abell faked high and cut low, a wild, ugly feint that shouldn't have worked. Raxus bit on it. The blade caught him hard across the ribs and sent him stumbling sideways into the wall. He hit it with a grunt and stayed there for a second, one hand pressed against his side.

  The cell went quiet.

  Raxus looked up at Abell. Something in his expression had shifted — the casual amusement was gone. He was actually looking at him now.

  "Hm." He pushed off the wall. "Not bad, little pup."

  He swung wildy But Raxus wasn't on the back foot anymore. He was reading every swing now, moving differently, more deliberate.

  Then one of Abell's big swings got caught.

  Raxus grabbed his sword arm mid-strike, twisted, and drove an elbow into his chest. Abell stumbled back winded and barely got his blade up in time for the follow up.

  He's stronger than he looks.

  Abell shook it off and went again, wilder this time. He was quicker, landing more. But every hit Raxus landed felt like two. Something was off about it — like each strike carried more behind it than it should, more than his size alone explained.

  What is that...

  Then Raxus stopped moving away.

  He planted his feet. Something shifted in the air around his fist, a subtle wrongness, like the space itself tightened. He swung once and the impact sent Abell skidding across the stone floor, crashing into the wall hard enough to crack it.

  Gaius went rigid against his chains.

  Abell slid down the wall. His sword flickered. Arms shaking, vision doubling, he grabbed the wall and hauled himself upright anyway.

  Get up.

  Raxus watched him. "Stay down."

  Abell charged.

  It didn't matter. The next hit caught him mid-stride and lifted him clean off his feet. He crashed into the ground, and his sword dissolved. He tried to push up once, arms buckling, then went still.

  Everything went dark.

  Gaius watched Abell hit the ground and not get up.

  Raxus stood over him, breathing steady, as the fight had barely cost him anything. He looked down at Abell for a moment, then turned away.

  Then the door opened again.

  The man who stepped in was older, dressed better, with the kind of stillness that came from never having to raise his voice. He looked at Abell on the floor, at the cracked wall, at the broken chains scattered across the stone. His expression didn't change, but something behind his eyes did.

  He looked at Raxus.

  "I told you to handle this smoothly."

  "Sorry, sir, He broke out of the chains."

  "I don't care." The man's voice was flat. "We mustn’t have people finding out about this place."

  Raxus said nothing.

  The man stepped further into the room, hands clasped behind his back. He looked at Gaius first. Then, at Abell still unconscious on the floor.

  "These two." He almost sounded tired. "Have someone take them into the lab."

  “Yes, sir.”

  The older man looked at Gaius directly, as if he were an object.

  "This is the thief I correct? I heard he has a Lux as well as that boy over there.”

  Gaius kept his face empty.

  The man turned back to Raxus. "Chain them properly this time when they arrive at the lab." He moved toward the door. "And clean this up."

  Raxus glanced upward toward the ceiling. "Hey, Sicari."

  She appeared in the doorway a moment later, hood up, hands tucked into her sleeves. She looked at Abell on the floor, then at Gaius against the wall. Her head tilted slightly.

  "Take them to the lab immediately," Raxus said. Then he escorted the older man out.

  The door stayed open behind them.

  She didn't move immediately.

  The room was quiet.

  She looked at Gaius closely. Her eyes dropped to his chains, then back up to his face. A slow smile spread across her face.

  "You're not actually stuck, are you?"

  Gaius said nothing.

  "Those bindings have been loose since Raxus first came in, right?" She crouched down to his level, tilting her head the other way.

  Still nothing from Gaius.

  "Interesting," she said, like she was genuinely impressed.

  She stood, glancing once toward the corridor.

  "You seem much more capable than you let on." She said casually. “I’d bet you got caught on purpose.”

  Gaius met her eyes for the first time. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Welp, "Her eyes moved toward Abell. "Take your friend here and go."

  Gaius met her gaze.

  “You’re letting us go?”

  “Yep, I don’t really care what happens here. This job here was just to kill time.” She said.

  Sicari jumped up towards the upper cells. Before she reached the top, she looked back at Gaius.

  “I hope we meet again,” she said, blowing a kiss.

  Just like that, she was gone.

  Gaius sat in the cell for a moment.

  "What a weirdo."

  Then he stood up. Chains falling loose around his feet.

  He looked at Abell on the floor. Then, at the darkness stretching deeper underground, where the torchlight thinned, and the air felt different.

  He walked over and hauled Abell up onto his shoulder.

  Heading deeper into the dungeon.