Isaac stood in front of the massive sealed door, arms tucked into his coat pockets, his posture unbothered.

  Behind him, Veyra the Hollow watched.

  She had been watching him since the moment he walked into her prison.

  But now, now she was genuinely confused.

  Not by his actions. Not by his motives.

  But by his attitude.

  Isaac treated this entire situation, ancient, impossible, reality-bending as it was...

  Like it was just another job.

  As if he had done this before.

  As if this was just another Tuesday.

  Her dark, empty eyes narrowed slightly.

  “You are… oddly casual about this.” she said, stepping beside him.

  Isaac tilted his head.

  “About what?”

  “Unsealing a prison that should not open. Walking beside a woman who should not exist.”

  Isaac shrugged. “I could panic, if you want.”

  Veyra’s lips twitched.

  She almost smiled.

  Almost.

  Before she could say anything else, Isaac casually raised a hand.

  “Actually, before we do this…”

  His masked face turned toward her.

  “You owe me.”

  Veyra blinked once.

  “…Excuse me?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Isaac gestured vaguely at the door, the chamber, the whole ridiculous situation.

  “Getting locked away is one thing. Getting out? That’s another. And I don’t do things for free.”

  Veyra arched an eyebrow. “You expect payment?”

  “Favors.” Isaac corrected. “Small ones.”

  He held up a gloved hand.

  “One, specifically.”

  Veyra crossed her arms, studying him.

  “I was under the impression you were merely curious.”

  “I was.”

  Isaac smirked beneath his mask.

  “Now I’m curious and collecting interest.”

  Isaac pulled out a small glass vial, rolling it between his fingers.

  Inside, the binding salts shimmered, the fine silver powder catching the dim light.

  He turned toward Veyra.

  “Want to try using these?”

  Veyra tilted her head slightly.

  Isaac shook the vial. “You’re technically the prisoner here. Might as well see if you can break your own lock.”

  A moment of silence.

  Then, to his surprise, Veyra actually took the vial.

  She held it between her fingertips, rolling it once, testing its weight.

  For the first time, her expression shifted into something thoughtful.

  She glanced at the sealed door and then back at the salts.

  “Interesting..." she murmured.

  And then? She opened the vial.

  Veyra let the binding salts spill into her palm.

  The moment the silver dust touched her skin the air in the chamber shifted.

  The whispers fell silent.

  The walls stopped breathing.

  And the ruins held their breath.

  Isaac watched as she slowly, deliberately pressed her palm against the ancient carvings on the door.

  For a single second,

  Nothing happened.

  But then...

  A sound like shattering glass.

  The door cracked.

  The symbols etched into the stone fractured, breaking apart like a splintering mirror.

  The ruins groaned, ancient magic unraveling beneath her touch.

  And then...

  With a slow, agonizing shift.

  The door opened.

  Isaac let out a low whistle.

  “Well.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Looks like you can break your own lock after all.”

  Veyra studied her own hand, watching as the last traces of the binding salts faded into nothing.

  “…I should not have been able to do that.”

  Isaac grinned beneath his mask.

  “That makes two of us.”

  The two of them stepped through the now open doorway, leaving behind the sealed chamber and its buried past.

  For the first time in centuries, Veyra the Hollow walked freely.

  Isaac walked beside her, glancing around as they made their way through the ruins.

  “So..” he said, tone light, “..about that favor.”

  Veyra gave him a sideways glance. “I assume you intend to collect now?”

  Isaac shook his head.

  “Yeah. It’s small. Won’t even take long.”

  He stretched his arms lazily.

  “Just has to do with the guy who sent me here in the first place.”

  Veyra’s expression shifted.

  “…Someone sent you?”

  Isaac smirked.

  “Oh yeah. And now?”

  He glanced at her, black eyes meeting endless void.

  “Now I want to see what happens when he realizes I’m not dead.”

  Veyra studied him for a long, silent moment.

  Then, with something almost like amusement, she said,

  “…You are an interesting one.”

  Isaac chuckled.

  “You have no idea.”