Nathan eventually found his harpoon. After further searching, he picked it up. At the end of its tip was a surprisingly intact purple flower. He scanned it.

  [Blight Bloom Flower]

  This ominous purple flower looks like it’s been plucked straight from a villain’s garden. It’s one of four maddeningly elusive components needed to craft the Sigil of Passage—your golden ticket from the cushy Third Circle to the nightmarish Fourth.

  Nathan squinted at the description. Cushy? The system was calling this circle cushy?

  Nagin grabbed the flower and handed it to Bree, who had come up behind him. She snatched it and shoved it into her inventory.

  “I am already over this circle,” she said. “Entirely done with it.”

  “Yeah, well, there are still two more of these goddamn things we have to get before the next one.” Nathan replied.

  Her left eye twitched. “Don’t remind me.”

  Nathan’s shoulders drooped as he looked around. In the distance was the corpse of something straight out of a Japanese anime nightmare. The air reeked of rotten eggs and the general stench of decay. His clothes were utterly soaked in unholy swamp water, and all he had to show for it was a single flower.

  Well, that and the new skill. He needed to test that one out.

  [Ocean’s Kiss] (Silver)

  The evolution of [Ocean’s Embrace], this blessing carries the depth of the abyss and the gentleness of the shore. When called upon, liquid sapphire light swirls around the wounded, weaving through flesh and bone like the touch of an unseen current. Wounds close, pain fades, and the weary are restored—yet the ocean does not grant without change. Those kissed by the tide may find themselves momentarily lighter, their movements guided by unseen waves, their senses sharpened as if hearing the distant song of the deep.

  It increased power. The skill granted a temporary bonus—at least, that’s how Nathan read it.

  His ribs were still sore. He held his hand over his chest and began to filter energy into the tips of his fingers—

  “Nathan, come on. We need to get out of here. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get a new pair of clothes.”

  Nathan glanced at Chad and nodded. They began to walk back.

  "Did you find absolutely nothing?"

  "Nothing. I’ve asked everyone in this area, and no one has been able to locate another ‘spirit pool’.”

  For the past few days, Nathan and Chad had been recuperating and winding down after their last dungeon raid. Nathan, in particular, had focused on honing his abilities and gaining better control over them. He was making progress with his water abilities—they no longer felt overwhelmingly powerful, and using them was becoming smoother and more intuitive.

  The only problem was lightning.

  There was something about lightning that made it nearly impossible for Nathan to wield. Water cooperated with him as if it were an extension of himself. Wind was unruly but manageable.

  Lightning, however, felt like it was fighting him at every turn. If he tried to make it stronger, it grew weaker. If he wanted it to go left, it went right. It wasn’t something he could trick, either—it seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense his true intentions, no matter how hard he tried to disguise them.

  Meanwhile, Chad had been doing as Nathan asked, searching for any sign of a spirit pool. But it was as if they’d all vanished. Every now and then, someone would come across a crater, a sure sign that one had been there—but that was it.

  Nathan fell asleep soon after Chad spoke to him, his last thoughts lingering on his need to obtain those samples.

  And, of course, he knew it was dangerous to want something so badly as he drifted off to sleep.

  "Welcome back!" a voice said.

  Nathan’s eyes snapped open. He was back on the beach, waves lapping at his feet. Ahead of him stood a familiar figure with blue hair.

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  "Thalassa."

  Anand laughed. It was a slow, deliberate thing, a carefully crafted laugh that perfectly expressed the depths of his excitement.

  He had made progress—so much progress. The library was open to all—a library containing sensitive materials related to the soul. Of course, Anand wasn’t an expert in this matter, but he was nothing if not dedicated. He hadn’t made monumental strides, but he had made progress. His study of the soul was opening up avenues of potential exploration. Soul tunneling, soul shattering—concepts of great danger. There were, of course, several defenses built into the soulbound town to prevent such things. But Anand was dedicated. He had time. As long as he played his cards right, he would surely be able to escape—

  "Anand! Give me a hand with this plank!"

  Anand’s teeth clenched together.

  "Coming, boss!" he shouted.

  He stood up and adjusted his hard hat. The tools on his hips clicked and clanged against each other as he walked over to Bricks. He grabbed the other end of the plank, and together they lifted it and set it on top of one of the walls of the house.

  "All right, let’s screw it in," Bricks said.

  "Sure thing."

  Anand dutifully went through the motions of setting up the house. It was, of course, ridiculously easy for someone of his skills to learn the art of construction. Anand had been trained to resist torture and, if necessary, to even end his own life. The amount of mental strain he’d endured was beyond anything anyone in this town could comprehend.

  Spending a few sleepless nights learning how to use woodworking tools had been a trivial task in comparison.

  He was integrating well. He knew all his coworkers’ quirks and had established himself as the happy-go-lucky, helpful type. The perfect cover.

  By the end of the day, they’d all gathered around to admire the house they’d built. Bricks nodded approvingly.

  "You all did good work," he said. "I’m proud of you guys."

  The men exchanged nods and grins. Anand joined in, of course.

  "With that, let’s call it a day," Bricks said.

  Anand turned to leave when he heard Bricks call out.

  "Anand, if you don’t mind, could you stay here for a second?"

  Anand froze.

  Had he been made? No, that was impossible. His disguise was flawless—there was no way Bricks could have seen through him!

  But then again, Anand had heard the rumors. Bricks and Sticks were supposedly the shadow powers of the city, controlling everything. Sticks even had a political party—the TPP—which wielded significant influence over city politics.

  Anand had dismissed it all as hearsay, but perhaps there was some truth to it after all…

  He turned around and walked up to Bricks with an easy smile.

  "Bricks? What’s up?"

  Bricks frowned, his gaze lowering as he glared at Anand.

  "You know exactly what’s up."

  Shit! I’ve been made!

  Sweat broke out across Anand’s back. No, he had to keep cool. Keep. It. Cool. There was no guarantee he’d been exposed. Even if he had, he might still be able to talk his way out of it.

  "I—I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking about," Anand said, injecting just the right amount of hesitancy and fear into his voice.

  Bricks sighed. "You’ve been doing a good job fitting in, but I’m worried about you. You don’t seem to have any hobbies, you don’t speak to anyone besides your coworkers—and that’s only when you’re on the job. And don’t think I didn’t notice how quickly you picked up the basics of these skills. It only took you a few days."

  Anand blinked. "Is… is that a bad thing?"

  "No, I’m glad you’re so clever,” Bricks said. “And I’m glad you decided to stick around with us. But I get the feeling you’re pushing yourself real hard for some reason, even though you don’t need to. When I said I wanted you to work, all I had in mind was for you to help out with physical labor once in a while for an hour or two. I didn’t expect you to join one of the work crews full-time."

  Anand grimaced. He’d gone too far—and on top of that, he’d forgotten to flesh out the rest of his cover! A rookie mistake.

  "Well, you see…" Anand scrambled for an explanation. He should have prepared for this ahead of time!

  "Look, I get it," Bricks said.

  Anand furrowed his eyebrows slowly. "You do…?"

  "You don’t have a family, do you?" Bricks asked.

  "Not really—"

  "You’ve got no support, nobody to fall back on. So you feel like you’re at my mercy. I think that’s what’s going on—and I just gotta tell you, you’re wrong. I didn’t take you in because I wanted free labor. I took you in because you needed help. You don’t have to push yourself like this. Get a life, make some friends, meet up with some of your own people—“

  "I don’t have any people!"

  The words escaped before Anand could stop them.

  He’d been under so much stress. He hadn’t gone back home in so long. His emotions had been building up without him even noticing.

  Anand scrambled to backtrack. "That is to say, I—"

  Bricks was silent for a moment.

  "But that’s where you’re wrong,” he said.

  “…what do you mean?"

  "As far as I’m concerned, this crew is a family. And you’re part of it. Every single one of those workers in our organization? They’re your brothers and sisters. You come to us for anything—I mean anything—and we’ll help."

  Anand resisted the urge to scoff. If they actually knew who he was, Bricks would probably have him taken out back and shot.

  But obviously, he couldn’t say that.

  Anand twisted his face into an expression of false shock.

  "You really mean that?" he asked.

  "Of course. Just keep that in mind, okay?"

  Anand nodded slowly. "Yeah."

  Bricks walked off. Anand watched him, a glint in his eyes.

  When I escape from here, they’ll be the first to go.

  At the thought, a pang twisted in his stomach. He furrowed his eyebrows and ignored it. It was probably nothing.