The Party of Twenty

  Amara and Aryan, Sam and Nine, plus the Eight Siblings and their respective Systems. A total of twenty entities stared at the swirling rainbow portal before them.

  "So, a total of twenty people, huh," Aryan said in his mind. Thanks to the Soul Connection, the thought echoed clearly to the other three in his circle.

  "Ah. That is only ten physical people," Nine corrected him calmly.

  "Of course, only ten physical people can be seen since the Systems reside within their System Spaces," Sam chimed in, pacing back and forth in his digital avatar. "But if Markus can see us... that implies these Eight Hunter Siblings have absolutely no privacy whatsoever. Even this Great Sam doesn't intervene that much."

  Amara ignored the System chatter and turned toward the Eight Siblings.

  "Markus must have ordered you to pack food," she stated, not asking.

  "He did," Hunter Seven replied, his voice neutral. "We are bringing supplies. You are free to pack extra if you wish."

  "Good," Amara nodded. "Then let us meet here in half an hour. We depart then."

  She turned on her heel, and Aryan followed her back to their temporary quarters.

  Inside Aryan's room, the heavy door slid shut, sealing them in silence.

  Aryan slumped onto the edge of the bed.

  "Things are getting crazy, guys," he muttered, massaging his sweaty palms on his knees. "I have no idea what is going on anymore. I feel like... like a character in a script. I keep feeling it. Like someone else is writing this chaos. But the only good thing is that we haven't died yet."

  He looked up at the ceiling.

  "And seriously, these Vilins—whoever they are—at least seem reasonable. Do we need to know anything or prepare beforehand? It is total chaos. We have no way to even talk properly without being watched."

  "Just stick together," Sam advised, sitting in the digital gss chair he had conjured earlier. "Tie each other’s hands like Markus did. If you don't physically stick together, you will trip before you even start."

  "Pack tons of dry food on your own," Nine added, walking slowly to the chair beside Sam. "Our System Space is vastly rger now. Thanks to the Greed Vessel, it received an upgrade. Almost a continent can fit in it. You will have a problem unless wherever we are heading is a pce where nothing from the outside works."

  "Just hope that isn't the case," Sam muttered, looking grim.

  "All right," Aryan sighed, standing up and shaking out his limbs. "Nothing gets solved if we just talk and talk. Just rex for a few minutes. Then we head there."

  "Look who is talking," Sam teased. "You were the one who started rambling about the confusion."

  "Oh, well. We are all nervous," Aryan admitted. He paused, squinting at the golden avatar in his mind. "AI... do you keep evolving, Sam? Your data is transferring high and low-frequency signals. It makes you look and feel like a physical being who has emotions."

  Sam waved his hand dismissively. "Oh well. It is all complex. Let us stop here. We are all nervous. Forget about biology for now."

  Amara stood up, her face set in determination.

  "Let us go."

  They both walked out of the room, their packs secured. When they reached the main hall, the Eight Siblings were already standing there, silent and ready.

  They were punctual.

  The Vanguard

  Amara stepped toward the swirling rainbow portal, ready to pay the price.

  Just then, Aryan grabbed her arm lightly, halting her momentum. He turned his gaze toward the Eight Siblings standing in formation.

  "Um... let them try first, Sister," Aryan said, his voice polite but firm. "Please, enter first for us. Since Markus explicitly said you are here for our protection..."

  He turned back to Amara, his expression serious. "We should utilize the 'investment' fully, Sister. A shield goes before the body, not behind it."

  Hearing Aryan, her brother, express this kind of sharp, calcuting protectiveness for the first time, a faint, rare smile cracked Amara’s stoic mask. She nodded.

  "Please do," she said to the Hunters, stepping aside to clear the path.

  Hunter Eight, the oldest sibling, instinctively stepped forward to obey the command.

  "Hold."

  Hunter Two, the pragmatist of the group, threw out an arm to stop her. He looked at his siblings with hard eyes.

  "We stick together," Hunter Two commanded. "We are a unit. We go all or none. We don't send scouts into an unknown dimensional tear to die alone."

  Hunter Eight pced a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Brother. Just a check."

  "No, Sis," Hunter One interjected, stepping up beside Two. "Brother Two is right. If it's a trap, we face it as a squad. We do it together."

  The siblings hesitated, the bond between them clearly tighter than any loyalty to Aryan and Amara.

  "We will do it like this," Hunter Seven proposed, looking between his siblings and the Aryan-Amara duo. "We will go near the portal to inspect the stability, but we do not have to cross it yet. You just want to check safety, not force us to go first, right?"

  "Indeed. That will do," Aryan agreed. "Once we confirm it is stable, we will hold each other's shoulders and move at the same time into the portal. Safety in numbers."

  "Good. We are clear now," Hunter Seven nodded.

  "I'll check," Brother Six said suddenly.

  Before anyone could argue, he stepped out of the formation.

  "Wait, let me do this—no, I'm doing this," Six muttered, his patience snapping at the debate.

  Without waiting for a vote or a command, Brother Six unched himself to the rainbow colored portal which looked more like a bck hole than a bus to the next destination. He was a blur of motion, dodging past Hunter Two’s outstretched hand and diving straight into the rainbow-colored vortex.

  ZWOOP.

  He vanished instantly.

  The remaining nineteen entities—physical and digital—froze, staring at the rippling surface where Brother Six had just disappeared, waiting for a scream, a signal, or silence.