Caramelus Rex staggered, molten sugar dripping from the gaping cracks in its licorice hide. The Knights pressed in, but the beast roared defiantly, swinging its colossal paw to scatter them back.

Mezzo spat caramel from his feathers, eyes blazing. He strummed a harsh, rising riff, sparks flying from the strings of Infernal Riff. “Alright, lads—time to end this with style!”

The guitar blazed crimson. Flames curled up the strings, racing toward the neck. His wings spread wide, and with a wild grin, he launched himself into the air.

“PYRO SOLO!”

He spun mid-leap, a blazing comet of feathers and fire, then brought Heartaxe crashing down with a roaring chord.

The ground detonated. A shockwave of flame erupted outward in a blazing ring, engulfing the ogre in molten fire. Sugar flesh crackled, frosting boiled, and the beast howled as it collapsed, body splintering into candy shards under the burning wave.

Mezzo’s guitar-axe hummed, glowing hot red as he strummed furiously, laughter bubbling out of him. “Right—grand finale, lads! Let’s see how ya like a faceful o’ feedback!”

He slammed his paw across the strings. A shockwave tore out, rattling windows and shaking candy beams loose. Caramelus Rex wobbled, knees buckling.
“C’mere, ya jam-filled freak!” he bellowed, smashing the beast sideways into a collapsing sugar column. Its head splattered in syrupy chunks.

The street went still.

LEVEL UP!

➤ Level 4 Achieved!

The shockwave knocked Celeste and the others back, their silhouettes flaring against the firestorm. Lumina squealed, tumbling over Skye, while Arcade shielded his holopad with both paws.

When the flames finally died down, Caramelus Rex was nothing but a heap of steaming sugar and ash.

Mezzo landed in the smoking crater, axe slung across his shoulders, grinning like a madman. “Rock an’ roll, ya sticky bastard.”

Celeste clapped excitedly, bouncing on her heels despite the soot on her cheeks. “That was amazing!”

Lumina, still sprawled, giggled breathlessly. “L-like… a fireworks concert…”

Ray rolled her eyes, wiping goo from her hammer. “Show-off.” But the corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk.

Arcade sighed, brushing sugar off his hoodie. “Congratulations. You’ve officially set the record for least energy-efficient overkill in history.”

“Worth it!” Mezzo howled, thrusting his axe high as if to play an invisible encore.

Celeste panted, then perked, bouncing on her heels. Her katanas dissolved into starlight. “Oh! Group high-five!” she squeaked, tail flicking hopefully.

Mezzo slapped her paw with a wide grin. “Hell yeah!”
Lumina giggled, a little too loud, and lifted her tiny shield-hand. Smack!
Skye gave an awkward, shy tap, eyes darting to the ground.
Arcade sighed heavily but gave the faintest tap with one knuckle. “If I contract something sticky from this, I’ll sue.”

For a breath, they all just stood there. Sticky, exhausted, but smiling. Almost like they’d won.

Then—

“Hands where I can see them!”

Dozens of Council guards flooded in, rifles leveled. Golden armor gleamed, faceless masks catching the glow of shattered candy glass.

The gang froze, hands shooting up.

Celeste’s ears drooped, voice small. “Oh dear. I… I think we’re in trouble.”

Arcade adjusted his cracked lenses with his wrist, dry as dust. “Correct. One hundred percent.”

The commander barked, cold and clipped: “Hybrids! Mana detected. Suppression chips inactive. Requesting permission to execute!”

Before any could move, Lady Umbranox’s voice cut through like velvet smoke, sharp and commanding.
“Stand down.”

Every rifle lowered instantly.

She stepped forward, crimson eyes glimmering. “Our priority is the artifact. These… hybrids are inconsequential.” Her gaze lingered on Celeste a heartbeat too long, her tone softening just faintly. “Besides… the Eye of the Council is always watching.”

Celeste shivered, tail curling tight.

Then—laughter. Loud, manic, echoing from above.

The Gilded Wasp, perched dramatically on a broken billboard, flared his cape. “Ha! You dare steal my victory, little cat?!” His voice buzzed with theatrical venom, somewhere between flirtation and fury. “You are sworn—to be my mortal enemy! Tell me your name, so history may remember your doom!”

Celeste lit up despite the rifles still pointed at her. “Oh! I’m Celeste Astallan! This is so exciting—we can be friend-enemies!” she chirped, tail swishing.

Ray’s paw smacked the back of her head. “Don’t tell him your damn name!” she barked, voice edged with fury.

“Ow! Why does everyone hit me?” Celeste whimpered, rubbing her ears. Lumina hurried over, patting her leg with wide, worried eyes.

Lady Umbranox’s gaze sharpened—too sharp, almost shaken. But she said nothing.

Lady Revel, by contrast, let out an exasperated sigh, flicking bloodied lace as though offended it dared touch her. “Enough of this circus. Form ranks! Move the carriage!”

The guards immediately obeyed.

Above, the Gilded Wasp clutched his chest in operatic fashion. “Very well, Celeste Astallan! This is but the first page of our rivalry! Treasure your days, for they are numbered!”

He struck a glittering pose, wings buzzing furiously, and zipped off in a storm of sparkling drones.

The street fell quiet.

Celeste blinked, tilting her head like a confused kitten. “...Well that was strange.”

“Strange?” Ray muttered flatly. “More like insane. Same as you.”

Mezzo cackled, syrup dripping from his ears. “Oi, don’t knock it! I’ve always wanted a nemesis with sparkly wings!”

Arcade sighed, firing up his omni-tool again. “Wonderful. A wasp-themed narcissist. Exactly what today was missing.”

The last embers of Mezzo’s Pyro Solo still smoldered when the mechanical horse-bug droids clattered to life. Their jeweled eyes pulsed, wings unfolding in metallic harmony as they created a glowing barrier around the Council’s carriage.

Lady Umbranox stood, smoke curling lazily around her like a cloak. She didn’t look back, her voice a velvet blade. “Revel. Tàiyáng. We are finished here.”

Revel scoffed, snapping her fan shut with theatrical disdain. “Finally. I was beginning to smell like a butcher’s floor.”

The priest — Luminary Pontifex Tàiyáng — simply bowed to the group, his tone like warm tea. “May the Motherlight temper your burdens.”

The guards tightened their ranks around the carriages, the gang shoved forward with rifles at their backs.

Lady Umbranox adjusted her black smoke mane, her crimson eyes fixed on Celeste. Outwardly, her expression was unreadable—distant, commanding. But inside, her mind raced.

It cannot be.

With a whir, the horse-bugs lifted the carriage from the ground. It hovered smoothly, tilting into motion as the Council guards ignited their jetpacks, streams of blue flame carrying them aloft. The entire procession vanished into the horizon like a gilded storm.

Mezzo flopped backward, wiping sweat from his brow. “Jetpacks. Bloody jetpacks. Why don’t we get toys like that?”

Celeste, still catching her breath, perked up. She dug into her pouch and pulled out one of her dreamshards, holding it out with a shy smile. “Even better. You earned a pizza oven.”

Mezzo froze. Then, with a howl of glee, he snatched it up and bear-hugged her so tightly her paws flailed. “You’re the best friend a dalmatian could ever ask for! First pizza’s yours, promise!”

Celeste blushed, ears flattening. “I—I’m honoured.”

Arcade deadpanned without missing a beat, already typing on his omni-tool. “Statistically, the odds of him poisoning you with undercooked dough are high.”

Celeste squeaked. “Arcade!”

Celeste blinked as her HUD suddenly flickered to life in front of her eyes. The faint golden interface pulsed, brighter than before.

Range increased. Summon weapons further from user. Healing output enhanced.

She gasped softly, paws rising to her mouth. “Oh! O-oh, goodness—it’s working! W-we’re stronger now, all of us!”

Mezzo nearly toppled backward from how hard he cheered, Infernal Riff swinging wildly. “Twice! We bloody leveled up twice! Pizza oven and power boost—best day ever!”

Ray rolled her eyes but cracked a smirk. “Congratulations, you smell even worse when you’re excited.”

Pitch, shotgun balanced over his shoulder, tilted his head. His tone was lighter than usual, but sharp beneath the grin. “Don’t pop the champagne yet, kitten. Answer me this—why’d the centipede know your face? Kept calling you Kenaz. That mean something to you?”

Celeste froze, her ears twitching. She shifted awkwardly, voice tumbling over itself. “I—I’m not sure. B-but after what Carys told me, when we were, um, stuck in that toilet at the convention—oh dear, that sounds worse out loud—uh, anyway… I think a lot more happened that day than we realize.”

Ray’s eyes narrowed. “So Kenaz. That’s your dad?”

Celeste’s voice went soft, almost apologetic. “Yes.”

Lumina gasped, clutching her little shield to her chest. “O-M-G. He did follow us. Is he here? Like—is Dad in the city?”

Celeste knelt quickly, stroking Lumina’s hair with trembling paws. Her smile was gentle but pained. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Carys said he left right after the fighting. He… probably isn’t here.”

Lumina puffed her cheeks, frustrated, then whispered stubbornly, “But he came here for us. That’s… something, right?”

Celeste’s ears drooped. “That’s true,” she admitted, guilt lacing her voice.

Arcade adjusted his glasses, his voice flat as always, but there was an edge beneath the logic. “Honestly, Celeste—do you or your dad have anything to do with this catastrophe? Because the timing is… statistically suspicious.”

Celeste threw her hands up, tail puffed. “No! I promise—I don’t have a bloody clue! But if Mandibite and that dragon Velcarius both know my dad, then… then it must be a coincidence. Has to be.”

Ray snorted, rubbing sugar grit from her fur. “Whatever. We’ll untangle the family drama later. Right now? I need a bath. I smell like arse.”

Mezzo cackled. “Don’t worry, lass—we all do!”

Ray shoved him. “You’re not helping.”

The night air clung heavy with smoke and sugar ash as they trudged back toward the battered red car. Syrup crunched beneath their boots with every step, the city groaning faintly in the distance as if alive.

The others bantered half-heartedly—Mezzo griping about missing pizza toppings, Ray threatening to clobber him if he didn’t shut up, Arcade muttering calculations under his breath—but Celeste barely heard them.

Her paws tightened around her hoodie sleeves. Every time she blinked, she saw Mandibite’s twisted face, spitting her father’s name like a curse.

Kenaz.

Her chest tightened.

If I hadn’t run away… if I’d just stayed in the mansion like he said, none of this would’ve happened, would it? Maybe the zombies, maybe the dome, maybe the whole horrible mess—maybe it wouldn’t have spread so far. Maybe Dad wouldn’t have had to fight that dragon. Maybe… maybe I wouldn’t have dragged everyone into this.

Her throat stung. She kept her eyes down, so the others wouldn’t notice.

I thought I was being brave. I thought… if I left, I could finally see the world, taste life, not be trapped forever. But maybe all I did was make everything worse. Maybe all I did was prove him right.

The car loomed ahead, its metal frame scorched but still standing. Celeste lingered a moment behind the others, hugging herself against the night breeze.

Her tail curled tight around her leg. She whispered under her breath, too quiet for anyone but herself:

“…I’m sorry, Dad. Maybe I really am just useless.”

She forced a small smile when Lumina looked back, waving as if nothing was wrong. But inside, the weight only grew heavier with every step closer to the base.