MAMI SHALLOW'S RESIDENCE- CENTRE CITY.
Inside Mami Shallow's wide and open training room. The air still and quiet.
A ripple distorts the air.
Sonia and Daisy step out of the distortion together.
Sonia moves first, her shoulders heavy from the battle. She crosses the room and drops onto the bench near the wall, leaning back as she lets out a long breath.
Daisy remains standing near the center of the room. The unconscious man she is carrying slips from her grip and hits the concrete with a dull thud.
The door opens a moment later.
Mami steps inside.
Her sharp eyes sweep across the room before settling on the body lying on the ground. A hint of surprise touches her face.
"You're back already?"
Her gaze shifts from Daisy to the unconscious man.
"So soon?"
Daisy nods casually.
"Yes."
Mami folds her arms.
"Why is he unconscious?"
Daisy cracks her palm against the back of her hand.
"Because I knocked him out. He's under my capture… used Biskae's Execution."
Mami doesn't answer immediately.
Her expression slowly tightens as the words settle in.
She can already use Biskae's Execution?
Mami's gaze drills into her. This is not anger or curiosity.
But something older.
Something like caution fused with expectation.
Daisy feels it, but smiles anyway, a flicker of audacity in her eyes.
A faint chill crawls through Mami's thoughts.
Daisy is becoming dangerous.
"Mami… what's wrong?" Daisy asks.
Mami steps closer.
"When did you change?"
Daisy tilts her head.
"Change?"
Smack.
Mami slaps the back of Daisy's head.
"I told you to stop tilting that head of yours!"
Daisy straightens immediately.
Mami grabs her wrist and turns her palm upward, examining it like she's studying a specimen.
"Your personality is shifting," she says calmly. "You're becoming fast adaptive. Detached. Nonchalant."
She releases Daisy's hand.
"Growth isn't the problem. But your growth is happening too fast."
Her gaze sharpens slightly.
"That's a sign… and we need to understand why."
Sonia rises from the bench.
"I'll go fetch the Alligator."
Before anyone can respond, the air around her twists—
—and she vanishes.
Later
Another ripple disturbs the air.
Sonia steps back into the room, the Alligator following behind her.
The tall man ducks slightly as he enters, his sharp eyes immediately locking onto the unconscious figure on the floor.
His expression shifts.
"…This is a Saturn?"
"Yes," Mami replies.
Silence settles briefly over the room.
"Wake him," she says to Daisy.
Daisy steps forward and raises her hand.
"Unbind."
A faint pulse runs through the man's body.
His eyes snap open.
He jerks upright, breathing hard as his gaze darts around the unfamiliar room.
The hard concrete worn smooth from years of movement.
To one side lies a large patch of loose sand, the sparring ground where fights are settled and lessons are learned the hard way.
Four strangers surround him.
"Where am I?" he asks cautiously.
"Relax," Mami says. "We won't hurt you."
His eyes settle on her.
"What do you people want from me?"
Without answering, Mami disappears briefly into the next room.
She returns dragging two unconscious girls and drops them in front of him.
The man freezes.
His eyes widen.
"How did you people capture our princesses!?"
His voice echoes with anger.
The Alligator steps forward and offers his hand.
"It's good to see another Saturn."
The man stares at the outstretched hand.
Something heavy presses against his chest.
The air around the Alligator feels dense.
A drop of sweat slides down the man's temple.
His lungs tighten.
What kind of aura is this?... the pressure feels.. suffocating.
My heart is racing, skipping beats. I can't calm it.
He slaps the Alligator's hand away.
A blade appears instantly at his throat.
Sonia stands beside him, her sword resting against his neck, her eyes burning with warning.
"I don't tolerate disrespect."
The steel barely touches his skin, but the message is clear.
"It's fine," the Alligator says calmly. "We don't have to be enemies."
Sonia watches the man for another moment before lowering her blade.
The man exhales slowly.
His gaze shifts back to the two unconscious girls on the floor.
"Well," the Alligator says, gesturing toward them, "can you revive them?"
The Saturn kneels beside them.
The others close in slightly, watching.
Who are these people? he wonders.
His gaze drifts toward Mami.
This woman...
She's a mountain. Her aura intensifies more than a top-tier beast.
He swallows.
This is real power.
The weight of Mami's presence presses down on him like the gravity of a collapsing star. Goosebumps crawl up his arms.
A hand suddenly presses against his forehead.
Daisy.
"Well? We're waiting," she says.
"Don't interfere with the process," Mami says.
Daisy folds her arms.
"Fine."
The Saturn sighs.
"The issue itself is small," he says. "But I cannot wake them."
The Alligator frowns.
"Explain."
"It requires more than one Saturn to awaken both of them."
Mami grabs his sleeve suddenly and pulls him closer.
"Listen carefully," she says quietly.
"Don't play games."
"Wake them."
The man opens his hands calmly.
"I cannot sabotage Saturn royalty. I'm not foolish enough to do that."
Mami releases him.
"I'll have to take them back home," he continues.
"Back home?" Sonia asks. "I thought your homeland was destroyed."
He chuckles once.
"Our empire was destroyed, yes."
"But Saturns still exist across the world. Some of us still live together, even if we're scattered."
He glances down at the girls.
"Though we aren't growing as strong as we once did."
Mami smiles faintly.
"Fascinating."
The Alligator crosses his arms.
"Make sure they are treated well."
The Saturn nods.
"They are our princesses. Of course we will."
He bows respectfully.
"Thank you for protecting them."
He grips the princesses firmly.
Every muscle tenses.
Then, in a flicker, the room empties.
A whisper of wind remains where they stood.
The Alligator exhales and rests a hand on Sonia's shoulder.
"Well… that's one problem solved."
Sonia shakes her head.
"Actually, I owe Daisy thanks."
She walks over and extends her hand.
"You saved me. Thank you."
Daisy raises an eyebrow.
"It's no big deal," she says, smirking playfully. "Maybe we'll go on missions together sometime."
Sonia nods, a small smile forming.
"I'd like that."
Her eyes linger on Daisy for a moment.
"Now I understand why you act the way you do."
Daisy tilts her head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"You're a child in an adult's body."
Daisy shrugs.
"I'm seventeen."
Sonia studies her for a beat before laughter escapes her.
"Seventeen? Seriously? You look twenty-six."
Daisy blinks.
A gentle smile plays on Sonia's face as she watches her.
That's what I like about her. The innocence in her eyes and expression.
She walks back toward the Alligator.
He nods once.
The air distorts again—
—and both of them vanish.
The room falls quiet once more.