Samui’s voice cut through the murmurs. "I’m not in the mood for this."
Weird let out a sharp exhale. "Hey, let them stare. At least then they won’t waste time gossiping behind our backs."
Shining clenched his jaw, his usual brightness dimmed by frustration.
Senshi stayed quiet, hands in his pockets, his mind replaying the fight against Four—the way she grinned, exhilarated. The way her fists struck, turning a single blow into a chain of impacts. He had matched her strength at first, but when she pushed beyond his expectations, that brief hesitation cost him.
And Khem—he didn’t react at all, his expression unreadable, but the way his hands clenched slightly at his sides hinted at something deeper—calculation, frustration, or something else entirely. He just kept walking. Straight to the debriefing room.
Inside, the atmosphere was just as suffocating. The large holo-screen flickered to life, displaying the failed operation’s key moments. Commander Brave stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, his gaze steady but not harsh. "Sit down," he ordered, his voice firm but not cold.
The team obeyed. The silence stretched for a moment before Brave sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know you all gave it everything. But we need to understand what went wrong. Let's go through it step by step." The holo-screen zoomed in on the moment Wise outmaneuvered them. Footage played, flickering between different angles—Wise moving effortlessly, their positions exposed before they even realized. Brave turned to them. "Tell me what you see."
Khem leaned forward, eyes locked on the screen. "They knew where we’d be before we got there. Wise didn’t just react—they anticipated."
Weird snapped his fingers. "Right. Look at the positioning—it's too perfect. They weren’t adjusting on the fly. They set the trap way before we even arrived."
Senshi nodded slowly. "Which means they had information ahead of time. Either from observing our patterns or... something else."
Brave exhaled, his expression darkening slightly. "Good. You're seeing it now. This wasn’t just bad luck—we were predictable. The question is, how do we fix that?"
Samui crossed her arms. "We flip the script."
Weird raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
Shining leaned forward. "We set the trap this time. If Wise is after the meteorite stones. We make them think they have a clear shot at another one."
Senshi nodded. "A fake lead. We control the conditions, the terrain, and force them into a position we choose."
Brave studied them for a moment, then gave a firm nod. "Alright. We’ll need to make it convincing. Let’s work out the details."
Khem pulled up a map of the region, highlighting key locations. "We need a place with limited escape routes but enough cover to make it seem like a real handoff. Here—an abandoned shipping yard."
Weird smirked. "Industrial, lots of metal containers for cover, and easy to set up blind spots. I like it."
Samui nodded. "We’ll stage the bait stone inside a secure case, make it look real. When Wise moves in, we’ll be ready."
Senshi crossed his arms. "We need an extraction plan. Wise is smart. If they suspect anything, they’ll bail fast."
Shining added, "I can rig some perimeter defenses. Not enough to scare them off, but enough to funnel them where we want."
Brave looked around the room. "Good. We set the trap on our terms. Everyone, get to work. We have one shot at this."
Hours later, SOF lay in wait at the shipping yard, their positions secured, eyes scanning for any sign of Wise. The bait stone sat in a reinforced case, placed strategically to lure the enemy in. Minutes passed. Then an hour. Then another. The air grew thick with stillness, a weight pressing down on each of them. No wind. No distant hum of the city. Just the eerie, unnatural quiet that made the hair on the back of their necks stand on end. Khem’s thoughts felt sluggish, as if trapped in molasses. He had counted the seconds at first, tracked the lack of movement, but at some point, time lost its meaning. The rhythm of his breath stayed the same. His stance hadn’t shifted an inch. Senshi’s eyes twitched toward a nearby crate. Hadn’t he already checked that angle? Why did it feel like he was repeating the same action without remembering when he started? His fingers curled involuntarily, his heartbeat the only measure of time he had left. Weird’s expression flickered between confusion and irritation. "Guys, does this feel...off to anyone else?" His voice came out strained, like it took effort to speak against an invisible resistance. Shining opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. He blinked. He had already been about to say this, hadn’t he? He couldn’t remember what came before or after this moment. The thought looped, repeating itself over and over.
No one moved. No one spoke.
It took time for the realization to sink in—something was wrong. Khem blinked, his hand twitching slightly, but he hadn't moved in what felt like hours. Weird’s fingers hovered mid-gesture, as if caught in an unfinished motion. Samui gritted her teeth. "This isn't right. We should've seen something by now." Her hands flexed, instinctively reaching for her device, but she hesitated. Hadn’t she already tried that? No, that didn’t make sense. Why would she hesitate? It was as if her mind was being rewritten in real time, her instincts dulled, trapped in a repeating beat she couldn’t break. The sensation deepened, dragging them further into the repeating rhythm. A dull ache spread through their muscles, as if they'd been standing for hours yet unable to feel the passage of time. The edges of their vision blurred momentarily, giving way to a dizzying sense of déjà vu, like waking up from a half-remembered dream. Their breaths remained steady, but a creeping exhaustion tugged at their limbs, their minds clouded with the uneasy feeling that they'd done all this before—again and again. Every action looped endlessly, trapping them in a cycle they couldn’t escape.
But Khem was different. The moment he recognized the sequence, he activated his ability—stasis. His body locked in place, completely unmoving, even as the loop attempted to pull him in. Unlike the others, his consciousness remained intact, untouched by the cycling pattern. Time churned around him, but Khem remained still, anchoring himself outside of the loop. He waited, calculating. Then, at the right moment, he released stasis. The sequence cracked. Reality snapped back into place—for Khem alone. The shift was disorienting, like stepping out of a dream while everyone else remained asleep. The air around him felt heavy, thick with unseen force, as if time still held its grip on the others. The silence was deafening—no movement, no reaction, just a frozen moment stretching endlessly, except for him. The others remained frozen, unaware of the struggle happening beyond their perception.
The others remained frozen, still trapped within the loop. Khem’s eyes locked onto the man—already near the bait stone, fingers brushing against the case.
The man’s smirk widened slightly. "Interesting." He—already near the bait stone, fingers brushing against the case.. Not hurried, not cautious. Just casual. Unbothered. The man stood there, unfazed, his smirk unwavering, as if he had already won. "Funny thing about waiting," he mused, "it’s just another sequence. Start, action, finish. Only this time, I never gave them the ‘finish.’"
Khem’s breath steadied as the realization set in. The others were still trapped, locked in a time that refused to move forward. Whatever force held them in place, it wasn’t breaking on its own.
He tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Ah, where are my manners? People call me Three. Not the most creative name, I admit, but it suits me well enough."
Khem's body tensed, and in an instant, he moved—his focus locked onto the case. He closed the distance in a fluid motion, his fingers tightening around the handle before he even processed the weight of it. But as he gripped the case, he didn’t loosen his stance. His muscles remained coiled, his eyes locked onto Three. This was too easy.
Three had let him take it—without resistance, without concern. That alone was enough to keep Khem on edge. Three, however, merely smirked, still unbothered. He tilted his head slightly, watching Khem with casual amusement. "Oh? You actually got it. How unexpected."
Khem didn’t respond. Instead, he shifted his grip on the case, running his fingers over its edges, searching for anything unusual. The weight felt right, the structure intact—but something gnawed at the back of his mind. Without taking his eyes off Three, he popped the case open just enough to glimpse inside. The meteorite stone lay nestled within, shimmering faintly under the dim light. Relief flickered across Khem’s face for the briefest moment—confirmation that they hadn’t been completely outplayed. His breath remained steady, but his grip on the case tightened slightly, reassured yet wary of Three’s reaction. Three’s smirk remained, unreadable, as if he was merely entertained by Khem’s reaction, not concerned in the slightest.
"Now that," Three mused, "is a curious outcome. But tell me, Khem, do you really feel accomplished right now?"
Khem’s breath steadied as the realization set in. The others were still trapped, locked in a time that refused to move forward. Whatever force held them in place, it wasn’t breaking on its own. His grip on the case tightened, his knuckles whitening as a sharp current of frustration burned beneath his calm exterior. If Three had done this, then he could undo it. And Khem wasn’t going to wait for him to decide when. And if Khem had learned anything, it was that people like Three thrived on control. He had to take that away. Khem didn’t speak. Instead, he moved—decisive, precise. His eyes locked onto Three, calculating. Then, without hesitation, he acted.
Three’s smirk didn’t fade, but there was a flicker of something behind his eyes—curiosity, perhaps.
Khem shifted, not toward Three, but toward the still-frozen SOF. He wasn’t sure if this would work, but instinct drove him forward. If Three was controlling the sequence, then the only way to disrupt it was to make a move beyond his expectations. A gamble, but one he had to take. He lifted the case and threw it—straight at Samui.
Three’s expression shifted just slightly. A fraction of a second. But Khem caught it. The loop cracked. Reality rippled, as if reacting to an order it hadn’t been given. Samui’s fingers twitched. Shining’s stance wavered.
Three exhaled, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Huh. Clever. Not many people catch me off guard." With a flick of his fingers, the unseen force shattered completely.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
SOF snapped back into motion.
Senshi reacted first. His instincts took over, his body already moving before thought could catch up. With a sharp inhale, he surged forward, fists clenched, aiming to subdue Three before he could escape.
Weird was right behind him, shifting his stance to block any possible retreat, while Samui’s fingers flicked across her device, deploying a containment barrier around the area.
Shining stayed on the perimeter, eyes scanning for any sign of Three’s next move.
But Three didn’t run. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle, his posture still relaxed, watching them descend on him like a pack of wolves. "Interesting," he murmured.
As Senshi’s fist swung forward, reality twisted. In the blink of an eye, Three wasn’t where he had been.
Senshi’s strike hit only empty air.
Before anyone could react, Three had already repositioned himself—effortlessly, as if he had always been standing in his new spot. "Too slow," he mused, tilting his head slightly, as if this was all a game. Then, without warning, Senshi’s stance faltered—just slightly. A motion he had already committed to was subtly altered, as if his own momentum betrayed him. Not by choice. His body twisted slightly off course, his foot landing just a fraction too far left, throwing his balance off. It wasn’t forced, just… rearranged. His fist, already set to strike, loosened just enough before tightening again—a minute change, but enough to disrupt his intent.
Weird's smirk remained, but his gaze sharpened as he watched the others struggle. Unlike them, his body remained untouched, free from the unseen force twisting their actions. Samui’s hands hovered just above her device, frozen mid-command, her mind aware but unable to send the signal to her fingers.
Three’s smirk deepened. "Start, action, finish," he murmured, deliberately avoiding Weird’s gaze. "You all keep playing, but I hold the script."
Senshi gritted his teeth, realizing too late—he was still in control, but the sequence had shifted, guiding him down a path he hadn’t meant to take. His arm lifted against his will—his own fist driving toward Shining.
Shining barely ducked in time, eyes widening as the realization sank in. "He's controlling our movements!"
Khem didn’t hesitate. He lunged, aiming to disrupt Three before he could manipulate anyone further. He moved with precision—silent, focused, his steps deliberate.
Weird saw the opening instantly. Without a word, he adjusted, shifting to cut off Three’s potential escape route. His movements were unpredictable, ensuring Three couldn’t easily calculate the next sequence.
Three’s smirk didn’t fade, but his eyes flicked between them. "Ah, interesting. You think you can pin me down?"
Khem struck first, his motion crisp and controlled. At the same time, Weird closed in from the side, ready to counter any evasion.
For the first time, Three took a step back. Then he smiled. "Alright," he mused, "let’s make this interesting."
Without warning, the space around them seemed to ripple—not physically, but in the way their movements unfolded. Senshi, still recovering from his previous stumble, suddenly found himself lunging again, an action he hadn’t yet committed to. Samui’s fingers brushed her device, but instead of activating it, she hesitated—her previous attempt happening once more, like a moment repeating itself out of sync.
Shining barely managed to shift position before his body betrayed him, stepping exactly where he had been just seconds ago. Each action was their own, but the sequence had been scrambled, distorted.
"Start, action, finish," Three murmured, his eyes gleaming. "I wonder, how many of you can keep up when all your instincts fight against you?"
Khem didn’t hesitate. He activated stasis immediately, locking himself in place. The distortions of movement rippled around him, but he remained untouched, standing as a still point in the chaos.
Weird, watching the pattern unfold, narrowed his eyes. Three was careful not to manipulate him directly—but that meant he could see what was happening. "He's not changing what we do," Weird muttered under his breath. "He's shifting when we do it."
Khem’s stillness allowed him to observe more clearly. He saw Senshi’s second lunge before it began, Samui’s fingers twitching before repeating their misstep. It wasn’t random.
Weird’s smirk returned. "I can read it. We can work around it."
Khem gave him a small nod. He didn’t need to say anything—he simply waited for Weird’s cue.
Three’s smirk twitched. "Clever," he admitted, tilting his head slightly. "But not clever enough." He sped up the sequences.
Senshi’s misstep happened before it should have, his balance stolen mid-motion. Shining turned to adjust, only to find himself reacting to a movement he hadn’t even completed yet. Samui’s fingers skipped forward, pressing a command she hadn’t even intended to make yet.
Weird gritted his teeth. "Damn it—he’s pushing the shifts faster." Despite the chaos, he refused to let the pattern slip from his grasp. His mind worked rapidly, analyzing each staggered move, each stolen second. He saw the rhythm. "Samui, delay half a second—Shining, shift weight left! Senshi, don’t finish that punch!" His words cut through the distortion.
Bit by bit, SOF’s movements started adjusting. They weren’t fully free, but now, they weren’t completely helpless.
Khem waited, still locked in stasis, observing the shifting patterns of movement. He didn’t need to guess—he needed only to see the exact moment where the cycle faltered. There. Three’s adjustments had made the sequences faster, but also less stable. A fraction of a second exposed a weakness—an opening. Khem broke his stasis in an instant, surging forward. His movement wasn’t altered, wasn’t delayed—he had never committed to an action in the first place, making him the only one truly unpredictable.
Three’s smirk faded for the first time.
Khem’s hand clamped down on his wrist—and immediately applied stasis. Three’s body tensed the moment Khem’s grip locked in place. The effect was immediate. His entire form froze, muscles locking as if reality itself had stopped around him. Not a breath, not a twitch—he was completely motionless, caught in absolute stasis. The shift in control was absolute—his sequences collapsed, his influence severed. There was no time to manipulate, no chance to reset. The moment Khem had him, it was already over.
Three was trapped, his power rendered useless the instant stasis took hold. His entire form froze, muscles locking as if reality itself had stopped around him. There was no breath, no twitch, no flicker of movement—only absolute stillness. SOF wasted no time.
Senshi moved first, stepping forward cautiously. "He’s locked down," he muttered, watching for any sign of struggle. There was none. "We restrain him now."
Samui had already pulled out reinforced cuffs, designed to suppress abilities. Shining kept a watchful eye on the perimeter, ensuring no unexpected reinforcements arrived. Weird, still wary, observed the scene with crossed arms. "Feels too easy."
Yet Three remained unmoving. His expression frozen in something eerily close to amusement. Not fear. Not frustration. Just quiet recognition.
As Samui reached forward— Three vanished. A distortion flickered in the air where he had been, like a ripple through space. No warning, no activation of his own power. He had been teleported. Silence fell over the group, the weight of the moment pressing down on them. The distant hum of the city felt muted, swallowed by the gravity of what had just happened. The air, still charged with residual tension, seemed thicker—like the space where Three had stood hadn’t quite settled back into place. A cold breeze whispered through the yard, but none of them moved, as if expecting something—anything—to fill the void he had left.
Samui cursed, dropping the cuffs. "What the hell just happened?"
Senshi's jaw tightened. "Someone pulled him out."
Khem remained quiet, his hand still outstretched where Three had been. Even under absolute stasis, he had been taken. That meant—
"We weren’t the only ones watching," Weird muttered, his voice low.Senshi immediately stepped forward, scanning the ground where Three had stood. "No trace," he muttered. "No distortion, no energy shift. Whoever pulled him out did it cleanly."
Samui’s hands moved over her device, running a quick scan of the area. "No residual signatures—nothing. Like he was never here."
Weird exhaled, crossing his arms. "That’s not normal. Someone planned for this."
Shining frowned. "Which means this wasn’t just Wise at play. We’ve got another problem on our hands."
Khem remained silent, his gaze still fixed on the empty space where Three had been. His mind replayed the encounter—every detail, every shift. Three hadn’t resisted. He hadn’t fought. He had expected to be taken.
"We report back," Senshi decided, his voice firm. "Commander Brave needs to know this isn’t over."
The team nodded, tension still lingering in the air as they prepared to move out. But just as they turned, Khem didn’t follow. Instead, he stopped. Something gnawed at him, an unshaken feeling he couldn’t ignore. His fingers tightened around the case still clutched in his grip. Without a word, he flipped it open. The meteorite stone lay inside, exactly where it should be. Yet something felt wrong. His gaze sharpened. His mind, always quiet and methodical, ran through the details. The weight was the same. The glow was consistent. But something was off. He reached out, brushing his fingers lightly over the stone. A fraction of a second passed. Then he knew. It was fake. His grip on the case tightened, his fingers pressing into the surface as he ran his thumb over the stone’s edge. The weight was wrong—just slightly. Not enough for the untrained eye to notice, but for someone who had studied the real thing, handled it before, the difference was undeniable. A fraction too light, the balance just a little off. Then there was the texture. Meteorite stones always had a certain resistance to touch, a faint, almost imperceptible vibration that pulsed beneath the surface. This one was smooth, too still. His breath remained steady, but a sharp cold spread through his chest—an understanding that they had been deceived. The realization settled deep, unshakable. This wasn’t just a miscalculation. It was intentional. His grip on the case tightened, a rare flicker of tension in his normally steady demeanor. His breath remained even, but a sharp cold spread through his chest—an understanding that they had been deceived. The realization settled deep, unshakable. This wasn’t just a miscalculation. It was intentional.
Khem didn’t speak. Instead, he turned the case toward Samui. She caught the unspoken message immediately, her fingers moving over her device as she scanned the stone. A faint beep. A readout flickered across the screen. "It’s a near-perfect match," she muttered. "Material composition is close, but not exact. Whoever made this knew exactly what they were doing."
Senshi exhaled sharply. "Wise. It had to be them."
Weird frowned, his expression darkening. "Or someone else got there first."
Shining folded his arms. "Either way, the real stone is gone. Which means we need to figure out when the switch happened."
Khem’s gaze remained on the fake. His mind worked methodically, backtracking every step. The mission. The loop. Three. Had it been before they arrived? During the battle? Or… had the swap already happened before they even walked into Wise’s trap? Khem’s eyes narrowed slightly. Something had been off from the beginning, but they had been too focused on the mission to notice. He replayed the events—every step, every moment—but the timeline refused to align. Somewhere, the real stone had been taken. The question was: when?
"Brave needs to know," Senshi muttered. "If Wise pulled the switch, it means they were ahead of us before we even started. That’s not just a loss. That’s a breach."
Samui worked rapidly, her device running deeper scans, tracing energy signatures. She frowned. "No signs of forced interference, which means the swap wasn’t sloppy. It was clean, premeditated."
Weird’s expression darkened. "Then that means Wise wasn’t reacting to our trap. They were leading us into it."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Senshi exhaled, steadying himself. "Brave needs to hear this now. We don’t make another move until we figure out how deep this goes."
Samui nodded, already transmitting a secure report back to Blackout Fortress. "I’ll encrypt it—need to make sure no one outside of command intercepts."
Shining glanced between them before finally speaking. "Then let’s move. We can’t stay here any longer."
Khem closed the case, his grip firm. His mind was still working through the pieces, but one thing was certain: they had been deceived long before they stepped into the trap. And if Wise had done this cleanly, it meant their next move was already in motion.
Without another word, SOF left the shipping yard, making their way back to Blackout Fortress. The return was quiet. No one spoke, but the weight of the mission hung over them, unshaken. Khem remained deep in thought, replaying each moment, each possible point where the real stone could have been switched. The answer was there—buried somewhere in the sequence. The moment they stepped into the debriefing room, Brave was waiting. His expression was unreadable, but his sharp eyes scanned over them like he already knew something had gone wrong. "Sit. Talk. Now."
Samui placed the case on the table, opening it without a word. The fake stone gleamed under the dim lights. Brave's eyes narrowed as he reached forward, his fingers brushing over the surface before pulling away. "This isn’t it."
"No," Khem said. "It’s not."
Brave exhaled through his nose, the tension in the room thickening. "Which means the real one is gone. Stolen. And we don’t know when."
Senshi’s jaw clenched. "We walked straight into their setup. Wise had us outplayed before we even made a move."
Brave looked at each of them in turn, his expression darkening. "Then it’s worse than I thought. Because that means we were compromised before this mission even started."
Silence filled the room. The implications of those words settled deep. This wasn’t just a failed mission. This was something bigger.
"We’re changing tactics," Brave finally said. "Effective immediately. This won’t happen again. We find out how deep this goes—and we hit back. Hard."
The meeting ended without another word. Khem lingered a moment longer, eyes still fixed on the fake stone. Something still didn’t add up. "We’re not alone."
Khem turned his head slightly, his gaze following Shining’s. The weight of unseen eyes pressed against them—subtle, but undeniable. Someone was watching. Someone who knew exactly what they were looking for.
Thanks you for reading chapter 8 and many thanks if you still stick around since chapter 1. Don't forget to comment and rate this chapter!
Now here's the illustration of Three!