The sun rises, its first light now illuminating the Central of Royal City.
Lady Liya comes out with her entourage to check the situation, but only after confirming the intruders are either dead or have fled. She instructs the medical teams to take the injured and the security teams to help them, since the number of dead and injured is vast. She hasn’t come to greet Taglia or any of the people who fought last night, yet.
The group hasn’t moved from their position.
Golas sits by Maven, drop-feeding her his blood. Friling finally sits on the ground; his black wings are gone. In fact, he cannot summon the pair of Raphael’s Wings simultaneously yet, so he only has his left single wing out. Its feathers are turning into silver dust and dropping onto his traps, trying to seal the wound and grow the flesh. But because of the pain, he cannot concentrate enough, so it is taking more time and energy than necessary.
Jarrod finally stands up and goes to Leon to help him up, limping a bit and slightly bent to his right side because his torso still hurts. As some medical professionals of Royal City come to check on them, Jarrod hands Leon over to them and returns to the group. They lay Leon on a stretcher and take him away. Leon is in a trance-like state, half-passed out and half-awake, so he cannot even ask about Maven; even though he tries to move his lips, no voice comes out. Taglia stares at the rising sun with Makisa by his right side. Lesca is meticulously checking her body for any injuries or cuts that she might have missed putting back together.
Jarrod walks directly up to Taglia and says, “We cannot let him get away. The moment the team recovers, we go after him.”
Taglia doesn’t take his eyes off the sun and asks, “What do you mean ‘we’?”
Jarrod says, “Us, you, and Makisa.” He looks at Makisa briefly to include her in the count, too.
Taglia takes his eyes off the sun and looks at Jarrod, saying, “Look around you!” Taglia then breaks eye contact and looks at the team’s current condition and the destruction of the Central.
Jarrod doesn’t take his eyes off him and says, “I have already seen it, and that is why I said once we recover.”
Taglia looks back at him, saying, “There is no ‘we’. Do not drag me into your planning. And as for your team…” Taglia looks around them again and then says, “It will be a long time before they recover.”
Lesca, sitting nearby and hearing Taglia refuse to be a part of the team, asks, “What do you mean? After all of this… after all they did to me… you are still not going to help us?”
Taglia looks at her, his tone serious, and says, “I never said I am not gonna help you. All I am saying is that if you and your friend here…” He briefly looks at Jarrod and then back to Lesca, “…want to start a war… then fight it yourself.”
Lesca stands up and asks, “If you are not gonna help us, why come for me then? Why kill them then?”
Taglia stares into her eyes for a long time and says, “I came for you. And since you were half-conscious, let me remind you… things escalated.”
Jarrod cuts him off, saying, “Enough of this.” He stands between Taglia and Lesca and says, “We do not have time, Taglia. For all we know, Chaos might already be planning his next attack. We have to get to him before he comes for us again with who knows what.”
Taglia simply sighs and says, “Even after all this, you still wanna play hero.” He looks at Jarrod, adding, “Fine. But keep me out.”
With that, Taglia turns and takes a few steps away from the group. Before Lesca can interfere, Jarrod activates his Pull on the concrete path in front of Taglia, making it stand upright to effectively create a wall in front of him. His voice is determined as he says, “The conversation isn’t over.”
Taglia sighs and tiredly says without turning, “Makisa!”
In the time it takes Jarrod to look from Taglia‘s back to Makisa, she bends down and closes the gap between them, holding her blade directly over Jarrod‘s right arm—the one he is using to keep the ground upright in front of Taglia. She says, “If you haven’t got the gist of it, that is your problem, not his. Now stop, or you lose your hand.”
Lesca, seeing the matter escalating in front of her eyes and way too tired to even watch it happen, steps forward and asks Taglia, “What if they again come for me?”
A moment passes.
Finally, Taglia turns his head slightly toward her, seeing her through his periphery, and says, “Then I will come and save you again. But as I said, I cannot be a catalyst of a war.” He briefly looks at Jarrod, adding, “It will cause more trouble than you can imagine.”
Jarrod‘s eyes go wide for a fraction of a second. It is like Taglia, for the first time, has spoken Jarrod‘s language. The blade a few centimeters above his right wrist didn’t cause him to react the way Taglia‘s talk about trouble does. While Jarrod doesn’t get what this trouble is or what will happen, he has seen enough to know that if Taglia is warning him about it, he’d rather not push the matter.
But the word ‘trouble’ sticks with him, and he finally feels like he is waking up to what is going on around him and what would happen if he chases down Chaos now. His friends, his allies, almost died last night because they followed him, and he cannot protect them. He couldn’t even protect himself last night. Jarrod‘s head gets heavier as he looks at the ground. He finally puts down his arm, and the block of concrete falls onto the ground in front of Taglia, clearing his path.
Makisa retracts her blade, and Taglia, after giving a heavy sigh, takes a step forward toward the one-kilometer crater that Chaos‘s punch had created to the South, with Makisa following a few steps behind him.
Lesca looks at Taglia‘s back for a long time. Once he and Makisa vanish into the distance, she somberly walks back to check on her brother.
Jarrod stares in the same direction Taglia left, then at the sun, and finally raises his arms and looks at both his palms.
Suddenly, he turns east and starts walking toward the Grasslands. Seeing this, Friling, who was busy with his healing, and Lesca, who was hunched over him, both look at Jarrod.
Friling stands up, temporarily pausing his healing, and asks, “Jarrod, where are you going?”
Jarrod looks back at him over his left shoulder with a smile that is hard to decode and says, “You told me to be with you guys because you saw something in me, Friling. I cannot see it in me anymore. I need to go find it.”
Without saying another word, he starts walking toward the east and leaves. Friling and Lesca look at Jarrod‘s back as he disappears too.
Finally, some medical experts come to pick up Maven. Golas says, “Stop,” and lifts her into his arms, cradling her like a baby by holding her shoulders and the back of her knees, and walks away from them.
The medical experts say, “Mister, you cannot take her. She is injured; she will die.”
Golas doesn’t stop, but as he leaves with his back toward them, he says, “If you think this wound is fatal, then the original damage would have made you quit your profession.”
With that, he walks off toward the north of the Central.
The sun has moved from the east to the center.
Chaos and Intellectual stand in front of a gate that looks like it is made of platinum. Behind it is a mansion much like Lady Liya‘s mansion, but this one is not made of wood; rather, it is built with diamond. In the raging sunlight, it gives off a glow that can make one’s eyes burn.
Intellectual leans in to his left, asking, “Are you sure about this?”
Chaos doesn’t look at him but answers, “We do not have any other choice. Two members of my group are dead… we need her help!”
Intellectual says, “I understand. But it’s her. No one—absolutely no one—approaches her with a proposition… most just beg.”
Chaos clears his throat, pushes the gate open, and walks in, saying, “Then I will beg.”
They have taken fewer than ten steps inside the mansion grounds when a middle-aged man with a height of 6’4″, dressed in a butler’s suit, walks out. The mansion itself is rather unique; there are absolutely no guards around. Either they have some secret security, or they are so powerful that they do not need guards.
The man steps out of the mansion, stands a respectful distance away from Chaos and Intellectual, and respectfully says, “Mr. Chaos, we weren’t expecting you.”
Chaos looks him dead in the eye and says, “Craig… I need to see her… please.” Chaos offers a short bow, even if it is only a nod of his head.
Craig looks at him for a long time. Intellectual is sweating—maybe it is the sun’s heat, or maybe whom they are about to meet is making him this nervous—and he nervously tries to replicate Chaos‘s bow.
Craig looks back inside the mansion, then turns to Chaos and says, “Come with me. But if she refuses to meet, you leave.” With that, Craig turns and walks inside the house, followed by Chaos and Intellectual.
Inside, the mansion is exactly as it is outside. It is made out of diamond, so it doesn’t even need artificial lighting; the natural rays of the sun, or even the light of the moon, can make it glow every day and night for as long as the world and the stars live and shine in the sky.
Craig takes them through the interior, and in the middle of the mansion, there is an indoor lake. In the middle of the lake, there is a shed with tables, chairs, and a roof. The path to reach the shed, is couple of inches under the lake, so one’s shoes will get wet if they want to reach that shed.
Inside the shed stands a middle-aged woman in a suit with an apron tied to her front; she looks awfully like Craig. Sitting and eating what looks like a breakfast of an omelet, toast, and orange juice is a woman younger than the woman standing slightly to her left and Craig. She is like a perfect balance between Maven‘s sharpness and Lady Liya‘s glow, but unlike Maven, she doesn’t look battered, and unlike Lady Liya, she doesn’t look inexperienced or like a non-fighter. She wears a Victorian-style gown covering her from neck to toe, and has blonde hair.
Chaos and Craig look at her, waiting for her to do something so they can approach. Intellectual leans in slightly to Chaos and asks, “That is…?”
Chaos replies, “Yes. The Empress of Abyss City… EmShira.”
The moment that name leaves his mouth, it is like a ripple starts on their side of the water and reaches the shed in the middle of the lake. EmShira looks up at the three from her plate; seeing that, the middle-aged woman does the same, but she narrows her eyes upon seeing the guests. EmShira warmly smiles and waves at them, giving them the signal to approach her.
The two start walking through the water path toward the shed. Their shoes get wet, but neither reacts—especially Intellectual, who cares deeply about his appearance like Loyalist used to, yet remains silent, as does Chaos, who is also neat about his appearance. When they walked, Craig was left behind as he was standing still, but as they reach the shed, they see Craig is standing inside the shed to EmShira’s right.
Intellectual gulps and looks back to where they started, and sees no one is standing there. This makes Intellectual snap his head toward Craig and then at his shoes—they are as dry as a desert.
Chaos sees all of it but doesn’t react; he simply looks at EmShira. EmShira looks up at them, smiling, and asks, “Would you two like some breakfast?”
Both shake their heads, suggesting they are okay.
EmShira looks at her own plate and feels like it is not nice to eat in front of others when they aren’t eating. She gently pushes her plate aside, raises her head, and says, “Yes.”
The middle-aged woman, covering the plates so the food doesn’t get flies or dust on it, mutters, “This better be good.”
Chaos looks at Cari for a moment; he is not irritated, but rather deferential. He turns to EmShira and says, “I need your help.”
EmShira smiles at him and says, “That was not the agreement.”
Chaos smirks and says, “It involves Taglia?”
A ripple spreads through the water and reaches the mainland. The trees surrounding the lake blow a little in a sudden wind that doesn’t come from outside, but from that shed, and some leaves fall onto the lake. EmShira‘s smile dims a little in want of a reunion, and she says, “It’s been decades since he has made a scene.”
With her smile slowly returning, Chaos says, “Well, last night he killed two of my guys… so I think your information network is getting slow.”
The middle-aged woman snaps her head to Chaos and says, “Snark? Is that how you ask for help?”
EmShira says, “Cari, it’s okay. So he killed two of your guys—he has killed thousands; it’s hardly news.” She shrugs her shoulders and chuckles a little.
Chaos chuckles too and says, “For a woman.”
EmShira‘s smile doesn’t just dim this time; it vanishes. Even Craig and Cari both look at Chaos. The lake goes dead silent for a moment, and the wind that was making the trees move dies instantly. It is like everything is frozen around that lake, even nature itself. Intellectual, meeting her for the first time, instinctively stands up on the balls of his feet, ready to activate his Heat—not to fight or defend, but to flee.
EmShira taps the table with her nails, her serious demeanor breaking with a wistful smile, and says, “Again, he has those too… still not news.” But this time, she doesn’t smile confidently, neither does she make eye contact with Chaos; rather, she is looking at the table.
Chaos sees his opening. Intellectual gulps again, his legs literally vibrating like a sprinter taking his position, because he knows Chaos is playing with fire. Yes, he has opened a line of negotiation, but if he fails or says the wrong thing… Intellectual looks around, trying to find a clear path to escape, wondering if he is fast enough.
Chaos takes a step toward the table and says, “Years ago, you told me to do my thing. As long as I do not disturb the balance of continents, everything will be fine. And for years, I have been doing that. One step at a time, so nothing drastic happens overnight.” Chaos stops for a moment to hold back his frustration and keep from saying the wrong word, then continues, “But everything I did… Taglia fucked it up. I do not ask you to fight for me. And you know that.”
EmShira lifts her head, leans back on the shed’s pillar, and asks, “Okay, what do you want?”
Chaos looks at Cari and says, “I want her to use her Intent technique to channel her soul into one of my guys.” Then Chaos makes eye contact with EmShira. “And I want you to come with me to Titan City.”
EmShira says, “You know I don’t…”
Chaos interrupts, “I know. And you can just observe. See for yourself. And then, if you think it’s right, then interfere.” Chaos smiles a little and adds, “Even if you don’t fight, your presence would be more than enough.”
EmShira looks at Craig, who remains neutral, and then at Cari, who says, “Shira… it’s up to you.”
EmShira gets up and walks past all of them, bending her body at the edge of the shed. She takes some water in her palms, and as it flows out from the gaps of her fingers, she smiles, looking up at the sky, and says, “It’s been years, and he is late… I think I will pay him a visit.”
The sun is at the center. Slight gray clouds creeping in from the south, and the sunlight is more brutal.
On the East side of Titan City, Jarrod walks through the savanna and reaches an establishment, his clothing dusty and shoes muddy. There are black circles under his eyes, and he looks a bit thin, likely from lack of proper meals. But he walks straight and stands upright.
It is the same establishment where Maven and Leon met for the first time.
He walks up behind the establishment, like he has been here before, and sees a woman around his own age hanging clothes on a string. She wears a regular, rather ordinary slip-on dress and has black hair. She is focused on the task at hand. Jarrod silently watches her actions until she has hung every piece of clothing from that bucket.
As she finishes, she picks up the bucket and turns to walk inside the building, when she sees Jarrod. She drops her bucket, and a big smile forms on both of their faces as Jarrod whispers, “Koko.”
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