"Time continues to move, unworried about the worries of those it carries with it," Leonard muttered to himself while in a carriage. On the other side, Melissa was seated like she normally would be.
"Pardon me?" Melissa had not properly heard what Leonard had said.
"Oh, don't mind me, Mel," Leonard said as he waved his hand with a faint smile on his face.
"So, what do you think of this mysterious person?" Leonard asked Melissa.
Hearing his question, Melissa frowned slightly, then replied, "I really don't know what to make of such a situation." As she said this, she grabbed a teapot, then poured some tea into a cup. "Would you like a cup?"
"Sure."
She got another cup and poured for Leonard, then handed it to him. Leonard took a whiff of the tea; it was the familiar scent of the tea he enjoyed. He then took a sizable sip while looking at Melissa.
"I think that no average person would be able to kill so… neatly," Melissa said. Her eyes held a dark light.
"Yes, I agree. Such murders have to be done by someone special." As Leonard said this, he looked at the driver's back.
Although both of them had not directly said it, they both showed their standing on the matter.
'It must be someone who can use Qi or has a class.'
This was the conclusion they both arrived at.
At first, the murder cases were not so impactful, but now everyone knew of them; even Royals exercised a certain level of caution. A day ago, a family of five were found dead at their dining table. The disgusting part was the condition of their bodies; each of them had their intestines sticking out, their ribs broken, and their stomachs cut. Each of them were in such a condition.
This case was what increased tension in the crowd; after all, this showed that the murderer wasn't sane at all.
'It seems like an undercurrent is happening,' Leonard thought.
His death, which was under suspicion of being caused by a third party who isn't the Witch of Time; his corpse raising in rank; now these mysterious murders—one could only think that they were connected somehow.
Leonard was sure that something was about to happen but lacked the power to do anything about it. The problem Leonard faced was always a lack of power. Today was the day of the awaited banquet of Lady Beatrice. Close to Leonard's left hand was an exquisite black box; inside of it was the necklace Leonard had bought with heartache.
Leonard raised his cup, attempting to take another sip, but at this moment, he felt something change. It was like his soul had wandered somewhere else. He was able to instantly feel the change, but strangely, nothing around him changed. The carriage was still moving; Melissa was in front of him, sipping on tea. Leonard couldn't even tell that something changed.
He looked to his left, then his right.
'Am I really stressed to the point of now experiencing this?'
He didn't bother asking Melissa about it; he just closed his eyes, then took a sip of his tea.
***
In a huge mansion, two silhouettes were seated on the floor. Around them was what looked like a large chessboard with no visible pieces. The board was a faint blue color; on closer inspection, the two silhouettes were also faint blue. The mansion's interior had a golden color with golden furniture all over, as well as golden stairs. Almost everything was golden. At the center of it all, two individuals were seated with a chessboard between them.
One of these silhouettes belonged to a woman who was seemingly wearing a long golden dress; she had long black hair which had a golden hairpin. The other silhouette was that of a man who was wearing a white robe; he had long black hair. Both of them were quiet, staring at each other. The normally filled mansion was empty today.
The man's eyes shined with brilliance.
"It's time."
The lady looked at the board, then let out a soft sigh. As she did this, she extended her hand over the board.
Eight pieces appeared.
Seeing the pieces, the man let out a smile, then extended his hand, producing his own pieces. He had eight pieces as well.
"The race for the results shall finally begin at once," the man said.
"Yes, we've waited a long time for this day," the lady said.
"I shall see you at the finish line… Lady Beatrice."
***
Riding in his carriage, Leonard felt something off. It was like the feeling you'd get when you're about to fall with your eyes closed.
'What's happening?'
This was the second time Leonard had felt such a feeling in the same day. This time, however, it was stronger—to the point where Melissa was able to notice Leonard's strange behavior.
Melissa looked outside the carriage. There, she saw the usual street she was used to; a number of carriages were headed towards the banquet. Looking at Leonard, she assumed that he was most likely stressed out. Lady Beatrice wasn't exactly known for her benevolent kindness.
Everything seemed normal to her.
Leonard couldn't shake off the sensation he got. It felt strange, like the air itself was wrong.
'Air?'
He extened his hand, then lifted his sleeve to see his bare skin. On his skin, his golden Qi seemed to be rejecting a foreign Qi.
"black Qi," Leonard muttered.
He could see faint black and golden Qi on his skin. Seeing this, his eyes opened wide. If it was just golden Qi he saw, his reaction wouldn't have been so dramatic.
'How?'Leonard wondered.
You can only see one color of Qi, and that's the one you have. This was a well-known, proven statement; however, at this moment, this rule didn't seem to apply. Leonard could see two different Qi on his body.
***
In a different carriage, a young woman with long black hair and brown eyes was seated; her eyes were closed. Opposite to her was a boy with black hair and brown eyes similar to her. Both were seated peacefully when suddenly Morgana opened her eyes. Once she did, she looked around her, then raised her hand to see her bare skin.
'Two Qis.'
She was shocked by what she saw. Instead of her original white Qi being the only Qi she had, she could see pink Qi on her hand.
"Be on guard," Morgana told her brother. She then focused on controlling her Qi, trying to move it around. The white Qi followed her commands; the pink Qi also seemed to follow the white Qi.
'What's happening?'
She moved the Qi on her body to her eyes. Once the lines of Qi reached her eyes, her vision changed. Suddenly, the air in front of her had plenty of lines of white; she could see trails of pink Qi attaching themselves to her body.
'Calm down.'
Morgana gritted her teeth, then spoke calmly, hiding her panic.
"Stop the carriage."
"..."
"I said stop the carriage!"
"..."
Looking at the back of the driver, Morgana noticed something weird. The driver seemed to have white lines of Qi on his body.
'Since when could he use Qi?'
Upon discovering this, she turned to face her brother. Their eyes soon met; however, her brother seemed agitated as well while he looked at his wrist.
"What's happening?" he muttered, then looked at Morgana.
The only Qi her brother had was white Qi; the law that stated that she could only see one Qi seemed to be still intact, as she knew from her brother that his Qi was white.
But turning her attention back to her wrist, she could see two different Qis.
She turned her attention back to the driver who was still moving the carriage.
"If you don't stop the carriage, I'll use force on you!" Morgana shouted loud enough for the driver to hear. Seeing her panicked expressions, Michael looked at the driver as well.
"Hey, she said stop," he shouted as well.
At the next moment, Morgana summoned white sparkles from the Qi she leaked out from her body. These Qi moved around like dancing ballerinas until they stacked on top of each other, hardening until they formed a white saber. Morgana grabbed this saber, then looked at it carefully.
'No pink Qi.'
The saber didn't seem to have any pink Qi, but Morgana's skin still had the pink Qi.
Seeing his sister's saber, Michael fully realized how grave the situation was. He quickly glanced out the window, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
'If only I had a class as well.'
The frustration of not having a class bit at him. In this situation, power was needed.
Aiming her saber at the driver, Morgana looked at him with a dark glee holding murderous intent.
'I did warn you.'
With this thought, Morgana was about to attack the driver, but her eyes noticed a change in the surrounding Qi. It was as if the Qi around her was vibrating. Soon, she saw pink Qi in the air vibrate rapidly.
'Shit!'
Boom!!