I cautiously approached the temple grounds, keeping an eye out for any monsters lurking nearby. Ms. Ina hadn't exactly been specific about where she would be—whether she stayed inside or outside the temple—so I figured the best thing to do was to explore.
As I climbed the first set of stairs, I noticed the morning sun slowly rising, its golden light growing stronger the higher I went. I checked my mini map in the corner of my HUD. Sure enough, it had recorded the areas I passed, illustrating the layout as I explored. Convenient, I thought. At least I wouldn't get lost.
Reaching the terrace, I wandered around, taking in the remnants of a bygone era—intricate stone carvings and ornate walls that whispered of a forgotten past. I completed a full rotation of the terrace, but still, no sign of Ms. Ina.
Not giving up, I ascended another set of stairs. As I reached the next area, I finally saw her.
Ms. Ina stepped out from the temple chambers, pulling her hood over her head. For a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of her face—the first time I'd seen her without her hood on. I had to admit, she was stunning.
She stopped in her tracks when she noticed me standing on the open terrace. There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
"Good morning," I greeted her, smiling. "You look even better without the hood. It suits you."
Ms. Ina seemed to appreciate the compliment, though her response was more practical than flattered. "Thank you, but I prefer to stay out of the sun. The heat is too much for me."
I nodded. "Fair enough."
She then shifted the conversation. "So, you're here, which means you've finished what I asked you to do?"
I affirmed with a nod.
She blinked in disbelief. "You've already finished? I expected you to be done by sundown at the earliest."
"Well, what can I say? I like to work fast." I smiled and showed her the results.
Ms. Ina examined the alarm lamp and microcontroller board closely, squinting a bit. "The lamp is definitely fixed," she said. "And this board… it looks flawless, like it's brand new. Though, I'll need to test it with my tools to make sure everything works."
"Feel free to test it whenever you can," I replied, feeling a bit of pride in my work.
But then, in my excitement, I accidentally let slip, "I also reprogrammed it a bit."
Her eyes snapped to mine, her expression startled. "Reprogrammed? How on earth did you manage that? I didn't give you the means to extract or add any new programs. And Batustone doesn't even have the tools to perform that kind of operation!"
I cursed under my breath. Great, Zal, I thought. Way to expose yourself. I wasn't ready to reveal that I was an automaton just yet.
Before I could think of a decent cover story, Ms. Ina simply said, "Impressive. I won't ask how you did it, but I'll inspect the contents later."
I exhaled a breath of relief, quickly masking it with a casual smile. "Just another Tuesday for me," I joked, trying to play it cool.
She gave a thoughtful nod. "Well, regardless, you've done excellent work."
I shrugged. "Thanks. I enjoyed working on it."
Then, something clicked in my memory. I pulled out the paper with the binary codes and mentioned the message I'd decoded. As I recited it to her, I noticed Ms. Ina's expression shift. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she took a small step back, clearly flustered.
After an awkward cough, she regained her composure. "That was… well, I was just throwing random things at you when I gave you that paper. I didn't expect you to actually decrypt it."
I chuckled. "Well, I'm glad I discovered this hidden side of you."
Ms. Ina cleared her throat again, her face returning to its usual neutral state. "You're full of surprises. Honestly, I think you're exactly the kind of person I've been looking for."
That caught me off guard. "Looking for?"
She nodded. "Yes. My master has been searching for someone with your talents—someone with an aptitude for engineering, but more importantly, someone without any ties to the apostles or the Vectors."
That sounded oddly specific. "Why the strict requirements?"
"It's not my doing," she explained. "It's my master's. She needs an assistant for her experiments, but she has no interest in anyone connected to those groups. And trust me, her insistence on these prerequisites has been driving me mad. For the past two months, she's been nagging me to find someone like you. It's like trying to find a needle in a mountain of hay."
I smirked. "Sounds like a real headache."
Ms. Ina broke character for a moment and let out a small rant about her master, but quickly caught herself and coughed awkwardly, slipping back into her cool demeanor. "In any case, would you come meet her? She's the one making the final decision, but I'm certain she'll want to work with you."
I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be anyone's assistant, especially not after all that. "I don't know… I'm not really looking to be tied down."
"Don't worry," she said, waving off my concern. "You can hear her out. If you don't like what she has to say, you can walk away."
Her master sounded intriguing enough, though. I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least meet her. Besides, with how unique Ms. Ina already was, I was curious to see who she worked for.
"All right," I said. "Let's go meet your master."
Ina led me into the depths of the temple, down a spiraling staircase that clung to a massive stone pillar. The narrow steps seemed to go on forever, descending into darkness, illuminated only by faint beams of light that trickled through cracks in the ceiling far above us. I remembered Ms. Ina told me that she lived in a hut, but I was yet to see one. As we went down, the silence between us was broken by Ina's voice.
"That bag you carry," she began, her tone curious. "It's not like any ordinary backpack, is it? The way it's crafted… I saw steel mesh underneath the tattered cloth."
I chuckled. Her perceptiveness was sharp, as always. "You've got a keen eye, Ms. Ina," I said. "I made it myself. It's not just a bag—it's designed to hold something important."
Ina nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer, and didn't press further. I was grateful for that; there were some things better left unsaid.
After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the bottom of the staircase, stepping into an open area that looked ancient. The walls were cracked, moss creeping over the stonework, and the faint smell of dampness lingered in the air. The centerpiece was an altar, its worn surface suggesting it had seen countless rituals over the centuries.
"This place looks like it was used for ceremonies," I mused, my voice echoing slightly in the vast, empty space.
"You're not wrong," Ina agreed. "This area used to be for sacrificial ceremonies."
That detail made me slightly uneasy, so I changed the topic. "So, where is your master? I don't see anyone here."
Ina turned to me and gestured toward the far wall. "Follow me."
Without another word, she raised her palm toward a seemingly random wall tile. A soft glow emanated from her hand, and soon, a magic circle appeared, hovering in the air. I watched, captivated by the way the symbols glowed and pulsed, shifting in rhythm with her energy. Then, with a rumble, the wall began to shift, revealing a small passageway.
"That was something," I remarked, still mesmerized by the magic display. As we stepped inside, I added, "Honestly, I thought if there was going to be a secret passage, it would be behind the altar podium."
Ina gave a nod of approval. "There is a passage there, but it leads to the treasure chamber. I can't have my master's hideout being that obvious, now can I?"
"Fair enough," I said, impressed by her forward-thinking nature.
The passage led us to a slightly more spacious chamber. In the center stood a pedestal that emitted a warm white light, faint but calming. A small set of stairs led up to it.
Ina moved ahead, her expression calm, but I was starting to get a bit anxious. I had no idea what was coming next, and being pulled into hidden chambers beneath ancient temples wasn't exactly helping me feel at ease.
"Ms. Ina," I said cautiously, "where are you taking me?"
She gestured to the pedestal. "This," she explained, "is the Aurelia Conduit. It's a gateway to my master's hideout."
A portal? This was getting more mysterious by the second. Ina extended her hand to me, her eyes soft but expectant. "Come with me."
I hesitated, unsure if I wanted to be teleported to who-knows-where. But before I could decide, Ina grabbed my iron hand with surprising firmness and pulled me onto the pedestal. The world around us shimmered for a moment, and then everything went black.
When I opened my eyes, the world had changed entirely. I stood in front of a grand treehouse, nestled atop a floating island suspended in the middle of an endless sky. There was no horizon, no ground beneath us—just vast, endless skies stretching as far as the eye could see. My mind struggled to process the scene; it felt surreal, like standing in a dream. Above us, smaller floating islands drifted lazily, some connected to this central one by narrow, magically formed bridges that shimmered as they appeared and vanished, as though responding to some unseen force.
"Welcome to Reytett," Ina said, her voice lighter than I had ever heard it before. "This is my master's hideout."
My gaze wandered over the scene, utterly mesmerized. "This… this is incredible," I muttered to myself, marveling at how gravity, reality—everything I thought I knew—seemed irrelevant here. "I've never seen anything like it. I could just stand here for hours, watching it all."
Ina glanced at me, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Are you afraid of heights, Mr. Zal?" she asked playfully, her voice light but carrying a genuine curiosity.
"Afraid? No," I replied, still in awe of the view. "This is… magical. It's like the laws of nature don't apply here."
With a satisfied nod, Ina gestured ahead. "Come with me then. We need to cross to the workshop."
The green-hooded lady walked onto the edge of the island. There was a smaller floating island across, but there was nothing that we could step on to get there. As if on cue, a shimmering sky bridge materialized before us, leading to that smaller island.
"Whoa…"
The bridge seemed to pulse with energy, forming out of thin air. It had no visible supports—only a faint glow beneath our feet that marked its outline. I followed Ina across, each step light, as if the island itself was suspended in a delicate balance with the world around it. The wind rushed past us, yet I felt completely secure.
The smaller island was home to a building that could only be described as a chaotic mix between a barn and a high-tech workshop. The walls were constructed from wooden beams intertwined with strange metallic plates, giving it a rustic yet industrial feel. The roof sloped downward, covered in what appeared to be a hodgepodge of overlapping tiles, some glowing faintly. Smoke curled lazily from a crooked chimney on one side, while on the other, stacks of raw materials—metal pipes, gears, and arcane devices—were scattered carelessly around the yard, as though dropped during a frenzy of work.
Ina let out a sigh of frustration. "Good grief. She's made a mess again. I swear, every time I step away, it's like she finds new ways to clutter the place." She bent down, picking up a discarded tool and shaking her head.
I took a closer look. There were tools and gadgets strewn across the ground—some I recognized, others I didn't. The front of the workshop itself was wide open, a massive wooden door left ajar. Inside, I could make out workbenches cluttered with unidentifiable contraptions and various half-finished projects. The whole place felt alive with invention, as if every corner contained something waiting to be discovered.
Ina gave a quick glance over the workshop, clearly irritated by the state of it all. "This is where she works. And if you're wondering, yes, it's always like this."
I chuckled softly. "It's got character, at least."
She rolled her eyes and began to gather up the scattered materials, muttering something about her master's complete disregard for order. I stayed back for a moment, taking in the scene—the endless skies, the floating islands, the bizarre yet captivating workshop. There was something about this place, something more than just its magic. It felt like it existed on the very edge of reality, where anything was possible.
We approached the workshop, and Ina cleared her throat. "Master," she called out, "I've returned. And I've brought the person you've been looking for."