The notification appeared on Magi's communicator at precisely 9:17 AM.

  [Payment Processing Delay: Contract C-778 (Riverside Plaza)]

  [Further verification required]

  [Estimated resolution: 24-48 hours.]

  Magi stared at the screen, his cup of tea halfway to his lips. In eighteen months of Raider work, he'd never once had a payment delayed.

  The Guild's accounting department operated with machine-like precision, contracts completed by 6 PM were paid by 9 AM the following day.

  He set his cup down and pulled up the contract details. Everything seemed in order.

  The mission parameters had been met. Marc had filed the completion report. The Observer drone had uploaded its data. Dimensional intrusion neutralized, minimal combat engagement, no casualties.

  No material recovery.

  Magi closed his eyes briefly. Of course. The missing loot.

  His communicator vibrated again with a message from Marc: Meeting at the Guild Hall. Now.

  The tea would have to wait.

  ***

  Echo Squad gathered in Conference Room Two, a small space with no windows and a table too large for the room. Administrator Whitehall stood at the head, a tablet in her hands and a pinched expression on her face.

  "I'll get straight to the point," she said. "Your mission report from yesterday has been flagged for irregularities."

  "What irregularities?" Marc asked, though his tone suggested he already knew.

  Whitehall tapped her tablet. "Following a dimensional intrusion neutralization, standard procedure dictates collection of residual materials. Your report indicates zero recovery."

  "Because there was nothing to recover," Layla said. "The rift just... closed up."

  "Rifts don't 'just close up,'" Whitehall replied. "They collapse, they destabilize, they implode. Each of these processes leaves behind tangible residue. Monster cores, dimensional fragments, energy crystals. Something."

  Jax leaned forward. "We've all seen plenty of rifts. This one was different."

  "Different how?"

  "It resolved itself," Magi said quietly.

  All eyes turned to him.

  "Explain," Whitehall demanded.

  Magi maintained his neutral expression. "The dimensional inconsistency that created the rift corrected itself. The energy didn't disperse or collapse, it reintegrated."

  Whitehall's eyes narrowed. "And you're qualified to make that assessment because...?"

  "He's not," Marc interrupted smoothly. "None of us are. We're just describing what we saw. The rift closed without the typical energy dispersion we're accustomed to seeing."

  Eli nodded. "The edges didn't tear or shatter. They sort of... zipped up."

  "Like someone mending a seam," Layla added.

  Whitehall's frown deepened. "The Science Division has reviewed the Observer drone footage. They're classifying this as an anomalous event."

  "Which means?" Marc asked.

  "Which means your payment is on hold until they complete their analysis. Additionally, all team members are required to submit to individual debriefings."

  Jax groaned. "Seriously? For doing our job?"

  "For being present during an unexplained dimensional phenomenon," Whitehall corrected. "This is the third such incident in your operational history."

  "Third?" Eli asked.

  "The bone dragon encounter, the warehouse rift, and now this," Whitehall listed. "Echo Squad has an unusually high rate of anomalous dimensional events."

  No one looked at Magi, which made it all the more obvious who they were thinking about.

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  "When are these debriefings?" Marc asked.

  "Immediately. Separate rooms. Separate analysts." Whitehall's expression softened slightly. "This isn't a punishment, but the Guild needs to understand what's happening. Dimensional stability isn't something we can afford to take chances with."

  Magi kept his face carefully neutral. The sensation of being watched crawled up his spine. Not from his teammates, but from somewhere beyond the walls of the conference room. The Guild's internal security. The Science Division. Perhaps even the Syndicate.

  They were all looking for answers he didn't want to give.

  ***

  The debriefing room reminded Magi of his old office. Beige walls, uncomfortable chair, a desk with nothing on it. The analyst seated across from him was young, with sharp eyes and a tablet she hadn't looked away from since he'd entered.

  "For the record," she said, "please state your name and Raider classification."

  "Magi. C-rank. Echo Squad."

  She nodded without looking up. "I'm Analyst Vega, Science Division, Dimensional Phenomena Section. This is an informational debriefing regarding Contract C-778, Riverside Plaza."

  Magi waited. The silence stretched.

  Finally, she set down her tablet and looked at him directly. "Tell me what you observed when the rift closed."

  "It didn't collapse. The edges reconnected smoothly until the opening disappeared."

  "And the scale wolves that had emerged?"

  "They faded. Like they were being pulled back."

  She tapped a note into her tablet. "Did you or any member of your team take any action that might have facilitated this unusual closure?"

  "No."

  "Were there any environmental factors that might have contributed? Weather patterns, structural elements, technological interference?"

  "Not that I noticed."

  Vega studied him for a moment. "Mr. Magi, your team has encountered several dimensional anomalies in recent months. Do you have any theories as to why?"

  "We take the contracts available to us," Magi said. "Maybe we're just unlucky."

  "Or lucky, depending on one's perspective." She pulled up a chart on her tablet. "I've been reviewing energy readings from all three anomalous incidents involving Echo Squad. There's a pattern."

  She turned the tablet to show him. Three waveform patterns, each labeled with a different incident date.

  "In standard rift collapses, energy disperses in a recognizable pattern. An initial spike followed by rapid decay." She pointed to a separate graph. "But in your incidents, we see something different. The energy doesn't disperse. It redistributes."

  Magi kept his expression neutral. "I'm not a scientist."

  "No, but you are observant." Vega's eyes never left his face. "In your report, you used the term 'resolved' to describe the rift closure. That's an interesting choice of words."

  "It seemed appropriate."

  "It's also technically accurate in a way most Raiders wouldn't understand." She set the tablet down. "Energy redistribution instead of dispersion. Perfect balance restoration instead of collapse. These are advanced dimensional concepts, Mr. Magi."

  He said nothing.

  "The question," Vega continued, "is whether these anomalies are occurring naturally in your presence, or whether something or someone is facilitating them."

  Magi maintained eye contact. "I'm just a C-rank Raider."

  "With an unusual affinity for basic attributes." She smiled slightly. "Your file makes for interesting reading."

  "I didn't realize I had a file."

  "Everyone has a file, Mr. Magi. Yours is just more... incomplete than most." Vega picked up her tablet again. "One final question. Have you been approached by any organization outside the Guild regarding these dimensional anomalies?"

  The Syndicate. The Office of Dimensional Management. Both had contacted him.

  "No," he lied smoothly.

  Vega studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation. The Science Division will continue analyzing the Observer drone data. Your payment should process once we've completed our review."

  "How long will that take?"

  "Hard to say. Dimensional anomalies aren't exactly routine." She stood. "You're free to go. Please don't leave the city without notifying Guild administration."

  Magi nodded and left the room, feeling the weight of her gaze following him out.

  ***

  Echo Squad reconvened at Griffith's Grill, taking their usual booth in the back corner where the noise of the kitchen provided cover for conversation. No one spoke until after they'd ordered.

  "So," Jax finally said, "that was fun."

  Eli sighed. "Mine asked if I'd noticed any unusual behaviors from teammates before or during the mission."

  "They're fishing," Marc said. "Looking for patterns they can attribute to these anomalies."

  "Did they show you the energy readings?" Layla asked. "The redistribution thing?"

  Marc nodded. "Apparently that's not supposed to happen. Rifts collapse, energy disperses. Basic dimensional physics."

  "Except our rifts don't collapse," Jax said. "They... what was the word? Resolve?"

  Four sets of eyes turned toward Magi, who was methodically stirring his coffee.

  "You've been quiet," Marc observed.

  Magi shrugged. "Not much to say. The Guild is concerned because the standard rules aren't applying."

  "And our pay is delayed because of it," Jax muttered.

  "They'll process it eventually," Marc said. "Once they convince themselves we didn't do anything wrong."

  Layla snorted. "Since when is successfully completing a contract 'wrong'?"

  "Since we did it without creating a mess," Eli suggested. "Maybe they want a more dramatic ending."

  Their food arrived, temporarily halting the conversation. Magi focused on his meal, aware of Marc's occasional glances in his direction.

  After they'd finished eating and the others were engaged in a debate about the merits of various new weapons at the Guild armory, Marc leaned closer to Magi.

  "That analyst who questioned me," he said quietly, "she had a theory."

  Magi continued eating.

  "She thinks the rifts aren't being neutralized at all," Marc continued. "At least, not in the traditional sense."

  Magi took a sip of water.

  "The energy signature doesn't show destruction or collapse. It shows... correction." Marc's voice dropped even lower. "That's not clearing. That's correction."

  Magi set his glass down carefully, feeling the weight of Marc's observation. He understood the implication. Correction meant intention, purpose, direction. It meant someone or something was guiding the process.

  It meant Magi wasn't just a witness to these anomalies. He was the cause.

  Marc waited for a response, but Magi offered none. He simply reached for his water again, his expression betraying nothing of the calculations running through his mind.

  The bill arrived. Layla argued they should split it evenly despite Jax ordering the most expensive item on the menu. Eli laughed at something on her communicator. The restaurant continued its lunchtime bustle around them.

  And Magi sat quietly, considering how many more "corrections" he could make before the pattern became impossible to ignore.