[Luminious Cosmos; Apostle HQ]
"We're finally here!" Kaia shouted, racing ahead, but then—bam. She slammed into someone. "Ugh!"
Luv hit the floor with a grunt, Kaia landing right on top of him. "Watch where you're going," he muttered, rubbing his head.
Kaia scrambled off him, "Watch your step!"
"Like you are the one to talk," Luv grunted and turned to see Yona, who didn't even flinch at the mess they made. "You again? Why are you always with Kaia?"
Yona didn't even look at him. "Not my fault. We're on a mission, and we're about to meet the Cosmic Hollow."
Luv groaned as he got to his feet, helping Kaia up in the process. "You're going there? Well, perfect timing. I had something for you anyway." He pulled out a golden feather and handed it to her.
Kaia's eyes went wide. "Wait... this is the same feather I gave to Ananya!"
Luv shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to give it to her, but she's already off to Skirmish. Guess that's a no-go. You can keep it."
Kaia hesitated. "Me? You sure?"
"Yep. Take it." Luv turned and walked off without another word, vanishing into the distance.
Kaia stared at his retreating figure. "What a strange guy…"
Yona crossed her arms and shot her a look. "You don't say."
Kaia blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
Yona smirked. "You do realize you're reading my mind, right?"
Kaia froze for a second, "What are you on?"
They walked further down the corridor until they reached a wall. Yona muttered something under her breath, and suddenly a door appeared right in front of them, sliding open like an elevator.
Kaia's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I thought you couldn't use magic?"
Yona smirked, slipping inside. "I don't need to. The door opens whenever a Splinter speaks the right words. No mana required. It's got its own."
Kaia followed, eyeing the strange buttons inside. Instead of numbers, there were weird symbols all over them. "How many floors does this place have?"
Yona pressed a button, and the lift began to move. "This isn't just an elevator. It's a teleportation lift that can take you to places beneath the Luminous Cosmos."
Kaia blinked. "Wait, really? So what's the biggest button for?"
Yona flicked her hand toward the largest button. "Not what you think. It's not an emergency stop."
Kaia squinted. "An emergency stop if the lift gets stuck?"
Yona smacked her head with a sigh. "No, idiot. That leads to the Cosmic Hollow's Chamber."
Kaia raised an eyebrow. "What about the other floors? What are those for?"
Yona grinned darkly. "Prisons."
Kaia's jaw dropped. "Prisons? Seriously? This place is a prison too? What, no playgrounds or roller coasters?"
Yona rubbed her temples, clearly exasperated. "What are you even expecting?"
The lift was old, with a vintage hotel feel—red symbols flickered on the buttons like something out of a classic movie. Kaia leaned back, letting out a small laugh. "This thing works just like a normal elevator."
Yona shot her a dry look. "Yep. Just with more teleportation."
***
Kyros had just finished his bath, towel around his waist, when knock knock knock. His hand went to his forehead, the beginnings of a headache forming. Not again.
"Wait a minute!" He shouted, scrambling to get dressed, his towel nearly slipping off in the process.
The moment he opened the door, Kiaan stormed in, arms crossed like he owned the place. "Took you long enough," he said, flopping onto the sofa like he'd been invited.
Kyros shot him a look. "What do you want?"
Kiaan didn't even look up, casually flicking on the TV. "The thing is…"
Kyros's phone buzzed, interrupting him. He stared at the screen. "Who's calling me? If that's Kaia…" His heart skipped a beat when he saw the name: Thalia.
"Oh no, what do I do? What do I do?" His voice cracked, and he glanced at Kiaan like the world was ending.
Kiaan rolled his eyes. "Just pick it up, dude."
Kyros gulped like he was about to fight a dragon, then answered with all the seriousness of a knight about to face his doom. "Yes? Thalia, what do you want?"
Kiaan scoffed. Seriously?
Thalia's voice came through, crisp and clear. "Kyros, can you come over for dinner? I'd like to invite you." Click. The line went dead.
Kyros stared at the phone like it had betrayed him. "Well, that was quick." He grinned, clearly pleased with himself. "She probably hung up because she was shy. Can't blame her. I mean, look at me."
Kiaan snorted, clearly unimpressed. "It sounded more like she was trying to get away from a threat."
"Oh, shut it."
Kiaan raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you notice? She called you 'Kyros'?"
Kyros froze, then snapped his fingers. "Wait… yeah. How does she know my name? Did you just listened to our conversation?"
"I used a little magic to listen in," Kiaan admitted, casually flipping the remote. "Couldn't resist. She was acting suspicious."
Kyros gritted his teeth. "You're insufferable."
"Speaking of insufferable," Kiaan said, suddenly serious, "remember that little incident at your old place?"
Kyros winced. "Oh yeah. The whole tentacle monster thing."
"I've told you a million times, there was no tentacle monster!"
Before Kyros could respond, Kiaan tossed a vase at him. It cracked against his head with a loud thud.
"Hey! That was a family heirloom!"
"Just admit you stole it," Kiaan said, already moving on. "Anyway, back at that house, I found traces of black magic. It was probably what created the labyrinth and that creepy, invisible eye we couldn't see. Whatever it was, it's still lingering."
Kyros blinked. "Right, the eye. Thalia was the only one who could see it. Wait—" His eyes widened. "Kai wiped everything, right? But what about the eye? Did it vanish too?"
Kiaan rubbed his chin. "That's what I came to talk about. I checked Kai's report. The eye wasn't mentioned. Just the tree trunk monster and the faceless one. It's like it never existed."
Kyros frowned. "Did you tell the boss?"
"Nope," Kiaan said. "I figured I'd tell you first, since I'm not entirely sure. Usually, Kai keeps track of how many things he lets into the void he created. But... maybe he missed something?"
"If he were here, we could ask him."
The room went quiet for a second. Then Kiaan broke the silence. "Why don't we just ask Thalia? She might've seen it when it showed up. Or—"
"You're just using this as an excuse to come to dinner, aren't you?" Kyros groaned, rubbing his temples. "Fine. Come along. You're coming with me."
Kiaan's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Yes! I knew you'd cave!"