Squealing, Ryo dives between people manning the sails.

“Wait, slow down, Ryo!”

He swerves past a waiter carrying a meal on a tray and dodges a sleeping dog laying by a few barrels of wine. Taking the stairs down two steps at a time, he finally stops when he’s back in the cabins below.

Straining his ears, he hears Hao’s now panicked voice. “Oh, Great Buddha forgive me, I lost him. Hey! Has anybody seen the kid?”

Snickering, Ryo turns the other way, intent on giving the man a hard time. The beginnings of a plan start to form in his mind, wispy threads of what if I brought Satori here and she would have to stowaway until we got to land or could I ask for Mingyue’s help?

He passes a few rooms, standing on his tippy toes in order to see inside. His curiosity spikes when he spots his father…

…Accompanied by who must be the same mysterious individual that night, Lucifer, whose face is shadowed beneath a hood this time.

“—confirmed that Enoia is the first step to making the Blood of Asphodel,” his father says.

“And what is the next step?” Lucifer asks.

Ryo holds his breath, pressing his back against the wall. He slowly inches away. 

“The next step,” his father starts. There is the sound of a liquid being poured into a vial. “The next step is to test for the missing ingredient. Musubi, Esse, is incomplete. Try as we might, without the missing ingredient containing the key, it is simply impossible for us to proceed further.”

Ryo frowns. How is musubi tied to what Dad is doing for Lucifer? 

“And how long will it take to find the missing ingredient?” Lucifer asks, impatience seeping through.

“...I’m afraid I cannot answer that, my Lord. It depends on luck. I can try adding anything at this point, but it’s like finding the right grain of sand at the bottom of the ocean. Moreover, when I said it’s missing, I mean it is missing from the very fabric of this world. It simply does not seem to exist, and yet its absence, the gaps it leaves all point to it being very much real. This may be beyond human capabilities.”

“Must I impose a deadline?”

“No!” his father shouts, panicked. Ryo’s heartbeat spikes. He hasn’t ever heard his father so stressed before. “I-I have a few guesses that may help narrow down the choices. The only issue is obtaining them. I fear some are not on Earth…”

There is a lull in the conversation. Clothing shifts and Lucifer speaks next, “You mean Astrum Academy and Eden? Speak, and you shall have anything I can procure from Eden. Astrum Academy, however… Will your son or daughter be—”

“No, I will go!” His father’s voice is tinged with something darker than desperation, something like terror.

Alarmed, Ryo chances a quick glance into the room. He ducks immediately. His father, sweating profusely and kneeling, kowtows towards Lucifer. Some small part of Ryo feels immense satisfaction seeing his father in the same position that his sister and mother had been in many times before to placate his father’s bad moods.

“You know the rules. Those older than eighteen cannot enter Astrum Academy’s grounds, unless they are staff. How do you expect to go in?” At his father’s silence, Lucifer snorts. “Unless you find the missing ingredient in Eden, your children will continue your work for me.”

Astrum Academy, the place where Dad went to school? And Eden— it’s where the demons live, Ryo recalls. Funnily enough, though his father’s told him of these places before and their significance, he’s never actually mentioned where they are. And now he’s finding out that they’re not even on Earth.

Great. More confusion for his brain.

Ryo hears the sound of boots nearing. He quiets his own steps and creeps around the corner. Crouching, he makes himself as small as possible to hide behind a pile of plywood.

“And if I do make the Blood of Asphodel?” his father’s voice asks, a strange steel behind its timbre.

“...I will make you one of us. I do not break promises.”

The cabin door closes and footsteps approach.

Ryo covers his mouth and swallows, holding his breath. He peers up, only to find crimson eyes staring at him within the darkness beneath Lucifer’s hood. It is wrong. Eerie. Twisted. Something gnarly grows there. It brings the despair back into his chest with all the force of a black hole.

An akuma, a demon, is looking at him. It is peering into his soul, judging and weighing him on a shadowy scale. Claws enclose upon his heart and reach towards his eyes. The chittering sounds of screeching insects close in on his ears. The darkness grows, bulging out from beneath the hood like some boiling black pus.

Ryo screams.

His father rushes out, finding him curled up into a ball, shuddering violently. “Ryo! Ryo, hush, it’s okay! Look, see, there’s nothing there!”

Through his tears, Ryo hesitantly looks beyond his father’s shoulder. There is nothing there in the space where the akuma was standing moments ago.

“It’s just your imagination,” his father reassures, a hint of a laugh bursting out.

“I-I saw something,” Ryo insists.

“No, you didn’t.” His father pats his back once, twice, and has him stand up. “Were you listening?”

The awful warning feeling in his gut is back again like needles on fire and Ryo swallows. “T-to what?” 

“Nothing… Supper should be ready soon. We should head there together.”

Ryo takes a deep breath. “I need to go to the washroom.”

Reluctantly, his father lets go of his hand. “Okay. Just don’t be late.”

Once his father has climbed up the stairs and onto the deck, Ryo scurries into the room. His father’s papers are strewn across the tables and floor. Vials of liquids are set upon a desk in neat rows: some pink, some red, some clear, some cloudy. He peers at the notes in the margins, his father’s hastily scrawled handwriting making no sense to him. Flowers, herbs, spices, and all manners of odd things are apparently fair game.

“Human blood? Silver and n-nitric acid? An acid?” Ryo blanches. “You can’t eat that…” Lower on the list and uncrossed out, “Dragon scales? Ghost whale fins?”

Now, he’s not well-versed in topics like these, but some things listed are downright poisonous and could totally kill a person. Other things are mythical and simply, well, don’t exist.

On Earth, that is. Maybe these are real things that can be found in…Eden, as Lucifer mentioned, or Astrum Academy. It would make sense if Astrum Academy isn’t on Earth...

There’s only one way to find out what his father’s on about, and for that, he’ll have to ask for Edward’s help. That kid is rich and has fancy tutors plus a library of rare texts. It’s bound to work, right? 

Ryo looks around, finding a piece of blank scrap parchment. He copies down the list, awkward strokes wobbly and ugly. For once in his life, he thanks his father for teaching him how to write when it is something people of their peasant status have no access to normally. 

Finished, he stuffs the paper into his pocket. Eyes trailing around, Ryo searches for more clues on the Blood of Asphodel and Enoia, to no avail. His father’s personal notebook, the little black one he’s seen him write in during the late hours of night, is nowhere to be found.

This should be enough for now, Ryo thinks. If he closes his eyes, he can still feel the gaze of those crimson orbs.

His instincts scream at him to keep this snooping a secret from his father and to never ask any questions about things related to Lucifer. They are the same instincts that made him grip Satori’s hand tightly and beg her not to go downstairs to face their father’s wrath. 

He wasn’t wrong; Satori had suffered. 

His instincts are never wrong.

“...I will make you one of us,” Lucifer had said. “I do not break promises.”

Just what kind of a deal did his father make with the creature named Lucifer?

“—passengers, wait in your rooms!” Hao’s voice bellows. “We’ll be docking promptly.”

Ryo blinks the sleep away from his eyes. He is still full from the dinner the previous night. Through the windows, the morning sun is just rising. The ship’s crew have been busy for hours by now based on the frenzied shouting in Chinese that he can’t understand and the deep chalky drag of cargo off the ship.

“We’ve landed in Shanghai,” his father says, drying his face off after his morning shave. “Get dressed, Ryo. We need to go over some rules.”

He yawns, nodding as he puts the changpao on.

“First, the distribution of information. Those in the main Liu family know of the Artifacts and musubi, which they call qi here. When it comes to the Blackwoods, Richard and the senior servants know. Edward does not. If you find yourself in discussion with Richard or the senior servants, they will be confused if you call it qi or musubi. Esse is the word to use, and all the terms mean the same thing. Use the right words with the right people at the right time. And for those like Edward who know nothing of this world, you must keep it that way.” His father raises his brows. “Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Ryo puts his magua jacket on. Again, he fumbles over the buttons.

“Second, the Code of Silence. Do you remember what this means?”

“We can’t stand out too much and we can’t influence history.”

Nodding in satisfaction, his father crouches to help him get his buttons on right. “Correct. The Seven Families are from different countries, each with their own progress and path; our nations may even be at war, but it is none of our concern. We are united in the Code of Silence, in a higher purpose as keepers of the Artifacts. The destiny of earthly things is not ours to influence, and so we cannot use Esse or our Artifacts to change the course of history.”

His clothes are finally buttoned the right way. “But I don’t know how to use Esse.”

“As I’ve said before, you will in time, once you go to Astrum Academy.”

“But where is it?”

His father does not answer. Instead, he extends a hand and Ryo takes it. Subtly, Ryo checks in his pockets with his other hand for the slip of paper. It contains the notes he copied down from his father’s cabin the other day. The parchment is rough against the pads of his fingers and he lets out a sigh of relief. 

They make their way up to the deck.

His father’s brows crease in worry. “I’m adding a third thing. Something you must remember and never question, even if you do not understand it now,” his father says, to Ryo’s surprise. He rarely sees his father this serious when he is not in one of his moods. 

“If you find yourself trapped between two sides in a war that is not yours, do what I did and find Astrum Academy. You will learn to harness power there, and only then will you be somewhat safe. Look for the land with the gold skies, but do not trust its owner. Lilith is a liar as much as Lucifer is. But Angels will not try to kill you, unlike Fallen.”

Eyes widening, Ryo halts mid-step. 

His father stops too, and crouches to grip his shoulders in a firm hold. “Remember that, Ryo. Even if it makes no sense to you now. Repeat it.”

Ryo nods, insides curling away from his father’s touch. “If I’m in trouble, I need to find Astrum Academy. It is somewhat safe there. Look for the land with gold skies, but do not trust its owner…” his voice trails off.

“Lilith,” his father prompts, gaze still intense and looking straight into Ryo’s eyes.

“Lilith is a liar,” he says as he remembers the second half. “Lilith is a liar as much as Lucifer is. Angels won’t kill me. Fallen might.”

“Good boy.” His father ruffles his hair. “Never forget.”

“Who is Lilith?”

“Don’t question it.”

“I’m not! I just want to know who Lilith is—”

The doors to the deck open. Hao strolls down leisurely. “There you two are. Come, come, and here, take these pills.” He hands them each a small white pill. “We’re entering the port and it will help you communicate with locals in their native tongue— all, of course, without you actually knowing it.” 

At their confused gazes, Hao quickly adds, “The young Miss, Mingyue, invented these a few months back. We’ve been using them ever since. You won’t need a translator to accompany you this time. Effects should last till the end of your visit to the Blackwoods and wear off once you return to your country.” The man is already up on the deck when he waves back down at them. “Go on ahead, there’s a palanquin to pick you up, courtesy of the Liu family.”

Turning back to his father, Ryo asks again, “So, who’s Lilith? A pretty lady?”

His father sighs. “No.”