“Aw, how sweet,” Syn said.

  Aleister almost tripped on air upon hearing her voice. Luckily, he stopped himself from toppling over. “I was just about to miss you. When did you get back?”

  “Oh, I’ve been here and there for a few days now.” Syn floated in front of him. “Just observing, like I’m supposed to. Didn’t realize how wholesome you became in the time I didn’t communicate with you.”

  “Really, a few days and you didn’t—” Aleister stopped talking. A few of the servants stared at him as he passed by. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t care, but he didn’t want them to think he was crazy.

  “You functioned well without me.” Syn clapped her hands together. “A cause for celebration I suppose.”

  “I lived for seventeen years prior to your existence. Of course I could live a few days without you. And how long is this few days exactly? Were you there when that man asked me questions about Kuthbay’s Atheneum?”

  Syn contorted her smile as she asked, “You met someone else who visited? Interesting.”

  “I’ll take that as no.” Aleister sighed as he unlocked his room’s door. “Could have prevented me from a great deal of boredom. Actually, that was the day you went missing. Where did you go?”

  “You won’t ask that maid where she was, but you’ll ask me? How rude.”

  Aleister jumped onto his bed. “Differing circumstances. If she wants to tell me what she’s been up to, she can. If she doesn’t, then—she doesn’t. You don’t see me blabbering to everyone about what I’ve been up to.”

  “But you’ve told me?”

  “You’re literally stuck in my head. Of course I have to tell you.”

  “I’m not stuck, thank you very much.”

  “Whatever.”

  “What did the man ask you about the Atheneum?”

  “He asked how I got there without being a Weaver.”

  “And your answer?”

  “I told him—no idea. I just wandered in there. After that, he didn’t really ask me anything else and just rambled on and on about the value of treasures. In fact,” Aleister grabbed his new bag, “He was the one who gave me this.”

  Syn grabbed it from him. “Clean. Sleek. Tough. I like it. There must have been a catch though, right?”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Yeah, he just wants me to go collect some treasure for him in exchange.”

  “Sounds suspicious to me. And you didn’t mention how you have a Contractor?”

  “Nope, and it wasn’t like I could say no. He forced it on me, really. Not that I’m going to complain.”

  “Oh!” Syn said in surprise as she opened it up. “It has an extra-dimensional pocket within it. How much can it hold?”

  “How would I know that?”

  “You own the bag, so you should at least learn its limits.” Syn stared into the bag’s empty and dark space.

  “What are you doing?” Aleister lifted his head up. “You should know that staring at it won’t allow you to see the items within, right?”

  “I was trying to see if I could determine how stable the extra-dimensional space was.”

  “And?”

  Syn tossed the bag onto him.

  “Hey, careful now!” Aleister patted the bag and made sure it accrued no damage.

  “And nothing.” Syn said with a shrug. His complaint—ignored. “I have only the faintest of knowledge about magical enchantments. But, it seems standard. However, the fact it is in a bag decreases its value and usefulness.”

  “It’s good enough for me.”

  “Anything else?”

  Aleister mocked those last words. “What do you mean, anything else? It’s only been six days, and you were supposedly there for most of them.”

  “I’m asking if you noticed something about someone?”

  “Oh no. Don’t say another word. Anymore specific and you’ll spoil the surprise for me.”

  “Fine, I won’t. “

  “No, that was a joke, please tell me.”

  “Nope.” Syn crossed her arms as she grinned. “You’ll notice in due time.”

  Aleister rolled his eyes and turned to his side, grabbing onto a pillow. “I’m going to sleep.”

  “Don’t you want to know where I’ve been?”

  He turned his head. “Are you going to tell me?”

  “As much as I can.”

  “Fine.” Aleister clicked his tongue. “Where did you go?”

  “The Ethereal Plane trapped me for a few days.”

  Aleister rolled his hands. “Is that it?”

  “The Ethereal Plane isn’t just one—hm, no.” Syn tapped her finger against her lips. “Think of it like this. The Ethereal Plane is essentially an ocean. There are many different layers.”

  “Like a cake. Or an onion.”

  “Always thinking about food, huh? But it’s more similar to a cake than an onion. And just focus on my ocean analogy.”

  “Fine.”

  Syn nodded. “You can consider our current positions like a beach. The layer I’m in right now is the shallow waters and the space you’re in is the sand.”

  “That would make sense, but you’re right next to me. If I was on the sand, wouldn’t you be much further out?”

  “I know you’re doing this on purpose. And for reference, you’re standing in the wet sand where the waves crash.”

  “Thanks for the clarification.”

  “The further out I go, the deeper the Ethereal Plane gets, just like an ocean. And much like the ocean, you sink—it darkens. The mist blurs your vision. Absorbs all heat. The lack of gravity crushes all sense of direction. So I’m sure you can only imagine what sorts of creatures exist down there.”

  “And, what exactly—trapped you?”

  “Areas like the Throne Room are trenches, the entrance to such being a cliff edge. The currents are ever constant. It’s a battle against making sure the undertow doesn’t drag me under.”

  “Dramatic, but damn. I didn’t realize that it was so tough for you.”

  “Like I said, it’s like wading my feet in the nice and pleasant cool ocean water most of the time. .”

  “And the currents were especially turbulent that day, I assume? All of that—Anima Caligo, had to go somewhere.”

  “Turbulent is an understatement. The Anima Caligo dragged me down into the trench. The troublesome part was not letting it pull me in any further.”

  “I wonder what the hell is at the bottom.”

  “Nothing pleasant I assume.”

  “Then, why don’t you go find out?”

  Syn chuckled. “Do you think I have a death wish?”