Nix stepped into the Breach and immediately the temperature rocketed upward. The Nether was exactly the way he had imagined it in his head. It looked like a permanently overcast day set into a completely barren landscape. The rocky ground was barely visible through the dense layer of fog that made it seem like you were standing in knee-deep snow.

[You have joined the Nether Assault channel]

[You have joined the Qi channel] magic

/Breach Commander Mtui: Nix you are assigned to the Qi family, I want you to help them with their objective.

/Nether Assault: Nix: Understood.

Sasi Qi: Hades Rogue: DPS

Rabi Qi: Craven Fiend: DPS

Uta Qi: Shadow Rage: TANK

Nix: Archon Fire Mage: CC

Three demon-like creatures closed on him. They were a bit under five feet in height with very dark skin, the only female among them had a small tail.

The widest of the three carried a round shield, he approached Nix and offered a hand. "I'm Uta and this is my squad. Welcome, Nix."

"Thank you." Nix read the squad class list, "can I get a quick brief?"

Uta nodded his head, and Nix noticed the other difference between the males and females from the Qi family, the males all had short horns. "We're a bit short-handed, even with you here. I'll send you the brief."

[QI Family Mission]

A Nether Bishop has shown up unexpectedly. This isn't a breach defense, today we go on the offensive. The Bishop has a Dark Prism in his possession, also known as a Dark Prison, these devices trap the souls of our Allies when they are slain in battle. We need to recover this artifact at all costs.

Objective: Kill the Bishop and retrieve the Dark Prism.

/Qi Family: Nix: Do you mind if I bring in some help?

/Qi: Family: Uta: As long as they can help us, they are welcome.

/Qi: Family: Nix: No worries. [Summons: Ducky]

Ducky appeared a moment later, the visible changes to her were only slight, but Nix could pick them all out right away. Her blue hair was much shorter and darker; the top appeared to be spiked. Small greenish dots ran from above her ears and down the side of her face and neck. She was wearing her green Inferno Armor and held a silver bow in one hand.

She favored Nix with a smile. "Hello." Ducky's voice hadn't changed, it was the velvety smooth voice of a charmer.

Nix stared at her for a moment. None of his companions could use Group or Guild chat. He considered it for a moment and then sent her an invitation.

[Ducky has joined the Inferno Guild]

Nix showed her the mission brief. It felt slightly awkward since he wasn't sure if his spirit companion could read. He watched while her eyes glanced through it.

/Qi: Family: Ducky: Kill the Bishop and retrieve the prism. Got it.

/Qi: Family: Uta: A CC Class?

/Qi: Family: Ducky: Yes.

/Qi: Family: Sasi: Welcome Ducky, I like your name.

/Qi: Family: Ducky: Thank you, I like your name too.

/Qi: Family: Uta: Stealth up, we're heading out.

Nix engaged his Stealth Package and stayed close to Uta as he started to trot. Very quickly they entered an old-style battlefield, complete with trenches and battle lines. Ranged weapons of all sorts and magic spells crisscrossed the open field as each side seemed to take turns trying to charge across. Nix lost count of the number of times he stumbled over corpses that were concealed by the ground-hugging fog. There were also a few times where he carefully led the group around enemies who were laying in ambush.

Ducky brought up the rear of the group, tagging along with Sasi the two seemed to be having a conversation in hushed tones.

/Qi: Family: Uta: We are almost to the Dark Gate, be wary.

/Qi: Family: Nix: Hold fast!

Nix grabbed Uta's arm and kept him from moving forward. "Three small items hidden in the fog, set in a triangle and possessing heat signatures.

Sasi moved closer to him, "point out the first Nix."

Nix pointed to a spot 5 meters to their left, Sasi turned into shadow and faded into the knee-high fog. He kept watching for her thermal image to reappear, but it didn't. The object however completely disappeared.

/Qi: Family: Sasi: All done.

/Qi: Family: Nix: What about the other two?

/Qi: Family: Uta: It's a summoning triangle trap. Remove one piece and it's useless.

A few minutes of walking and they arrived at their first destination. Eight large stones that were barely visible in the fog were set in a perfect octagon. Uta took out a small black jewel that was mounted on a bracelet. /Qi: Family: Sasi: Guess we'll see how good Mtui's intel is.

Uta's dark face frowned slightly. "This could be a trap Nix."

Nix smiled. "Trust me, it's definitely a trap."

Ducky nodded in agreement. "Yep, feels like a trap."

/Qi: Family: Sasi: I like these two Uta. We should keep them.

Uta stepped held the gem in his bare hand and the team stepped into the octagon. An instant later they winked out of existence.

*********************

Deidra sat at her desk frowning at the reports. Both Renz and Elan were currently involved in Nether battles. That meant that hypothetically they were vulnerable to another possible attack.

[Direct Contact: Polai]

An instant later a holo of the dragonspawn responsible for monitoring Sky Kingdom's Breaches appeared in front of her.

Polai bowed low. "How may I be of service?"

"Two of our Breach Commanders are now involved in Nether battles, I need you to be extra vigilant."

Polai nodded. "I will monitor it constantly. Only..."

Deidra felt a fleeting moment of uncertainty. "Only what?"

Polai shrugged slightly. "It's nothing of course, but I believe that Elan called in Nix to assist him.

Deidra frowned at his words and immediately brought up the holo for her son. She didn't wait for him to greet her. "Elan, where is Nix?"

Breach Commander Mtui examined his holo map. "He's near the entry point, I have him assisting the Sasi family. Wait... scratch that, they must have entered the Temple already, they just disappeared from my map."

Deidra had given her permission for the mission, something she would have withheld if she knew her son was sending Nix in. "Let's do everything we can to recover him, even if it means scratching the mission."

Elan Mtui didn't always understand his mother, but this seemed out of character. "Should I not use him on dangerous missions? He is our ally."

"Indeed, he is. Remember he's a new Archon, plenty of time to grow." Deidra smiled pleasantly and closed her holo. Immediately her hand slammed down on the desk, crushing it like tissue paper.

"Why so concerned Mistress?" A dark-haired man stood in the doorway, he was dressed in expensive dark robes and wore a single medallion around his neck.

Deidra eyed the man for a moment, the Majordomo had also served her father. "I don't deny that I'm concerned, most of that is due to my suspicions."

"Suspicions Mistress?"

"Nix and the Inferno Guild. They are climbing higher and faster than anyone else. They currently carry influence on all the planes. It can't be chance, they are being guided." Deidra stood slowly and walked around the desk.

The Majordomo bowed deeply when she approached. "By who Mistress?"

"I could be wrong of course, but if I'm not, that means the Cabal is involved." She walked past him to the door, stopping for a moment. "Bring my armor and weapons at once."