20

Silver Mist

A faint beep raced across the room as the lights flashed, ridding themselves of a faint grey, turning into a soft white. From prideful brightness to the vast space, the room presented itself with a fashionable greeting.

Yep, I hate those things now, Kaito thought as he slowly got up, taking a moment to sit and take in his surroundings.

“Are you all okay?” Aki asked, holding his head firmly as he glanced around the enormous white slats—almost like the inside of a box.

“So that’s what it feels like, huh? I kinda feel bad for the Bennet guy now.” Elena added, taking a breather as she lay on the floor, hands crossed.

“Not gonna lie, that was kinda cool.” Souta chuckled, his head swaying from side to side.

“The question is…” Dragging herself up, Elena stood up and approached him. “What is this place?”  

“They did say something about the largest room in the castle.” Aki followed her example, fascinated by the infrastructure of the place.

“And they weren’t lying.” Souta shook his head violently for a moment, ridding himself of the dizziness, grinning mischievously afterwards.

Then, in the next second, every tile turned a light blue, adding to the squad’s crisp confusion.

Elena pointed curiously to the very far end of the opposite side. “Look, something’s moving over there.”

“Looks like training is about to begin.” Kaito sighed, scratching his head.

A door had opened around a hundred feet away, letting its shrill ring run free, and from it came four silhouettes.

“Wait, we’ll be training in this box thing?” Elena lifted her head, taking another glance around the metallic squares.

“Dude, this is so exciting.” Souta cheered, clenching his fist in front of him as if it were his iconic motto.

“Everyone, please retain your manners,” Aki muttered, fixing his posture into a more formal style, barely able to make out who it was.

“Neo–er, ah,” Kaito announced, but in a sudden realisation, changed his direction. “Luna, Sister Luisa, and the secretaries.” 

“Yeah, obviously, idiot.” Elena gave her brother a sideways glare, scoffing before returning her focus towards the approaching figures.

Damn it, that was close, Kaito thought, taking a sigh of relief. 

The squad, mostly recovered, stood strong beneath the many dozen lights, formally awaiting Neoma and her Lunarians.

“Hello to you all again.” Neoma bowed lightly, her hands occupied with a bucket of popcorn and a drink. “I apologise for the teleportation, but we didn’t want to waste any more of your precious time.”

“Look, my persistence is bothering, I know, but does retrieving your remaining capsules really require training?” Aki scratched the side of his chin, pretending not to hear Elena’s dramatic groan—a sign of disapproval. 

“Not at all, don’t worry. The training is more towards making things smoother when the raider attacks.” Neoma dismissively waved her hands, jolting her sight below. 

Akira and Amira sighed in utter relief, each with one of her giant cravings. 

“Your majesty, you really need to be more careful,” Amira whined, handing the caramel popcorn over to her as she got up from the floor.

“That’s Luna for you.” Akira sighed once more, cautiously unwinding her legs, and gave back the large soda.

Oh, that’s right, my team doesn’t know, Kaito thought, his eyes narrowed as he stood behind the rest of his squad. And I can’t even tell them.

“Okay, let us start from square one.” Sister Luisa sweetly knotted her hands, taking a step forward next to Akira.

“Welcome to the Virtual Training Room, or VTR for short.” Neoma smiled softly, tightening her grip on the popcorn and soda, turning to her side.

As she walked away, heading towards the right side of the cube, Sister Luisa reached for a strange device by her hip.

“This is one of the unborn capsules you managed to save earlier today.” She held it with such delicate care that she almost appeared motherly. “So it’s only fair we end your first day here with one.”

Oh, yeah, those things again, I’ve always wanted to know what they’re about, Kaito thought curiously, allured by their unique blue glow.

“We’ll let her explain the rest.” Akira waved at them as she held Amira’s hand, following in gentle pursuit of Neoma.

“The four of you will spar against a Sister of our majesty, Luna, whom you already know as dear Sisters.” Sister Luisa gently placed the cylinder on one of the tiles below, smaller than the ones on the sides and above. 

It had fierce steel plates on the top and small technical patterns across its side, whereas its height reached a third of their size. 

Moving her hands to the tiles on the sides, she simultaneously pressed against them efficiently. “Then afterwards, we can review the results to analyse where you need improvement.” 

“Wait, are you telling me that–” Elena, worried, took a step back.

“Yep, three newborns and I will be facing you all. Team against team.” The two tiles lifted, blowing off some steam, increasing the bigger space they exerted.

“Guys, don’t worry, we’re not actually fighting babies.” Kaito chuckled, glancing at his sister’s nervous face.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Aki added, crossing his arms.

“Don’t worry, clones are harmless—at least when they’re older than a few days.” She waved her hand up and down, diverting her attention between the two open safes. 

She reached for one at a time, guardedly grabbing the capsules with both her hands, resting them on their respective tile once removed.

“Aki, don’t worry, we’ll show them we ain’t rookies.” Souta rubbed his nose confidently as the two tiles lowered themselves back into the floor.

“Think of it as another step closer to riches.” Elena turned her attention to Aki, giving him a pat on the back.

“Now that I think of it, it’s been a while since we worked together.” Kaito fixed his hoodie, stretching his drawstrings.

“Sister Lulu, Luama, and I will be your training opponents.” She raised them straight up, holding them by the handle, and turned them, almost like dials.

The glow increased in a burst, nearly covering Sister Luisa like a pair of clouds, a size so dominant that the squad took a few steps back. 

“I didn’t mean to steal your, uh, what the–” Sister Lulu appeared from the fading smoke, confused expression and all.

“Why are we in the VTR? I didn’t know Dawn was back.” Fixing her glasses, Sister Luama looked around her surroundings briefly.

“No, Dawn isn’t back to train us or anything,” Luisa affirmed, standing up with a gentle posture. “It’s our turn to train newbies.”

“Sister Lulu and Luama?” Kaito removed himself from the back and moved beside Elena. “But they’re not newborns.”

“Oh, you called upon us to help train, uh, give me a second.” Lulu’s eyes stretched in realisation, slamming her fist into her palm—until she forgot her next words. 

Luama lowered her head in embarrassment, dragging her hand to Lulu’s shoulders as if she were a counsellor. “Squad 178, remember, we greeted them not too long ago.”

“Oh, that’s right, yeah.” Lulu laughed in realisation, smirking confidently.

“Please, let us focus.” Luisa kneeled before the capsule, twisting the top dial; however, this capsule was picked up by her and shown in front of the Sisters.

“Oh, a new Sister,” Lulu exclaimed with jumpy gestures.

“Ah, look how adorable she is.” Luama leaned forward in admiration, adjusting her glasses. “Her mana is so soft.”

“This feels like an awkward family reunion.” Souta blurted, looking at Aki for a response.

Intrigued by Kaito’s unusual silence, Elena glanced at her brother. “Hey, what are you looking at?” 

Kaito, unwavering from his formal posture, raised his finger at three silhouettes in a newly appeared window at the top of the room.

“Just at those who’ll be enjoying the show,” His eyes stuck to Neoma like glue.

“Wait, I have a quick question.” Aki declared, sliding one of his hands down his face tiresomely. “If this training is to prepare us against a single raider, which was stated to be in a few days, is today’s training necessary?”

“Why, of course. The faster you guys get stronger, the better.” Luisa replied, extending her open palm to her side, elbow close.

“Hey, I got a question too.” Souta glanced at the capsule, then back to the three Sisters. “What happens if we fail to get the capsules and defeat this raider guy?”

“Then we return you to your home. The difference is, no rewards and most likely, a half-destroyed city.” 

Utter shock slithered around the team, the tension in the air piling up like hills of snow.

“Our precious sisters, at the moment of birth, need Luna’s mana nearby to gain consciousness and sanity like us. If not, they’re nothing but mindless beasts, at least for a few minutes until they explode.”

The squad froze like ice statues, processing the information just given to them.

No way…they actually kept such a thing from us? Kaito thought, his eyes quivering in disbelief. But then again, I don’t feel mad in the slightest. Am I…okay?

“Now, hold on.” Aki’s teeth ground whilst still trying to keep composure. “You’re just telling us now?”

“That seems like something we should’ve known earlier,” Elena muttered, her face made of frowning stone.

“Yeah, this is some bull–” Souta added fuel to the flame, one fist clenched tightly as the other hand swung across the air abruptly. 

“Guys, calm down. We retrieved a bunch of capsules before, so another few wouldn’t hurt.” Kaito swung his hand in front of Souta, stepping to the front with a confident smile. “Besides, who the hell would refuse the chance at riches and whatever else we want?”

“The hell happened to you?” Souta glared at Kaito, his expression now marred by confusion as well.

“Guys, please, I’m sure it was just for dramatic effect.” He gestured his hand in wary, stepping in between his team and the Sisters.

“Even if it wasn’t, we can’t let that happen now, can we?” Elena groaned, eyes still torn between betrayal and acceptance. 

“You two have a point, but it’s still so wrong of them.” Aki took a deep breath, glancing between Kaito and Elena.

"Hey," Souta blurted. "If these so-called Sisters are able aren't able to be outside Lunar Province, how come they were by our house earlier?" 

"All clones are made of Luna's mana, so a big group like them was able to survive," Luisa replied, arms crossed as she got carried away. "The three fractures, however, don't need company."

Before Souta could resist with another question, steam came soaring out of the capsule, bringing forth a large fog. The squad was momentarily blinded by the mist as they waved their hands frantically, trying to see past the faint shilloutes—now four.

“Here you go,” Luama whispered from the other side, approaching the new silhouette—a timid shadow.

The fog began to seep into the ground as the tiles began glitching, turning into an array of colours until it set on a bright sky above and street grey below.

“Attention please,” Luisa clapped her hands as the last of the smokescreen vanished. “Our team is now complete.”

Digital cubes spawned from the tiles in every direction, imitating Remrin city in perfect detail, even down to the alleyway graffiti and bright signs by the streets. Though it was only what appeared to a small part, the differences with the real thing were none.

“Whoa, this is incredible,” Elena whispered in awe as Kaito glared at the lesser parts of the simulation, the places that lacked colour—the looming alleyways.

The opened capsule now lay on the floor, watching as the newly born Sister took her first step as she fixed the labcoat she was given. 

“And if there aren’t any more questions, let us begin.” Luama rubbed her nose, no longer looking like a scientist but rather a librarian. 

“Hey, don’t leave us hanging without the answers.” Aki declared, returning his attention to them.

But to the squad's shock, all of them except the newborn had gotten into offensive posture, fists raised by their heads and legs stretched out like martial artists. 

“Wait, hold on, already?!” Souta shouted, sweat running down his face. “But what about–”

The newborn Sister spoke, eyes as emotionless as dead rubies. “There are no buts in the land of Paradigm.” 

“Bring it on!” Lulu cheered, racing towards them first in a flash, striking Souta in the gut. 

“Damn it–” Souta coughed harshly before the vacuums of air directed him far away, separated from the team. 

“Souta!” Elena shouted in desperation, lunging towards the Sister as his silhouette grew smaller and smaller—carried by the distant winds.

But before she could stop Lulu from chasing after him, the newborn appeared before she could even blink, raising her leg. In the nick of time, she spat out a seed in between them—creating a dozen vines to catch her kick.

But her opponent didn’t avert her attention in the slightest; instead, she slammed her foot against the vine and tore it with her hand, racing towards her.

Kaito tried to rush towards their battle, but another of the Sisters interfered. Unable to react on time, he was detained by Luisa and thrown into one of the buildings; however, to his overwhelming shock, the structure felt real—very real. 

Getting up the next second, he stumbles for a second before being able to get back up on his feet, battling against the imbalance before the dull smell of dust. 

Kaito, standing up as best as he could, took a deep breath before dragging his fists by his cheeks, nervously smiling.

Well, that’s just great, Kaito thought, getting rid of any last shivering. Now, how do I get back with my team?

But it wasn’t going to be easy, for Luisa was already waiting for him by the torn hole, wires and small debris showering the outer wall.

“I do apologise, but for the best results, we cannot hold back.” She approached him patiently, glaring intently for any sudden movements. 

“Same here,” Kaito exclaimed, lunging forward with his fists in the front line.