The Fifth Member Falls From the Sky
It began with screaming.
Not monster screaming.
Human screaming.
Specifically:
"MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE—"
Something crashed into the battlefield camp in a cloud of dust and broken tent poles.
When the debris cleared, a young man lay face-down in a crater.
He wore layered robes covered in talismans.
Every single talisman was smoking.
He lifted his head slowly.
"…I calculated that wrong."
Lyra blinked.
"Did he just fall from the upper atmosphere?"
Darius squinted upward.
"…Yes."
The young man stood shakily, he looked around, saw Sam and his eyes widened.
"You."
Sam blinked.
"…Me?"
"You're the disturbance variable!"
"I beg your pardon."
The young man rushed forward excitedly.
"I'm Theo! Formation specialist! Array theorist! Probability mathematician!"
Borin leaned to Darius.
"He talks like Lyra fights."
"Fast?" Darius asked.
"Dangerous."
Theo grabbed a stack of charred talismans from his belt.
"I've been tracking spatial distortions across the warfront. Every time you appear, the laws of structured energy collapse into paradox!"
Sam stared.
"That sounds inconvenient."
"It's fascinating!"
Theo began circling him.
"You're not emitting qi."
"No."
"You're not drawing ambient energy."
"No."
"You're not using divine artifacts."
"No."
Theo's grin widened dangerously.
"Then you're not bound by the realm hierarchy."
Sam paused.
"…That sounds like something people would misunderstand."
"They absolutely will."
Theo stopped in front of him, "I'm joining you."
Sam blinked slowly.
"I did not invite applications."
Theo waved dismissively, "I need to study you."
Lyra laughed.
Borin clapped him on the back, "Welcome to the problem."
Theo looked at the others.
"You've observed it too?"
Darius nodded gravely.
"He's… not normal."
Theo's eyes sparkled.
"Yes."
Sam looked skyward again, this time he face palmed.
"Why."
However the sky remained unhelpful, and just like that, the fifth member had arrived.
***
That night, Theo drew a complex array around the camp. Lines of light interlocked, forming protective geometry.
"There," he said proudly. "Now nothing can penetrate this barrier."
Sam shifted slightly to get comfortable.
The array flickered. Theo froze.
"…What did you just do?"
"Adjusted posture."
The array collapsed entirely, while Theo stared at the smoking ground.
"You broke a grandmaster-level defensive formation by sitting down."
"I did not intend to."
Theo looked like he might faint from excitement.
"You're magnificent."
"I am tired."