Noah fell asleep again on the VIP couch not long after Madam left the room. His body was still recovering, and the moment he relaxed, the exhaustion pulled him back under.
Upstairs, however, the atmosphere was very different.
In one of the back rooms of Eclipse — a room customers never saw — the Sylver sisters were sitting on two metal chairs across from Madam and Lena.
The room was simple. Concrete walls. One table. Four chairs. A single light above the table. No decorations. No windows.
It was not a room for friendly conversations.
Mira and Myra were now fully dressed again, though they looked irritated and slightly nervous. Their usual playful smiles were gone. Their eyes kept moving between Madam and Lena.
Madam sat on the other side of the table, legs crossed, cigarette burning slowly between her fingers. Lena stood behind her with arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Madam finally said, very calmly,
"You almost killed my employee."
Mira immediately raised her hands slightly. "We almost didn't kill him."
Myra nodded quickly. "We were just playing."
Madam didn't change her expression.
"You shifted," she said. "You lost control. You were about to feed."
Neither twin spoke this time.
Madam leaned forward slightly and tapped ash into a small tray on the table.
"I gave you very simple instructions," she said. "Do whatever you want, but don't go overboard."
She looked at both of them slowly.
"You went overboard."
Mira looked down at the table. "His energy was strange."
Myra nodded. "Very strange. Very sweet."
Madam's eyes narrowed slightly. "Explain."
Mira hesitated for a moment. "It didn't feel like normal human energy."
Myra continued, "It was stronger. Warmer. Cleaner. We've never tasted anything like it."
Madam didn't say anything for a few seconds.
Then Lena spoke from behind her.
"Or maybe you two just got greedy," Lena said coldly.
Mira looked annoyed. "We are succubus. Greedy is part of our nature."
Lena pushed herself off the wall and walked around the table slowly.
"You broke Madam's rules," she said. "You shifted in front of a human and tried to feed without permission."
She stopped behind Mira and leaned down slightly.
"You know what the punishment for that is, right?"
Both twins were quiet.
Madam didn't say anything. She just watched them.
Then Lena spoke again, very casually.
"We could always sell your hearts," she said. "The hunters from the Bureau pay very well for succubus hearts."
Both Mira and Myra froze.
Their expressions changed immediately.
The playful, confident attitude disappeared, replaced by real fear.
"You wouldn't," Myra said quietly.
Lena shrugged. "Hunters from the Bureau collect all kinds of things. Hearts, horns, eyes, blood. Succubus hearts are expensive."
Mira swallowed. "You're joking."
"I don't joke about money," Lena replied.
Madam finally spoke again.
"You broke my rules," Madam said calmly. "You almost killed someone under my protection. You shifted in my club. You lost control."
She leaned back in her chair.
"So tell me," she said, "why I shouldn't sell both of your hearts to the Bureau and make a profit."
The room went completely silent.
Mira and Myra looked at each other for a second.
Then both of them spoke at the same time.
"We're sorry."
Madam didn't react.
"We didn't mean to go that far," Mira said.
"He really is different," Myra added. "We lost control because of that."
Madam tapped the table slowly with one finger.
"You don't lose control," she said. "You choose not to control yourselves."
Neither twin replied.
After a long silence, Madam finally stood up.
"You're banned from touching Noah," she said. "No private rooms with him."
Both twins nodded immediately.
"If I find out you ignored this order," Madam continued, "I will personally remove your hearts myself."
They nodded again, much faster this time.
Madam turned and walked toward the door.
Lena followed her, but before leaving, she leaned down slightly between the twins and said quietly,
"Next time, control yourselves."
Then she straightened and walked out of the room.
The door closed, leaving Mira and Myra alone.
They sat in silence for a few seconds.
Then Myra exhaled slowly.
"…She was serious," she said.
Mira nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "She was."
Outside the interrogation room, Madam and Lena were already walking down the hallway toward the office. The nightclub was quiet now, most of the lights dimmed, cleaning staff moving around downstairs, glasses being collected, chairs being moved.
Madam walked calmly, cigarette between her fingers, heels clicking softly against the floor.
Lena walked beside her.
"You're actually worried about the human," Lena said.
Madam didn't answer immediately.
"I'm not worried," she said after a few seconds. "I'm curious."
"That's worse," Lena replied.
Madam smirked slightly.
They reached the office, and Madam had just sat down when her phone started ringing on the desk.
She looked at the screen, and her expression changed slightly — not surprised, but more serious.
She picked up the phone.
"Yes," she said.
She listened for a few seconds.
"I heard."
"No, nothing yet."
"…Then it's starting already."
"Alright. I'll be there soon."
She hung up and put the phone back on the desk.
Lena was watching her.
"Problem?" Lena asked.
Madam leaned back in her chair.
"Meeting," she said.
"With who?" Lena asked.
"BSA, Black Sun, and the representatives from other neutral factions," Madam said.
Lena's expression immediately became serious.
"That kind of meeting doesn't happen unless something big is happening," she said.
Madam nodded slightly.
"It's about the trouble that always follows the Living City," she said.
The Living City had already manifested near this region. That alone wasn't unusual. What was unusual was what started happening after it appeared.
Smugglers started to move.
Hunters arrived.
Old monsters woke up.
Illegal auctions started.
Things that had been hiding for years suddenly appeared.
And organizations started watching each other very closely.
Whenever the Living City appeared, it wasn't just a city arriving.
It was everything that followed it that caused problems.
"Something happened?" Lena asked.
"Not yet," Madam said. "But everyone thinks something is going to happen. That's why they're calling a meeting."
"Where?" Lena asked.
Madam looked at her.
"Inside the Living City," she said.
Of course it was.
The living city was a neutral ground. No fighting. No assassinations. No territory disputes. Everyone behaved there, even if they hated each other.
Madam stood up and picked up her coat from the chair.
"Call Gryffin," she said. "Tell him to bring the car."
Lena nodded and took out her phone.
"Your chauffeur is probably sleeping," Lena said while dialing.
"He can sleep later," Madam replied.
Lena made the call and then came back into the office.
"He's on his way," she said.
Madam walked to the window again and looked down at the street.
"The Living City appears," she said quietly, "and then everyone starts moving."
She flicked ash into the tray.
"Hunters, monsters, traders, information brokers, mercenaries… Everyone wants something when the city appears."
She turned back toward Lena.
"And when everyone wants something," she said, "someone always gets hurt."
She put on her coat and walked toward the door.
"While I'm gone," she said, "watch the club. And watch Noah."
Lena crossed her arms. "You really think he's connected to all this?"
Madam stopped at the door but didn't turn around.
"I don't know yet," she said. "But he arrived at a very interesting time."
She opened the door.
"Make sure he doesn't die while I'm gone," she added.
Lena smirked slightly. "I'll try."
Madam left the office and went downstairs.
Outside the club, a black car was already waiting. Gryffin stood next to the driver's door, tall, wearing a black suit and gloves, looking more like a bodyguard than a chauffeur.
He opened the back door as Madam approached.
"Meeting?" he asked.
"Yes," Madam said as she got into the car.
Gryffin closed the door, walked around the car, and got into the driver's seat.
The car pulled away from the curb and disappeared into the city traffic.
Inside Eclipse, Lena stood in the office, looking down at the empty club floor.
Somewhere in the building, Noah was still asleep, completely unaware that powerful organizations were meeting in the Living City because something was coming.
Lena crossed her arms and muttered quietly,
"You better not be the reason for all this trouble, Noah."