The alarms spread through the prison like wildfire.
Metal doors slammed. Boots thundered through the corridors above. Caldryn's soldiers were sealing every exit.
But the Six now had something the guards did not expect.
A walking armory with a hole in reality.
Tarin stretched his arms and focused on the floating portal beside him. The dark circular opening slowly expanded, glowing faintly along its edges.
"Okay… okay… don't rush me," he muttered. "Making it bigger takes concentration."
The portal widened until it was large enough for a person to crouch through.
Ace leaned closer and peered inside.
Instead of darkness, he saw what looked like an endless storage space—rows of floating items drifting in organized clusters. Weapons, food barrels, ropes, armor, even wooden shields and torches floated calmly like objects in water.
"You live inside a warehouse," Ace said.
Tarin grinned. "Pretty useful, right?"
Amagi quickly assessed the situation. "Can we move through it?"
"Not exactly travel," Tarin explained. "But you can hide inside while I carry the opening somewhere else."
Gorath crossed his massive arms. "So we become luggage."
"Very safe luggage," Tarin replied.
Another loud clang echoed from the corridor behind them.
"They're getting close," Liora warned.
Seris closed her eyes briefly. "I can rewind a few seconds if something goes wrong… but I would rather not waste it."
"Then let's not," Amagi said.
He turned to the group.
"Kael first. Then Liora. Move fast."
Kael nodded and crouched, stepping carefully into the portal. His body vanished instantly into the storage space.
"Whoa!" his voice echoed faintly from inside.
Liora followed next, disappearing just as quickly.
Gorath stared at the portal with suspicion.
"If this closes while I'm inside—"
"It won't," Tarin said confidently.
Gorath ducked down and stepped through. The giant warrior vanished like the others.
Ace turned to Seris.
"Your turn."
She stepped toward the opening but paused.
"If this fails," she said quietly, "I may need to rewind."
Ace nodded. "Let's hope you don't."
Seris entered the portal, her silver hair vanishing into the strange dimension.
Only Ace, Amagi, and Tarin remained.
The sound of armored soldiers rushed closer.
"They're right around the corner," Tarin whispered.
Amagi stepped through next without hesitation.
Ace followed immediately after, feeling a strange pull as he entered the inventory space.
Inside, it felt oddly calm. The floating items glowed faintly, and the others stood waiting among crates and weapons.
Outside, Tarin took a deep breath.
"Alright… time to walk out of prison."
He shrank the portal to the size of a small circle floating beside his hand—small enough to hide easily.
Then he picked up a random crate from his inventory and began walking down the corridor.
Just as a squad of Caldryn soldiers rounded the corner.
"Hey!" one guard shouted. "You there! What are you doing?!"
Tarin smiled nervously.
"Uh… inventory delivery?"
Inside the floating storage space, Ace and the others waited silently.
Their escape now depended on one man pretending to be a very normal delivery worker.
And somehow—
That might actually work.