This had to be Talyndra's doing. Some kind of way to draw his attention and distract him enough to prevent him from stealing from anyone.

  Kaelen, confused: But this isn't really the kind of thing she'd do...

  He then notices no-one was near him. He already knew that of course, that's why he chose the area, it was easier to steal without any prying eyes. But when you see your own poster on a missing board you rethink things like being alone. Or at least... He thought he was alone.

  Kaelen: Hello? Is anyone there?

  He feels something press against his neck, a small dagger.

  ???: Don't move.

  Kaelen throws his hands up.

  Kaelen: Not moving! Not moving. What do you want?

  ???: Didn't you see the board? You're going missing.

  Kaelen: Any way we could discuss that?

  ???: No.

  Kaelen focused inward towards his Lux, it should've been just enough for a sword. He had to distract this man so that he could make a sword and beat him.

  ???: Turn around. Don't bother trying to Fabricate anything. I've got more than a knife pointed at you. If I even sense a little bit of Lux or Mana leave you, you're dead.

  Kaelen turns to face the man. He was wearing basic circus attire with a complex mask that despite the designs didn't seem to actually have a face, just a wide grin.

  Kaelen: Well that's not creepy at all.

  Masked Man: I didn't say you could speak.

  Kaelen: What's this all about? Are you some kind of religious zealot here to kill me for my "profane use of Luminosity" or something?

  Masked Man: I'm not a zealot, nor am I here about your use of Luminosity.

  Kaelen: Really? You seem the type.

  Masked Man: Nor am I here to listen to your needless prattle.

  Kaelen: Shame. I was hoping to distract you-

  Kaelen steps to the side and Fabricates a sword, swinging it at the man, only for him to dodge, seemingly before he even swung his sword. He swung over and over, but the man kept on dodging without breaking a sweat.

  [Notice: Skills leveled up]

  [Sword Mastery, Level 3 (+1) -> Sword Mastery, Level 4]

  It didn't take the masked man to Fabricate a metal bat and instantly knock him out, losing consciousness, with him Blazing his sword before the darkness consumed him as he felt himself start to get dragged. When he opened his eyes he thought at first that he hadn't opened his eyes. Until he realised-

  Kaelen, surprised: There's... There's no light? Where am I?

  He was on a chair, his hands and feet bound. He immediately tried to Blaze the chair only-

  Kaelen, shocked: Huh?

  Masked Man: You'll find you're completely unable to Blaze anything. Most people aren't aware, but you can only Blaze or Fabricate something in the light. It doesn't have to be much, even moon light would work-

  Kaelen, scared: The fuck is a moon?

  Masked Man: Never mind. But you get the point. Here in the dark, it's just you and me. No Blazing, no Fabrication. Even if there was light you wouldn't be able to do anything, allegedly the symbols carved in that chair prevent alteration in internal Lux. But I don't trust carved Sigils much so I made sure to do this as well just in case.

  Kaelen, scared: Sigil? What's a Sigil? What is any of this about? What do you want from me?

  Masked Man: Do you have any idea how much Lux you get from Blazing a living breathing human being?

  Kaelen, scared: W-what?

  Masked Man: It varies on the person of course, but on average? 400,000 Lux.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Kaelen, scared: I don't know how much that is.

  Masked Man: A truly disgusting amount. And that's not including the inherent Lux everyone keeps stored nowadays. If I was holding 500 Lux and you Blazed me, in theory you'd get 400,500 Lux total. Enough to craft most half decent Sigils.

  Kaelen, scared: I don't know what that means.

  Masked Man: You wouldn't. The general public aren't aware of Sigils.

  Kaelen, scared: ... You're going to Blaze me, aren't you?

  Masked Man: Not personally, no. But you will be being Blazed. Just after a bit of extra preparation.

  Kaelen, scared: Why are you telling me this?

  Masked Man: Memory. You can Blaze memory. The more and the more interesting the memories, the more Lux you get from Blazing them. Just by talking to you I'm-

  Kaelen, scared: Fattening me up like for a meal...

  Masked Man: You get it. Now, be good. We need to get outside of the Perimeter before we can prepare you properly.

  Kaelen, scared: Perimeter of what?

  Masked Man: Just a few things to think over.

  It was dark. So dark. How could it possibly be dark? The sun never sets. Never. Are they blocking out the light in other ways? But what could block out all the light from the sun? And why was it that he didn't hear the masked man enter or leave? He wasn't still in the room. Or at least Kaelen didn't think he was. There must be a way out of the room that doesn't involve the opening or closing of anything. But if that's true was it something Kaelen could access?

  Kaelen: Oh sacred Sigil! Free me from these shadows!

  Nope. Maybe Talyndra would save him? Not that she would know where he was. Even then, somewhere deep in his heart he genuinely believed that Talyndra would find a way to help him. She always did. She wouldn't let him down now. Hopefully. But then again, he didn't see a way for her to find him. No matter how much he hoped, there was no way out of these shadows.

  Kaelen: Talyndra... I'm sorry…

  He decided to just give up. Let the shadows consume him. If he allowed them to swallow him whole then he wouldn't be lost. Not really. You can't be lost in the shadows if you accept your position in them. Seconds passed. Then minutes. Then hours. Then he lost track. Time just passed in the shadow with no light for him to use to be able to guess. Just the dark.

  Masked Man: Time's up.

  He felt the masked man's presence reappear as he put his hands onto the chair Kaelen was on. He felt the world shift and turn, and then he felt the light on his eyes and he opened them. He hadn't even realised that he had closed his eyes at some point. He looked around and saw only dust and sand around him in an endless expanse.

  Kaelen: Where is this?

  Masked Man: The Perimeter.

  The masked man held his hand up, putting it against the air and pushing it. The sky opened up and the masked man stepped through, dragging Kaelen and his chair through alongside him.

  Masked Man: So many people live their life in ignorance of the truth. Unaware of the fact that this world is so much more than any of them could truly understand. A world where the sun never sets is doomed to burn and turn into ash in under a month. Especially with a sun as strong as ours. Welcome to the Perimeter, from here on out you'll be feeling the full force of our sun.

  Kaelen, scared: I don't understand any of that.

  Masked Man: Bask in its glory.

  The masked man stuffed a gag into Kaelen's mouth before throwing him and his chair, sending them a number of meters into the space beyond the Perimeter, as the sun rises into its top and brightest position. The sand and stone surrounding him began to boil. His skin began to char and burn as if the sun had dipped him straight into lava. He was burning alive under the sun and there was no way out. He was going to die, and it was absolute agony. He could feel it, creeping into his burning flesh, death was coming for him.

  His skin was burning, flakes of it blackened and falling off, the ground around him boiled and bubbled. It was hot. Disgustingly hot. His hands and legs were tied behind him to the chair, and a gag was shoved into his mouth. He was going to burn alive in this heat. He had no way out and a hundred regrets, all of them about to end here and now as he died under the endless, never-setting sun. There was nothing to do about it now, he was a dead man walking, not that he could walk at the moment, but he could still lament on the choices he had made that may have led him here as he failed to Blaze under the vengeful sun.

  [Notice: Status effect gained]

  [Burning, Tier I]

  Kaelen: ... -No...

  He grits his teeth. There must be a way out, he had to live and get back to Tali. Blood leaked from his mouth, seeping out from between his teeth. He does the first thing he could think of and rolls onto his front, trying to block some of the sun with the chair he was tied to.

  [Notice: Status effect nullified]

  [Notice: Status effect increased]

  [Burning, Tier I (+1) -> Burning, Tier II]

  Kaelen: Shit! Gotta hurry!