The others assumed the Commander was talking about the abilities they had kept secret. Tee, however, knew he meant her. With fierce determination, she forced herself to remain composed, resisting any visible signs of the turmoil ravaging her soul. The cool breeze blowing in from outside suddenly felt arctic, amplifying her discomfort and triggering an impending shiver that threatened to betray her unease.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Commander,” Kie said.

  “Cadet, you’re right,” the Commander replied, pausing for effect. “Consider the grim reality. Your teleportation ability could be destroyed with a single, direct strike. Picture this. A seemingly innocuous fall from a tree, and suddenly you find yourself trapped in a dire predicament, rendered utterly unable to teleport. I must admit, I'm disheartened that none of you even attempted to challenge this vulnerability during your exam with your opponents."

  Kie, still seeking vindication on the matter of the telecoms, could hardly fathom that the Commander persisted in challenging their understanding, even after they had passed his training exam.

  "And yes, we could have utilized vortex teleportation, crafting a colossal gateway to transport you back here, and in so doing, linking that very death trap to our fiercely guarded top-secret base. We would lie in wait, daring those creeps to follow behind and enter our sanctuary."

  Tee, lost in her own thoughts, snapped back to reality with a blink, her mind jolted by the horrific alternate reality the Commander had conjured within their minds. The memories of their encounters with the hooded one, the terror of their deaths transformed into a twisted game, flooded back with harrowing clarity.

  The speed and agility of their adversary replayed in their minds like a haunting film, each moment etched with a sense of urgency and danger. Questions gnawed at their minds, their doubts intertwining with a tangle of unease. Would the adversary have pursued them through the vortex, seeking to drag them back into the nightmarish realm they had escaped?

  They pondered the adversary's relentless pursuit, even after acquiring the fragment, their actions shrouded in mystery and malevolence. The memories they carried, the memories they swore were born from the darkest corners of their nightmares, held a truth they dared not ignore.

  The Commander mused, his tone dripping with a cold certainty. "Your encounters with death, the harrowing experiences you've faced, they would pale in comparison to what we would have endured. You see, unlike the five of you, we are not intricately bound to the life-stream of this planet. We would not possess the luxury of miraculous healing or endless resilience. No, that would have been our ultimate downfall, or perhaps something even more sinister."

  The five recruits found themselves gripped by a mix of curiosity and unease as the Commander continued to weave his unsettling narrative. Each sentence he uttered seemed to carve vivid, disturbing images into their minds, like dark brushstrokes on a twisted canvas.

  The Commander's voice took on an eerie calmness as he divulged the secrets of their unique teleportation device. The weight of his words settled upon them, the gravity of their situation becoming increasingly apparent. They exchanged glances, their brows furrowing deeper in confusion and concern.

  "The belt teleporters were deemed too risky, too prone to potential mishaps," the Commander explained, his tone betraying no hint of benevolence. "So, we decided to create something specifically tailored to your important task. A wristwatch-sized teleporter, designed to be as close to indestructible as possible."

  "Aside from its durability," the Commander continued, his voice tinged with a touch of arrogance, "the teleporter boasts additional features. It can be concealed by your summoning gloves, and its lightweight design ensures it won't hinder you in battle."

  Their brows furrowed further as the conversation took a somber turn. The Commander's tone grew more serious, his words painting a complex web of technicalities and mystic forces.

  "With all the advantages I mentioned, there is a drawback," the Commander revealed, his voice lowering in intensity. "The tiny device requires a longer time to initiate teleportation. You see, enabling non-living objects to perform chants is a groundbreaking discovery. It necessitates the intervention of the Vergant to create a bond, linking the glyphs or recorded reality rules to an Ether source."

  Zod, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, interjected, his voice trembling with excitement. "Chants, that's a magic term, isn't it?" He leaned forward, teetering on the edge of the bed, only to quickly retreat. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, a mix of awe and apprehension dancing in his eyes.

  Tee's body jerked involuntarily, her muscles reacting to the shock of Zod's sudden outburst. Fortunately, her movement went unnoticed amidst the intensity of the moment. Zod's eyes widened, reflecting the sunlight pouring through the expansive windows, as if mirroring the spark of realization that ignited within him.

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  "They were using magic," Zod exclaimed, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and disbelief. "Those swords that appeared from black smoke, the way Kie described how I died... It couldn't have been technology."

  The Commander's response cut through the room with a forceful clarity. "We don't use the term magic here," he declared plainly, his voice rising in volume and causing Zod's shoulders to flinch involuntarily. The Commander's stern gaze locked onto Zod, filling his eyes with a deep-seated terror.

  Leaning off the wall, the Commander's presence became more imposing. "That made-up mockery term is child's play and does not exist. It is an insult to every Vergant, past, present, and future."

  Zod felt the air escape his lungs, his mouth agape with disbelief. The contradiction in the Commander's words left him reeling, struggling to make sense of the shifting truths presented to him.

  "Sorcery," the Commander continued, his unwavering gaze fixed on Zod, "is a divine practice that demands immense skill and cognitive prowess. It exists and is practiced here."

  “What?” Tee blurted, her mind struggling to process the bizarre turn the conversation had taken. It felt as though she had been plunged into a labyrinth of nightmares within nightmares.

  The Commander paid no heed to Tee's confusion, pressing on with his explanation. "At Primus, technological engineering and sorcery are symbiotic. Your telecoms and summoning gloves are evidence of that intricate relationship. Sorcery, or what the outside world mistakenly calls magic, adheres to rules and limitations. It is not a quick fix for every problem, as you might believe."

  Tee shifted her gaze away from the Commander, searching the faces of their companions. To her dismay, she found them wearing expressions of profound bewilderment, akin to students faced with the daunting complexities of higher-level math at the beginning of a new academic year.

  From her mysterious healing, the hint of her secret exposed, and then the notion that magic was real? It was clear to Tee that her comrades were also grappling with the revelations and mysteries that unfolded before them, their minds caught in the whirlwind of uncertainty.

  The Commander's words flowed uninterrupted, his voice resonating with an air of authority and complexity. The room crackled with a sense of anticipation as he delved into the intricate workings of Ether sorcery.

  "Compacting a large store of Ether into a size suitable for each telecom was just one of the challenges," the Commander explained. "Breaking down the compacted form is crucial to perform even the most basic levels of Ether sorcery."

  His words hung in the air, accompanied by a palpable tension. The group leaned in, their senses heightened, ready to grasp the depths of this arcane knowledge.

  The Commander continued, enumerating the complex factors involved. "Manipulating living versus non-living objects, mastering high-level chants versus lower-level chants—all these play a role in determining the required amount of Ether."

  He paused, his gaze fixed on his attentive audience. "When using the teleportation function, it would take approximately ten minutes for the small device to create a sufficiently large teleportation field.

  “To maintain the process, you would need to apply constant pressure on the button to reanimate the glyphs, while your body remains frozen, preventing any interruption. To add to that, your frozen bodies emitting a blue glow, caught in the liminal space between destinations is not all stealth. Danger lurked in the intricate dance of teleportation.”

  The Commander's tone shifted, veering into rhetorical territory. "Teaching the five of you how to verge for teleportation is beyond the scope of our mission. The Elders wouldn't permit it, and rightly so. Why instruct the planet’s Sentinels, endlessly connected to its lifestream, in a technique they inherently possess?"

  He nodded, affirming his own words. "Your inheritance lies within the entire storage of Ether energy coursing through the planet. The power each of you possesses is beyond the grasp of Vergant comprehension, and that speaks volumes since Vergants are considered the most intelligent beings on this planet."

  the Commander leaned back against the window, exuding an air of nonchalance, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. The anticipation in the room grew, as the group awaited the revelation behind their collective teleportation ordeals.

  "Now, let's get back to the reason why all five of you must teleport simultaneously using the telecoms," the Commander finally said, causing Kie to hold his breath in anticipation, who yearned for the explanation that would justify their arduous trials.

  The Commander's gaze shifted, locking onto Kie. "Activating multiple teleportation fields simultaneously, in close proximity, creates a peculiar acceleration effect. The overlapping of all five fields causes an instantaneous teleportation, bypassing the freezing stage altogether. The intricacies behind this phenomenon would only serve to bewilder your primitive minds. Even I cannot claim a full understanding of its underlying mechanics."

  Kie's arms remained tightly folded, but a flicker of hope ignited in his eyes. "So, you're saying we could have teleported all along?" he asked, unable to conceal a glimmer of frustration.

  The Commander met his gaze with a plain expression. "Well, yes," he replied simply, leaving the group to grapple with the realization that their torment could have been avoided all along.

  "We could have teleported?" Saeda's voice sliced through the tense atmosphere, breaking the silence that had gripped the room.

  Saeda’s words confirmed the nightmarish reality Tee believed she was trapped in—a never-ending loop of torment.

  Miko's brows furrowed deeper, confusion mingling with a rising sense of betrayal. Doubt gnawed at her mind, threatening to burst through the seams. She yearned for an explanation, desperate to make sense of the suffering they had endured.

  Zod's gaze dropped to the ground, his hand instinctively moving to cover his face. The weight of the Commander's sadistic actions pressed upon him, questioning why their suffering seemed to bring pleasure to their mentor.

  Kie shook his head in disbelief, silently waiting for the Commander to explain.