Alice and the others exchanged glances before turning back to Tenzing, curiosity burning in their eyes.

  Mars couldn't help but smirk as she leaned forward slightly: "Oh? And what exactly is this 'work' we have to do?"

  Tenzing didn’t answer immediately, just studied them all with that same unreadable gaze. Then finally: "The Sins are gathering." A pause. "...And they're preparing for something far worse than just kidnapping goddesses."

  Louise frowned sharply at her words while Alice tensed up instinctively—this was not good.

  Sóley crossed her arms tighter against herself as realization dawned on her too…and then:

  "...You mean they’re planning another coup attempt like last time?"

  Tenzing nodded once firmly, which only made Mars groan out loud because holy shit yeah that would be terrible news indeed!

  "Geez," Mars breathed, her smirk quickly fading. "I mean, we all knew the Sins wanted to try again, but...damn."

  Sóley let out an annoyed sigh: "Of course they are," she said bitterly. "Those damn Sins are never happy unless they're trying to take over. And if what Tenzing says is true, "

  "Then we have a huge problem on our hands." Alice finished the sentence, her expression hardening.

  Louise nodded grimly, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, her earlier excitement now completely gone. "This is bad… really bad."

  Shi'an exhaled sharply through gritted teeth before muttering: "...Yeah no shit."

  Mars trembled slightly at the implications but forced herself to stay composed, she knew this wasn't just about them anymore.

  Tenzing remained silent for another long moment before finally speaking again in that same calm tone:

  "We need allies. We must find the other members of Shadows Searching in the Night."

  Alice immediately straightened up at Tenzing's words, her voice firm and determined. "Then we don't have time to waste. We need to move, now."

  Louise clenched her fists but nodded sharply in agreement, ready for whatever came next.

  Sóley crossed her arms tightly over herself again as if bracing against something unseen, but she didn’t argue either; they had no choice but forward now.

  Alice exhaled heavily before looking back at Tenzing with quiet resolve: "...So what’s the plan then? Where are the other members?"

  Tenzing met her gaze evenly and gestured with a nod: "The Shadow's base," she said simply.

  Alice's eyebrow shot up at that. "The Shadow's base? You mean…a secret HQ?"

  Tenzing nodded again. "Precisely."

  Sóley let out a quick breath: "So we're going back to HQ then?"

  Tenzing nodded a final time, her expression still unreadable: "Yes. We will regroup there for now."

  Everyone exchanged slightly wary glances, except Tenzing who remained still as ever, watching them all with that calm yet focused expression, but no one argued against the decision.

  Mars exhaled deeply before speaking up: "Alright then…guess you're really doing this, huh?"

  Louise glanced at her with a smirk: "It's not like they have any other choice, ya know."

  Shi’an stayed silent but nodded, still pretty wary about the whole thing. Sóley nodded firmly too. "Welp. HQ it is."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Tenzing studied them all for a moment before finally speaking again in that steady tone: "Good. Let's move, then."

  The group exchanged slightly nervous looks before following Tenzing's lead, ready to face whatever came next together.

  "Alright," Alice said firmly, determination gleaming in her eyes. "Let's do this."

  Louise gave her a quick smirk as the others started walking. "Hey, Mars and I wish you all the best of luck."

  Mars smiled slightly as she watched them go on their way. "Hell yeah we do."

  Alice gave them both a grateful nod, her expression softening for just a second before she turned back toward Tenzing. "Alright then…let’s go."

  Louise and Mars waved them off with matching grins, both clearly still smitten but trying (and failing) to hide it.

  Sóley rolled her eyes at their antics but didn’t comment as the group moved forward together, determined, united…and ready for whatever came next.

  Tenzing began to lead the way, seemingly knowing exactly where to go, her pace was steady and sure, taking them through narrow alleys and hidden paths of Phenomena City that none of them had ever seen before.

  Alice followed closely behind her, her expression set in determination but her eyes never leaving Tenzing's figure. She couldn't help but marvel at the monk's unwavering confidence, it was both inspiring and a little intimidating at the same time.

  Louise and Mars, trailing slightly behind the group with their hands in their pockets, exchanged a glance, both clearly still smitten despite the seriousness of the situation.

  "Yep," Louise whispered to Mars with an exaggerated sigh. "Totally not obsessed."

  Mars just grinned back at her before muttering: "Yeah yeah…totally not."

  Sóley rolled her eyes with a smirk at the comments but didn’t say anything else as they all continued following Tenzing deeper into Phenomena City’s shadowed underbelly.

  Shi’an remained silent for most of it but finally spoke up quietly when she noticed something off about one particular alleyway ahead:

  "...Wait." Her voice was small but sharp enough that everyone froze mid-step instantly turning towards where Shi’an was pointing...

  There, hidden partially by some overgrown vines near some crumbling brickwork wall stood what looked like a half-buried door made entirely out from black obsidian stone carvings depicting writhing sinful figures.

  Tenzing’s posture stiffened slightly, her sharp eyes locking onto the door with an intensity that made even Shi'an tense up beside her.

  "That," Tenzing said lowly, "is not supposed to be here."

  Sóley frowned deeply as she stepped forward cautiously: "Wait…what do you mean? You didn't know about this?"

  Alice let out a slow breath before muttering under her breath: "...Just what we needed, a secret portal leading to who knows where."

  As they stood there staring at the hidden entrance and the ominous figures carved into the obsidian door, Alice couldn't help but shiver slightly, there was something about the place that made her feel uneasy.

  Tenzing, as always, remained cool and composed. "This is it."

  Sóley let out a low whistle as she looked up at the towering door. "Damn..." she muttered under her breath.

  Shi’an just nodded in agreement, looking a little wary, that door didn't exactly scream "welcome", that was for sure.

  Tenzing, however, simply moved closer to the obsidian door and started tracing her fingers over the carvings with surprising familiarity.

  Alice and Sóley exchanged a baffled glance as they watched her trace the carvings on the obsidian door, both wondering what the hell the monk was doing now.

  "What exactly is she doing...?" Sóley whispered, her voice low enough only Alice could hear.

  Alice just shrugged, her eyes still fixated on Tenzing. "I have no idea..." she whispered back.

  Tenzing, on the other hand, just continued tracing the carvings with a focused yet calm expression, seemingly oblivious to the confusion and worry around her. She closed her eyes, murmuring something quietly under her breath…and then suddenly the world seemed to shift around them, just slightly.

  Alice and Sóley both felt the subtle shift almost instantly, the air suddenly felt almost thicker somehow...and the carved figures on the obsidian door seemed to almost shimmer in the dim light.

  "…What the hell was that?" Sóley breathed, her voice a little shaky now as she looked around at the suddenly shifted surroundings.

  Alice frowned sharply, she could feel the shift too. "I don't know, but…it felt like…" she swallowed hard, trying to put the sudden change into words. "Like the air itself just got heavier or something…"

  Tenzing, still standing before the obsidian door, finally turned to them with a calm nod: "The Shadow's headquarters has accepted our approach."

  Alice and Sóley both exchanged another wide-eyed glance, that simple sentence was not reassuring at all in this situation. "'Accepted our approach'...?" Sóley echoed, her voice a little shaky. "That doesn't sound ominous at all…"

  Tenzing seemed completely unbothered, however, as she simply turned back to the obsidian door. "Come." she said calmly before placing her hand firmly against the carved figures.

  The carvings suddenly glowed briefly with a dark light before the entire obsidian door itself started slowly shifting sideways, revealing a pitch-black opening.

  Alice and Sóley both gave another sharp breath, their shock growing at the sight of the opening door.

  "…Well," Sóley exhaled, "I guess there's no going back now."

  Alice just nodded, still looking a little tense but determined, they were in too deep now to back out. "…Yep. Here we go."

  With that, the two of them followed Tenzing through the open doorway into the blackness beyond…