A Zoologist’s Guide to Surviving Magical Creatures

Crap. Every lead just looped back to another dead end. Another obstacle. Like an infinite maze designed to break my brain. I needed to rethink everything—there had to be something we'd missed. Some thread I hadn't pulled yet. But what?

I pressed my fingers against my temples and started listing everything. I ran through the evidence like a bad crime drama rerun in my head.

One: The Theos had mass-produced Soulless Orbs—divine artifacts that could suck the essence out of a creature and turn them berserk. The mastermind had to be either the war instigators from the heavens or one of the Owners. Problem was, we still had no idea how many Owners even existed.

Two: The Bi-Blouk. A disease triggered by Mythica's imbalance, already creeping into other habitats like some eldritch plague.

Three: The missing creatures. And the vanished special investigators who were supposed to find them. Like they'd been plucked out of existence.

Four: Me. Stuck with a space-time fragment, unable to contact Vorta because he was locked in the Eternal Prison. And even if I tried visiting, Kaleon's essence inside me would trigger the War Beasts, turning them into rampaging nightmares.

Too many problems. Not enough answers. And the worst part? I hadn't solved a single damn one yet.

I exhaled sharply. There went my extra V reward.

Being dragged into all this was already way above my pay grade.

Wait. Hold on. Why the hell did Kaleon mass-produce the Soulless Orbs in the first place?

That thought latched onto my brain like a leech, refusing to let go. Something about this setup didn't add up.

I looked up sharply. "Okay, something's bugging me. Why did Kaleon even bother making so many Soulless Orbs? I didn't question it before, but now that I think about it, this whole operation makes zero sense."

Agnos barely glanced up from where he was spinning one of his rings. "They were weapons. Obviously."

I frowned. "But why? Mythica wasn't even at war back then."

Agnos sighed like I'd just asked why fire was hot. "They weren't for war." A beat. Then, reluctantly, "They were security measures. Traps. Set up to stop anyone from tampering with the leyline nodes and the core."

I went still.

"…Wait. Are you telling me there are Soulless Orbs stationed at every leyline node in Mythica?"

"Not just the nodes," Naga murmured, his voice quieter now. "Even the main core. They were set up with magical safeguards. If anyone other than the Guardians, the Unknown Gods, or the Creator gets too close, the orbs automatically activate and drain them dry."

A slow, sick feeling curled in my stomach. "And you all knew this?"

"All the Unknown Gods knew," Agnos said with a smirk. "Except maybe Fenrir."

Fenrir stretched, then gave a lazy, toothy grin. "That's where you're wrong. You forgot I have my own intelligence network. Of course I knew."

Then it hit me.

Oh. Oh, hell no.

I shot up so fast my chair nearly toppled over.

Jiuge yelped, nearly spilling her drink. Agnos choked on air. Naga's gaze sharpened. Fenrir snapped his cufflink clean off. And Baku—yeah, he was still snoring.

"What the hell, Carl?!" Jiuge sputtered.

I barely heard her. The puzzle pieces slammed together, snapping into place with blinding clarity. "The ruin. It's not just a ruin. It's one of the leyline nodes of space-time. That's why Zilant gave me the fragment! He was trying to warn me—one of the leyline nodes has been breached!"

Fenrir's smirk vanished. He straightened. "You're saying one of the nodes is inside those ruins?"

"Think about it." My pulse was hammering now. "Agnos, Jiuge, and I all went inside the ruins. But none of our essence got absorbed. I have Kaleon's essence—I'm technically an interim owner—so the orbs wouldn't react to me. But Amaterasu? She's not connected to any of that."

Jiuge's expression shifted, gears turning in her head. "Carl might be onto something."

Naga exhaled sharply. "If that's true, then we have a major problem."

My stomach clenched. "What kind of problem?"

Naga's eyes darkened. "Each leyline node has three layers of security. The first is the Soulless Orb—meant to eliminate trespassers. The second is the space-time element's defensive effects—meant to warp reality itself or probably time. And the final layer—the most important and probably the most dangerous too—is the appearance of the fragment."

A heavy silence filled the room.

Naga met my gaze. "And from what you've seen so far… all three layers have been triggered."

The weight of his words pressed against my ribs like a vice. My mouth felt dry.

"…Okay. So, uh. What happens if all three layers are breached?"

No one answered.

And that silence was the most terrifying part of all.

Oh, hell.

If what Naga said was true, then the leyline nodes weren't just compromised—they could be gone. Obliterated. Erased from existence. And those ruins? They might not just be ancient leftovers. They could be the aftermath. A warning.

Agnos exhaled sharply. "If that's the case, then Mythica's realms might not be far behind." His gaze flicked toward Jiuge. "We restored Metal Realm. My Celestial Spirit Realm is stable now that I have all my fragments."

Jiuge nodded. She closed her eyes for a long, tense moment, as if listening to something far beyond us. When she opened them, they were sharper, assured. "My realm's still intact. I have all my fragments. Nothing's missing."

"That's three," Naga murmured, folding his arms. "But the others? No guarantees."

Fenrir frowned. "Actually, Heim contacted me a few days ago. He needed help with a… situation in the Shadow Realm." His fingers drummed against the table, a rare hint of unease slipping into his usually cocky demeanor. "Something's wrong with the creatures there. He thinks a leyline node was breached. Said he could feel it."

Agnos tensed. "If the Theos got to the Shadow Realm—"

"How the hell would they even manage that?" I cut in. "They only have basic Soulless Orbs. Those shouldn't be enough to bypass a leyline node's security."

Fenrir scoffed. "You're thinking too small, Carl. They didn't break in—they had someone open the door for them." He leaned back, arms behind his head. "Based on intelligence reports, they might've manipulated one of the Guardians. And there's a high chance they have other divine artifacts."

The room went dead silent.

The Guardians. The beings entrusted with Mythica's very balance. If even one of them had turned…

I exhaled slowly. "So, what? They've got more than just the Soulless Orb? They could have another divine artifact?"

"Exactly." Fenrir's smirk was gone now, his eyes gleaming with something far more dangerous. "Mythica's already unstable. Kaleon's in deep slumber. If there's another artifact out there—one stronger than the Orb—it could be overriding the leyline's defenses entirely."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Then we need answers. Fast. First, we figure out what the hell these artifacts are. Second, we investigate what's going down in the Shadow Realm. But before that—" I looked up. "We're going back to the Lost Realm."