The forest of Eidolon was alive. Not alive in the way a quaint Dominion park might be, with its precisely manicured lawns and perfectly spaced flowerbeds whispering, "We are safe, orderly, and very respectable." No, this forest breathed in a distinctly chaotic manner. Its trees shifted positions when no one was looking, their branches occasionally clapping as though in some private joke. The ground rippled gently underfoot, as if testing how much cheek it could get away with before someone screamed and called for their mother.

  Ami hated it. No, she hated that she didn’t hate it. That was worse.

  “Would it kill the ground to stay still?” huffed Velene, her boots crunching on what appeared to be moss, but could also have been a napping creature. She poked it cautiously with the edge of her spear. “This place feels... wrong.”

  “Wrong?” said Fayra, bounding ahead as though the disapproving gazes of Dominion had never existed for her. Her fox-like tail swayed happily behind her, a flag of unwavering cheek. “I call it refreshing. Finally, a place with some personality! Admit it, you love it, Velene. Deep down. Or, you know, wherever Dominion soldiers keep their emotions.”

  “Focus,” snapped Velene, her eyes scanning the horizon for threats. “We’re not here to admire... whatever this is. We’re here to track Kalyn. This isn’t a field trip.”

  Fayra grinned, unbothered. “That’s what makes it fun! Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” She paused. “Actually, don’t answer that. This place probably overheard me.”

  Ami walked a step behind them, her mismatched thoughts slipping through her mind like the erratic, shifting patterns of the forest. Dominion’s rules wouldn’t help her here. Structure and order had no meaning in a place where the very ground giggled underfoot. And yet...

  anna hummed softly in the back of her mind like a satisfied cat.

  "this," anna whispered, her voice curling through Ami’s thoughts like smoke, "feels like home, doesn't it? no walls, no rules. just a big, messy symphony of 'why not?' don't you just love it, darling?"

  Ami clenched her fists and forced herself to focus. “Anna, not now.”

  “Talking to yourself again, Fireworks?” Fayra called back with a laugh. “You should really introduce us to this ‘Anna.’ That way when you snap, we’ll at least know who to blame.”

  “Fayra,” came Velene’s curt reply. “Let her concentrate.”

  “On what?” Fayra replied, waving an arm at the ever-shifting forest. “How do you concentrate when the trees are side-eyeing you?”

  The trees, for the record, were not eyeing them, though one particularly twisted oak did seem to lean closer when they passed. It probably had opinions.

  Then, as if the forest had decided their banter had gone on long enough, a sudden tremor rippled through the ground, forcing Ami to stumble. The ripple wasn’t subtle, like the earlier undulations mimicking a restless tide; this was sharp, deliberate, and came with the ominous sound of snapping branches ahead.

  “Oh, look,” said Fayra cheerfully, drawing her dagger. “I think the forest is finally flirting back.”

  Velene spun toward the noise, already poised, her spear humming faintly with Dominion magic. “Get ready,” she barked, her tone brooking no argument.

  The first thing that appeared was a whirl of color—vivid, kaleidoscopic, and utterly chaotic. The shape it formed was unmistakably human, though calling it “human” might have been generous. Kalyn stepped out from the forest as though she owned it, her hair a riot of shifting hues, her grin sharp enough to cut glass.

  “Well, if it isn’t Dominion’s finest—and friends,” she said, her voice light and mocking. Her gaze danced from Velene to Fayra before settling on Ami. “And you must be their paradox. Stuck between worlds. Or should I say, stuck in your own head?”

  Ami stiffened. Anna, however, practically purred.

  "oh, i like her," anna said approvingly. "she's got flair. chaotic, messy flair. can we keep her?"

  Velene stepped forward, her spear leveled at Kalyn. “Surrender now, and we can end this without unnecessary—”

  Kalyn laughed—a wild, bubbling sound that seemed to infect the forest, making the trees shiver in amusement. “Oh, sweet Dominion. Always so serious. Always so... predictable.” She raised a hand, and a swirling vortex of chaotic magic sprang into being, spiraling lazily above her palm. “Let’s make this fun, shall we?”

  “Fun?” said Fayra, her grin widening. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

  Velene shot Fayra a warning look, but it was too late. Kalyn hurled the vortex toward them, and chaos erupted.

  The magical forest of Eidolon was, to put it lightly, offended. No one knew exactly how it expressed its displeasure, but when an entire grove of trees leaned simultaneously to block the sun, turning the clearing into a stage spotlighted only by streaks of light breaking through gnarled branches, it was hard not to feel judged. It was the kind of judgment one might get from a cat, only multiplied by a thousand very cross bark-covered critics.

  Kalyn stood at the center of the clearing as though the setting had been arranged for her—as though the chaos of Eidolon itself had pulled back its curtains for her act. The air around her shimmered, bending slightly like it wasn’t quite sure whether it wanted to be solid or not. Her hair kept shifting colors, each wave of movement bringing a new dazzling hue that never seemed to settle.

  “And there she is,” Kalyn purred, her grin sharp enough to make even Fayra look twice. She pointed directly at Ami, who froze mid-step toward her companions. “The paradox girl. Dominion’s little doll with the crack right down the middle. Tell me—how does it feel? Being broken?”

  Velene bristled at the remark. Her spear, glowing faintly with Dominion’s signature golden threads, snapped upright in a clean, practiced motion, each movement stiff with authority. “Stand down, Kalyn. I don’t need to remind you what happens to rogue elements who disrupt the balance.”

  “Oh, look at you! Balance this, balance that!” Kalyn practically sang the words as she twirled in place, her movements more dance than defiance. “You Dominion girls do love to polish your little rules until they sparkle, don’t you? So shiny. So boring.”

  Fayra, crouched low by a nearby tree, couldn’t help herself. “Boring’s better than being a walking glowstick who thinks chaos is an actual personality.”

  Kalyn stopped mid-spin, suddenly completely still, and grinned at Fayra with just enough teeth to suggest that the foxgirl’s joke had landed... but not kindly. “Oh, sweetheart,” she said softly, her voice almost cooing. “Careful. Chaos loves a sharp tongue. I’d hate for it to love yours right out of your mouth.”

  A ripple of tension swept through the clearing. The trees creaked low and long, as if groaning in anticipation. For a brief, unsettling moment, the forest hummed in rhythm with the silent standoff.

  Ami’s chest tightened. She hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath until anna whispered, her words curling through Ami’s mind like tendrils of smoke.

  "she’s good, darling, i’ll give her that. but drama’s just the frosting. you’re the cake. let’s show her the filling, shall we?"

  “Stop it,” Ami hissed softly through clenched teeth.

  “Stop what?” Fayra asked, ears twitching as she glanced sharply at Ami.

  “Not you!” Ami quickly corrected, avoiding Velene’s disapproving glance. “It’s—ugh!”

  Kalyn’s laughter cut through the building tension like a blade, her chaotic magic flickering in the air around her as she threw her head back. “Oh, I like her. Talking to herself, snapping at her friends—what a treat!” Kalyn’s grin sharpened. “You should join me. Forget Dominion! Forget their stupid rules, their suffocating threads. None of it suits you, anyway. You belong in Eidolon, little paradox. You belong with me.”

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  Ami froze. For a fleeting moment, Kalyn’s words felt less like mockery and more like... recognition.

  Anna was purring now.

  "see, i told you she was clever. she knows us, darling. we do like the chaos. remember the spark? the taste of it, the thrill of breaking free—"

  “No!” Ami shouted, her voice cracking slightly. She took a step back, hands trembling. “I don’t want your chaos!”

  Kalyn tilted her head, almost snake-like, her grin shifting into something more curious, more unsettling. “Oh, don’t you?”

  Velene took this as the opening it clearly wasn’t and lunged forward, spear raised. “Enough talking. Surrender, Kalyn, or face the consequences!”

  Kalyn simply extended an arm, a lazy flick of her wrist sending a ripple of raw energy out in every direction. Velene’s spear thrust never reached its target. It stopped mid-air, just inches from Kalyn’s smirking face, before crumpling into a fizzing spiral of golden threads that disintegrated into the ground.

  “Consequences,” Kalyn said, her voice dripping with exaggerated boredom. “Always with the consequences. Dominion this, Dominion that. Do you even know what you’re protecting anymore, or are you just another loyal pet barking orders you barely understand?”

  Fayra darted forward then, her dagger flashing silver as she aimed for Kalyn’s blind spot, but Kalyn anticipated her. A whirlwind of glowing, prismatic energy erupted around her like a shield, forcing Fayra to somersault backward to avoid being caught in its violent swirl.

  “Fast,” Kalyn admitted. “I’ll give you that. Quick reflexes. Nice tail.”

  “Fluff it and die,” Fayra shot back, breathing heavily but unrelenting.

  The chaotic energy in the clearing was becoming unbearable. Ami’s heart pounded wildly, her gaze darting between her companions, who regrouped but were clearly tense and out of sync, and Kalyn, whose grin showed no sign of faltering.

  "darling," anna whispered now, her tone soothing but insistent. "this is the part where you stop pretending. unshackle me. let me help you. we’ll make her regret that smug little smile together, yes?"

  Ami’s throat tightened as she swallowed hard. Velene was yelling something, probably tactics, maybe an order. Fayra was taunting Kalyn again, spinning her dagger between deft fingers. The forest seemed to squeeze tighter, the air heavier, as if even Eidolon was waiting for Ami to make a move.

  Taking a breath she didn’t realize she needed, Ami curled trembling fingers into fists at her sides. “Anna,” she whispered, her voice almost inaudible. “Don’t make me regret this.”

  "oh, you’ll regret it, darling," anna purred, "but you’ll love every second of it, too."

  Ami stepped forward into the clearing, her hands now crackling with an unfamiliar light—silver and gold crashing into one another like waves meeting cliffs.

  Kalyn stopped laughing.

  The forest trembled with an eerie silence. The vibrant, chaotic energy that had been swirling around Kalyn now stilled as Ami’s magic pulsed outwards, a violent burst of radiant power. For a split second, the air around her crackled, burning with raw potential as the threads of Dominion’s discipline and the wild force of Eidolon collided in a spectacular burst.

  Kalyn’s eyes widened as she sensed the shift. The playful, mocking glint in her eyes faltered, and for the briefest of moments, she seemed... wary.

  Ami stood alone in the aftershock of the chaotic retreat, her magic still humming faintly in the air—unstable and raw, a dangerous cocktail of Dominion’s threads and anna’s wild influence. The swirling, prismatic vortex of Kalyn’s power began to dissipate, collapsing in on itself, scattering like smoke before the force of Ami’s light.

  Kalyn had vanished.

  Her chaotic form melted into the shadows of Eidolon, leaving only the faint echo of her laughter and a trace of prismatic energy lingering in the air. To Ami, it felt less like a victory and more like the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. Her chest heaved, her breath shallow as the forest around her seemed to sigh, the ripples of magic calming with the disappearance of the threat.

  The voices in her head were quieter now, though not absent.

  spectacular, anna murmured at last, her voice curling around Ami’s thoughts in a way that felt both comforting and infuriating. "i mean, it could use a bit of refinement—less ‘oops, i almost exploded,’ more ‘ah, yes, this chaos is intentional.’ but still... a solid nine out of ten. i’m very proud."

  Ami groaned, clutching her head as she turned toward her companions. Fayra was already leaning against a tree, her tail swishing lazily as she pulled a brightly colored leaf out of her hair. Velene, on the other hand, was poised like a coiled spring, her spear glowing faintly with Dominion’s golden energy.

  “What,” Velene asked, her voice dangerously steady, “was that?”

  "That," Fayra interjected, flashing a grin, "was fireworks. She really outdid herself this time, don’t you think?"

  Velene’s glare could have turned the most chaotic Eidolon tree rigid out of sheer discipline.

  Ami’s stomach churned, unsure whether to defend herself or crawl into a conveniently located hole in the ground. She opened her mouth, but Velene’s voice came sharp and cold.

  “You call that a victory?” Velene spat. “You risked all of our lives back there. You used—” She hesitated, gripping her spear tighter, as if even the words might corrupt her. “You used chaos magic. Eidolon magic.”

  “That’s not—” Ami began, but her voice faltered. What could she even say? It wasn’t like she’d planned on using it. It had just... happened.

  "Don’t blame her, Velene," Fayra said, stretching her arms and flashing a foxish grin. "She saved your Dominion-polished butt, didn’t she?"

  “That’s not the point,” Velene snapped. Her tone was calm, but there was a tension there that made Ami flinch. “The point is that we can’t afford recklessness. If you’d lost control, if that magic had turned on us—”

  "Then you’d have looked fabulous covered in rainbow explosions," Fayra quipped. “Come on, Vel. Admit it—chaos worked. No one got impaled, and we’re all still kicking."

  “Barely,” Velene bit back. She turned to Ami, her expression as cold and precise as the Dominion halls she’d been trained in. “This isn’t a game, Ami. You can’t just let... whatever that was take over because it’s convenient. Do you even understand what you’re dealing with? What you’re risking?”

  "oh, she’s mad mad, isn’t she?" anna whispered inside Ami’s mind, sounding altogether too pleased with herself. "if we smile at her, do you think she’ll yell harder?"

  “Stop it,” Ami hissed under her breath.

  Velene’s eyes narrowed. “Stop what?”

  “Nothing!” Ami said quickly, shaking her head. “It’s—it’s nothing.”

  “Oh, it’s something, all right,” Fayra said, stepping closer and squinting at Ami with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “You’ve got that look again. You know, the ‘talking to yourself and pretending it’s normal’ thing.”

  “Leave her alone,” Velene said sharply, though her voice carried less sympathy and more command. “If she doesn’t explain herself soon, I will make sure Commander Amariel hears about this.”

  Ami froze at that name. Amariel. Her mother. The imposing architect of the Dominion’s rules, who wielded perfection the way the sun wielded light. The thought of being dragged back to the Academy, of facing Amariel’s cold disapproval, made Ami’s chest tighten painfully.

  “You don’t need to tell anyone,” Ami said quickly, her voice strained. “I—I was just trying to help. That’s all.”

  “By nearly blowing us up?” Velene demanded, crossing her arms.

  “By saving your life!” Ami shot back, louder than she’d intended.

  "There she is," anna purred, delighted. "our little firecracker. i knew you had it in you, darling."

  Velene recoiled slightly, her expression briefly flickering between anger and something else—shock? Disappointment? Ami couldn’t tell. She didn’t want to know.

  “Maybe we should all just... take a breath,” Fayra suggested, stepping between them with her hands raised. “Before someone gets stabbed. Again.”

  The three of them fell into an uneasy silence. Even the forest seemed to hold its breath, its branches creaking softly as if politely eavesdropping.

  Finally, Velene turned on her heel. “We’ll make camp for the night,” she said flatly. “We’re too deep in Eidolon to head back now. But if this happens again—”

  “It won’t,” Ami said quickly.

  Velene didn’t respond. Instead, she marched off into the shifting trees, her spear glinting ominously under the fractured light.

  “Well,” Fayra said after a moment, her playful smile returning full force. “That wasn’t tense at all, was it?”

  Ami didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Instead, she sat down on one of the forest’s moss-covered roots, her shoulders heavy with the weight of Velene’s words.

  "don’t let her get to you, darling," anna murmured soothingly. "she’s just upset because we’re fabulous, and she knows it. who cares about a few silly rules, anyway? rules are just... suggestions written in boring fonts."

  “Maybe she’s right,” Ami whispered, her voice barely audible.

  "no, she’s not," anna said, her tone sharp now. "she doesn’t get it. she doesn’t get us. but they will, darling. they’ll all see it soon enough."

  Ami didn’t answer. The forest creaked around her, the weight of its watchful silence pressing down on her shoulders.

  As night fell over Eidolon, the air shimmered faintly with trapped magic, and Ami wondered—not for the first time—whether her path forward would be lit by firelight or consumed by it.