The tavern smelled of roasted meat, damp wood, and strong ale. Jet sat at a round table near the hearth, staring at the glow of the flames as they flickered against the stone walls. Her spellbook rested open before her, its pages humming faintly with restored power.

  For the first time since entering the portable realm, she felt whole again.

  Every spell that had once been locked away now glowed with possibility.

  Across the table sat the two strangers she had just met.

  Miltoncroft leaned back in his chair, long legs stretched out as if he owned the place. His magician’s cloak shimmered slightly, the fabric rippling with faint magical interference that seemed to distort the light around him.

  Xee sat beside him in perfect silence.

  The woman moved like a shadow even while seated. Her ninja attire was a dark weave of cloth and light armor, and Jet noticed the subtle glimmer of enchanted threads running through the seams.

  Miltoncroft lifted his mug.

  “Well then,” he said cheerfully, “to new allies and the salvation of multiple worlds.”

  Jet raised an eyebrow.

  “Multiple worlds,” she repeated.

  They clinked mugs.

  Jet took a cautious sip.

  The drink tasted like spiced honey and ozone.

  “So,” she said, leaning forward, “start talking.”

  Miltoncroft placed his mug down with exaggerated care.

  “The planets are misaligned.”

  Jet blinked.

  “That’s not possible.”

  “Oh, it most certainly is.”

  Xee finally spoke, her voice quiet but sharp.

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  “The celestial channels are collapsing.”

  Jet frowned.

  The phrase struck something in her memory—old lore buried deep within the Colossal Machine’s magical systems.

  Cross-channel magic.

  A forbidden branch of arcane study capable of bridging planes, timelines, and entire worlds.

  Jet slowly closed her spellbook.

  “You’re telling me,” she said carefully, “that something inside the Machine is affecting the real universe.”

  Miltoncroft tilted his head.

  “Not exactly.”

  He leaned forward.

  “Something is using the Machine.”

  The fire crackled.

  For a moment none of them spoke.

  Jet felt a faint vibration ripple through the floorboards.

  At first she thought it was the tavern settling.

  Then her interface flickered.

  A translucent system window appeared before her eyes.

  <<>>

  System Message:

  Anomaly detected in construct layer 7.

  Reality bridge integrity: 92% and falling.

  <<>>

  Jet’s heart skipped.

  She had never seen that notification before.

  Miltoncroft and Xee exchanged a glance.

  “You see?” Miltoncroft said quietly.

  Jet stood abruptly.

  “What is construct layer seven?”

  Miltoncroft’s expression shifted from amusement to something much darker.

  “The layer beneath this one.”

  Jet stared at him.

  “There isn’t a layer beneath this one.”

  “Ah,” he said.

  “There wasn’t.”

  Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.

  But the sky had been clear a moment ago.

  Jet rushed to the tavern window.

  The clouds above Bonnyton twisted like dark whirlpools.

  Lightning streaked across the sky in jagged patterns that looked disturbingly like code.

  Her interface flickered again.

  <<>>

  System Warning

  Cross-realm portals activating.

  <<>>

  Jet turned back toward the table.

  Miltoncroft was already standing.

  Xee had vanished.

  Jet sensed movement behind her.

  The ninja stood near the tavern door, blade drawn.

  Something slammed against the tavern walls.

  The entire building shook.

  Patrons began shouting.

  A second message appeared before Jet’s eyes.

  <<>>

  NEW EVENT

  The Fracturing of Realms

  <<>>

  Jet’s pulse quickened.

  She grabbed her staff and opened her spellbook.

  Mana surged through her veins like a storm.

  “Well,” Miltoncroft said with a grin that suggested he had been expecting this all along.

  “It appears we’re out of time.”

  The tavern doors exploded inward.

  A creature stepped through the wreckage.

  It looked like something between a dragon and a machine.

  Its body flickered between solid matter and shimmering data fragments.

  Jet felt the magical structure of the world distort around it.

  “That,” Miltoncroft said calmly, “is why we came to find you.”

  The creature roared.

  Jet raised her staff.

  Arcane light burst around her hands.

  The Grand Magi had work to do.