Lucian hummed. His footsteps echoed crisply across the hallways.

Then it stopped.

He dipped his hand into the pool. The crystal water gurgled red. The ceilings bulge into bursting organs, blood drizzling onto his forehead.

His eyes glowed amber. He smiled, closed his eyes, and hummed again.

Black substance rose from the bottomless pool, spiraling around like tentacles.

Writhing.

The blood now rained down on him.

Deluging.

White to red.

Screeches filled the air.

And then, slowly… they stopped.

The floor is glossy blue green marble.

The pool is shallow, calm, and clear.

The ceilings are shimmering gold, with sun rays peeking in through the glass gaps.

Lucian opened his eyes.

Gray.

He stood up and walked away, humming, his shirt now back to white.

***

The door tapped.

 Mira  flinched. She took a deep breath and smiled, opening the door.

Dilvei was standing in her bathrobe, her hair undone.

“Hello!”

 Mira  blushed. She looked so gorgeous!

“Do I look fat?”

“What? N-no!”

Dilvei stared into her soul.

 Mira  gulped. After surviving this far… is she gonna die now?

The woman laughed, her eyes returning to normal. She ruffled her hair.

“Gah, the blood wine tasted really good, and it’s still giving me a real good headache too since last night! Ahahaha~”

I-isn’t that supposed to be bad…?

“Wanna come with me for breakfast? How was your sleep last night?”

“I-it’s good, thank you.”

“You see that door? That’s our bedroom, so if you need anything at night, you can just come!”

“Right beside my bedroom?”

“Yup! I wrap the hallways so you can navigate the house easier.”

“T-thank you – that’s uhm very cool, mom!”

“Right??” Dilvei flipped her hair proudly.

Melodies cascaded down the ceilings.

“Where is that song from?”

“Lucian. He plays the harp every morning. Or piano or guitar or harmonica – oh sometimes a sea shell too, not sure what that’s called - OH – here take my hand – we set the atmosphere to be breathable for humans – but the stairs are still the same height. You’re a 50% though, so I’m sure you would get used to it soon–“

“GAHH!!”

“Oops. Sorry, hehe didn’t mean to electrocute you – good thing it isn’t incinerating - hold still – yup!”

 Mira ’s eyes widened. A constant, warm energy flowed into her heart, making her steps much lighter.

“Lucian said you’re my fan?”

“Ooh yes I am!” Mira smiled as wide as she can, “I watched your debut combat ranks! They’re so cool!”

“Aw shucks kid, it’s nothing. I mean, l incinerated the playground one time and my parents thought eh, why not send this kid to her debut instead. After all, I am the heiress, so making a quick debut is beneficial.”

Yea no shit, she incinerated all the heirs and heiresses in her debut match to crisps.

“Have the results always matched lineages? I heard that the top 100 and above have consistently been filled by the successors of the previous rankers.”

Right, such as her… gahh, why is she even here??

“Yup, it have been boring for some time… you’ll occasionally see a whoo that kid is quirky – but you’d always know the result by tracing their lineage alone. Hmm…” Dilvei tapped her chin, “There was one time it wasn’t boring tho. 50 years ago? There was this guy who came from nowhere – he doesn’t have any special powers too as an entity – but obliterated a whole room.”

Dilvei put some jam onto her bread.

“HEhe, it was amazing. He ended up in the top 20 globally – think he could go further if his wife didn’t get ki-“

“Die,” Lucian walked into the room. He smiled. “Why, you’re interested in entering the combat ranks,  Mira ?”

“A-ahahaha- n-no,” Mira grinned, looking at Dilvei for support, “I was just very stunned by mom’s accomplishments.”

Surely Dilvei, a ranker her whole life, would know that it is dumb to send a 50% who can only grow a 1 second flower to a combat match, right? But Dilvei’s eyes widened.

“WHY, THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! Oh my gosh, darling, I’ll start training you!”

“Mentoring?” Lucian lifted his eyebrow.

“Well ahem no, but can you imagine their faces if I could train a 50% making it to the 100s?”

“No no, I have school!” Mira waved her hand panickedly.

“Ah dang.”

“Well, hmmm… school’s starting this Monday. Should we enroll her in a private or public school? The private school are great for specialization and networking, but public schools cover more range, and we have acquaintances there too…”

“A-actually..” Mira raised her hand timidly. If she doesn’t make it home this weekend, her father would crash the South for sure.

“Hmm?”

“Can I go to a high school in East instead? I – uh –“ THINK Mira THINK “love going to school on planes!”

Lucian choked. He furrowed his eyebrows, smiling at Mira in amusement. What kind of absurd reason was that?

Dilvei, however, lit up.

“Oh my gosh, same!! We have a lovely private jet, you’ll love it! Which school are you interested in?”

***

Casian slammed the door open. The officers closed their eyes. That’s it. They will die today.

I am the line, supporters and defenders of the South. I am the line, supporters and defenders of the South. I am the line, supporters and defenders of the South…

Casian’s eyes flashed.

Their hearts missed a beat. Yeah or should they bolt for the door now?

“M-may I help you Si-?”

“MY DAMN DAUGHTER! WHERE IS SHE?”

“S-she’s in the science camp Sir, as we sa- “

“Yeah? Since when is the government holding science camps, huh?”

“S-since this month…”

“So if I come home Monday to drive her to school, she’ll be there?”

“Y-yes Sir.”

 “BULLSHIT.” Casian slammed a card onto the table. “I tried scanning her ID card – not even sure why it isn’t with her – and it DECLINED!”

“Ah, about th-that, here is her new one. Our system crashed and affected hers-“

“Then why does mine not decline?”

“I-it only affected several individuals, Sir.”

“And who are they, beside her?”

“W-we can’t r-reveal that..”

“You all sent her to the South, don’t you? On the spy program or whatever shit you have going on?”

The poor officers sweated buckets.

“Uh-uhm we have no idea what you’re talking about-“

“DON’T YOU FUCKING GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT!”

The room fell silent. Casian’s eyes ran wild.

“You all are so scared of the cold war, huh? Well don’t worry, I’ll go there straight away and take my daughter with me – to hell with the sanctions.”

“W-wait!” An officer stood up. His face paled. “Sir, we’re going to accommodate you the best we can if it comes down to that, but can’t you wait until Monday?”

“And if she shows up dead, I’ll have your head?”

“Y-yes, Sir.”

“Well, I’m going to take your buddies’ too, and burn every damn creature I see.”

Casian walked out. The officers exchanged looks.

“Why the fuck did you say that, dude? I don’t want to die yet!”

“Well shit, you want him to just bust into the South?”

“And what? We know she ain’t going back Monday!”

But nothing happened on Monday. Casian stood in his house, dumbfounded.

“ Mira ? Where have you been?”

“What do you mean? The camp, of course! I made this solar system model, see? Isn’t it pretty?”

“It is,” Casian bit his tears, hugging his daughter.