Luna stared at the ground, her gaze heavy and coarse.
"Lady Luna, what are you doing?" Karl asked, her voice laced with genuine interest as he paced toward her side.
"Nothing, just looking at a hopeless thing," Luna replied in a voice that sounded deceptively childish.
As Karl reached her side, her breath hitched. Lying in the dirt was a dead bird, its broken form stark against the earth. Karl looked shocked, her eyes wide as he stared at the small, lifeless creature.
Meanwhile, tension thick enough to choke a man filled the grand meeting room. Twelve leaders of the Seeker organizations, along with their Vice-Leaders, sat in a circle, their collective fury directed at the man standing before them: Helios.
"You low-born fool!" one figure shouted, their face obscured by the runic magic.
"Watch what you say. Don't forget where you are," Sara interjected, her voice cutting through the air like a shard of ice.
A tense silence followed before one of the leaders grunted. "Fine." He leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the table. "Since all of us want to be the leader, why don't we fight it out?"
"What do you mean we all want to be the leader?" another figure asked, their face flickering like a glitching hologram.
"Don't act like all of you aren't planning to take the rule of alliance leader," a third figure added, their tone accusatory.
Helios stood tall, his expression unreadable, though his voice remained chillingly calm. "That's an excellent idea, but we can't fight since we are leaders."
Deep down, a cold thought crossed his mind: Mostly because I can't affect reality with my summon realm.
"Oh, then why don't we let our Vice-Leaders fight then?" the figure suggested, their voice turning deadly serious.
A murmur of agreement rippled through the room. "That's a good idea," the other leaders chorused.
"So that's what's going to decide the alliance leader. How interesting," Helios mused, his tone shifting to one of intrigued amusement.
"Why don't we go to the training grounds then?" Sara said, her voice echoing with a haunting resonance throughout the chamber.
The assembly rose as one, making their way to the expansive training grounds. Below, on the combat floor, Sara stood opposite twelve formidable figures—the Vice-Leaders of the rival Seeker organizations. Helios and his companions stood on the high balcony, looking down at the impending slaughter.
"Oh, my sister is fighting," Nova remarked in a nonchalant tone, leaning casually against the railing.
"Aren't you worried about her?" Helios asked, glancing at Nova.
"Worried about Sara?" Nova began to laugh, the sound bright and jarring. "That crazy woman who keeps a dictionary about the people she has killed and how she used her ability to rewind time just so she can kill them again?"
Nova turned to Helios, his expression turning mock-serious. "Leader, you want to know something? You're lucky because she didn't think of killing you. She had killed the old leader Neville so many times but rewound time, and she wrote everything in her dictionary."
Helios kept his eyes fixed on the arena below. "How do you know what's in her dictionary?"
"She's my sister, after all. I go and visit her sometimes, mostly when I need something from her," Nova replied with a shrug.
"How do Sara's abilities work? I never asked," Helios inquired, turning his attention toward Ray.
"Well, Sara's abilities are time control," Ray explained. "She can rewind time, speed up time, and slow time down in a specific area. When you walk out of her area, she can't control your perception of time anymore."
"How large is the distance she can affect?" Helios asked, his voice tight with caution.
"As we said, it all depends on how much spiral energy you have or your control over your abilities," Ray added.
Down on the field, Sara surveyed her opponents with a predatory calm. "It seems like you have all forgotten me after last time," she said, her eyes locking onto the twelve Vice-Leaders.
"Shut up, you crazy lady!" one of them shouted back, his voice dripping with annoyance.
"What does she mean by 'last time'?" Helios asked, his voice rasping with curiosity.
"Some of these idiots thought they could beat us and came to challenge us with their combat facility Seekers last time," Riku explained. "Sara defeated them alone because she was angry at Neville and couldn't kill him because he was the leader."
Nova leaned in closer to Helios, a teasing smirk playing under his fox mask. "It's surprising that Sara hasn't got angry at you yet. Maybe it's because you're handsome. Maybe she likes you."
"I mean, his red eyes that look like gems and his black hair that like the abyss..." Seer added, her golden eyes glowing with a strange intensity.
"Shut up, all of you. I want to focus on the battle," Helios snapped. He turned away, his voice annoyed even as a faint, involuntary blush crept up his neck.
Back on the quiet grounds of the estate, Karl looked from the bird to the young girl. "Lady Luna, did you kill that bird?"
"Of course not. I'm not that evil. It died on its own," Luna said, her gaze remaining bored as she stared at the carcass.
"Why are you calling it hopeless then, Lady?" Karl asked, her voice dropping into a low, threatening register.
Luna stood up, daintily brushing the dust off her vibrant red dress. "I saw it fight for its life, even if it was in pain and dying, how hopeless."
"Like brother, like sister," Karl whispered under her breath.
Luna froze. Her red eyes began to glow with a dangerous light. "What did you say?"
"Nothing, my Lady!" Karl, immediately spinning around and sprinting away.
Luna stood in silence, her eyes narrowing as she watched him flee. "Like brother, like sister..." she muttered to herself.
Suddenly, at the training grounds, Helios let out a sharp sneeze. He rubbed his nose with his gloved hand, looking perplexed.
"Is someone talking about me?" Helios muttered.