Allarion City, 2nd level.
Inside a repository, two ladies and two gentlemen stood before a vault door.
"You go first, gentlemen," Qasrah said, referring to the two men beside her.
"I am honoured, Lady Aliénor."
Godwin—the man in the exquisite blue suit—moved forward and inserted a key made purely of gold into a slot. When he turned it, a slit above lit green.
"It is my duty, my Lady."
The other man, wearing black robes with golden rims, also inserted a gold key. Another slit glowed green.
Qasrah was a little skeptical; she didn't know if the plan would work. But she trusted her sister and took out a chain from her neck. It held a golden key with a green gem at the grip.
She inserted the key and turned it. She sighed internally when the slit glowed green. An interface above lit up: Permission Granted. The door let out a series of clicks, then opened with a hum.
Qasrah stepped forward. And, as per the rehearsal, Respah touched her elbow.
"Shall I go first, my Lady?"
"No." Qasrah took the lantern from Respah. "I will enter. Keep the outer door open, Master Godwin, but I wish Lysbet and myself to be alone inside for a while."
Godwin hesitated for only a heartbeat—propriety was everything—but a nod from Sir Bastien settled it.
"As you wish, my Lady. We shall remain here. Please, call if any chest proves too heavy."
They went inside, where the second test awaited. There were four doors inside, each with a named gold plate above.
Qasrah moved toward the door with the 'Lord Lerisse' plate. She then placed her hands on the scanner. The blue scanner lit green, acknowledging her.
The two gentlemen outside were surprised to see Lord Lerisse's vault being opened by his daughter. She had never visited the vault before, yet her father had registered her as an accessor of his vault! Even his two sons didn't have this privilege. How much did he love his reclusive daughter?
The door to the vault shut as the lady and her maid entered.
Inside, both Qasrah and Respah pressed their watches. Qasrah's green hair turned white and her turquoise eyes blue, while Respah's hair shifted from black to crimson.
Respah, who had worn a sweet smile all along, was annoyed as she looked at her clothing. Too bad she couldn't change out of her maid's attire yet.
Qasrah, on the other hand, had a calm expression.
Their eyes met and they nodded simultaneously. Both took out gloves and donned them.
Qasrah removed one of her earrings and pressed it; it turned into a ball, which she threw toward the ceiling of the vault. The sphere began moving in a slow circle around the ceiling.
Respah had already started opening the storage vaults on the walls and was busy looting.
Qasrah moved to one of the chests on the floor and pressed her fingers on the lock. It immediately clicked open. She opened it and casually began taking out herbs that emitted a powerful aura. They were all extremely rare ingredients, each over 100,000 years old.
She emptied the chest, then moved on to the next, until she had emptied all seven. She then opened an extremely large one in the corner. Inside was a golden cauldron.
Serves him right.
She stowed them all in her storage ring.
She didn't stop there and started opening the safety deposit vaults on the wall opposite Respah's. Inside the boxes were extremely expensive jewelry, watches, mystical stones, weapons, and other personal items. Given their next plan, she didn't need any of them, but she took them anyway.
She was halfway through when a loud clang tore through the vault. She looked at the centre of the room, where a large metallic plate now rested on the floor. Above it, a large circular hole gaped in the ceiling of the vault.
She looked at Respah, who was still busy looting, and shook her head in disappointment.
"Stop plundering, Respah. We do not have the time anymore."
Respah looked at her and shrugged innocently, an uncanny smile on her face.
"You go first. I'll follow behind shortly. This is the weapons section, you know—I can't stop myself, and I'm nearly done."
Respah turned and continued looting.
Knowing her sister, Qasrah didn't say anything. Instead, she took out a gadget from beneath her gown, pointed it at the hole, and fired a grappling line that anchored somewhere above.
She moved to the fallen ceiling debris, picked up the tiny ball, and pressed a button. The cord pulled her upward.
She landed in another room, much larger than the vault.
It was eerily empty, save for a rectangular pillar at the centre. Atop the pillar rested a glass cube.
Inside the glass cube, a smaller blue cube with glowing purple symbols floated at the centre, slowly rotating, held by unseen forces.
Qasrah pressed her watch.
"I am in position, Skylah. Ready to go."
After a short silence, a voice sounded in her mind.
"In ten seconds, grab it. Time starts now."
At five seconds, Respah shot out from the hole and landed behind her. Qasrah ignored her completely, attention fixed solely on the cube.
When the time ran out, the ceiling of the room parted and a cylinder slowly descended. The glass cube opened, leaving the smaller cube exposed. Then the cylinder stopped moving.
This was it.
Qasrah flicked her hands, and frost began to form around the small cube. She pulled her hand back, and the cube shot from its position into her palm. She quickly placed the tiny ball on the cube. It turned into a black fluid that spread over the entirety of the smaller cube, completely covering it.
"Now, we escape," she said, taking out her other earring.
She stretched out her hand. Respah took it.
Red energy flowed from Qasrah's fingers onto the rings. Suddenly, magenta symbols appeared in the air around them. The symbols flared, and the two girls disappeared. The glyphs flared again, then all converged around the earring before they, too, vanished.
---
Meanwhile, Godwin and Bastien were outside waiting by the vault door when the neon tubes lining the corridor roof flickered out. They were in darkness for nearly thirty seconds before the light flickered back on.
It then shifted to red as the warning alarm—the one they had only ever read about in protocols—blared.
The vault door closed itself, locking the Lady inside.
What in the world was happening?!
---
Seeing Devohn disappear, Ellion was quite pleased with himself. There was a high chance of Devohn conquering the first stage; then he would receive that commission and finally get himself a Neo‑Gale.
He was about to fondle the cat purring in his arms when his Holocuff chimed. Checking, he realised Burgmon—his longtime friend—had tagged him on Uniex.
A blue interface materialised before him as he checked. His features turned ugly when he saw the number‑one trending topic.
"Super shocker!!! Lady Aliénor and her maid Lysbet break into the Metrobank."
Just then, the pollen of the Sagicious tree began to stir, and a young man with chestnut hair coalesced from the golden mist.
As Devohn stood there frozen, various objects—a sword with a red hilt, a variety of herbs, to name a few—began forming from the golden mist. After a moment, a mountain of treasures appeared from the tree. Then, shockingly, the tree itself turned to golden mist that rushed into Devohn's chest and entered his body until it all disappeared.
What remained was a boy frozen in place, a pile of treasures, and empty space where the once‑great Sagacious tree had stood.
Cooh jumped from Ellion's arms and ran toward Devohn, while Ellion gawked in shock.
"WTF!"
If that wasn't enough, the space began warping as magenta runes scintillated into existence. Then, a white‑haired woman in a green gown appeared behind Devohn. She looked at him with a cold, piercing gaze, then said:
"You are the one."
She grabbed his shoulder. Space warped again as the magenta runes reappeared. The two of them, along with the cat that had been scratching at Devohn's leg, disappeared.
---
Swarskie Borough, Flayra Estate.
Inside the Lerisse family mansion, a young girl had just woken up.
"Hey you. Yes, you. The one still sleeping at 1pm…"
Lady Aliénor groggily shut off her self‑customised alarm. How she hated mornings.
What is trending today? I hope they linger no more on the Whispering Cave. That Adventurous Lure surely made a wave.
She sat up in bed and immediately opened her Uniex. Her eyes sparkled as pangs of excitement exploded inside her.
However, when she saw the number‑one trending topic of the day, her jaw dropped and she froze, stupefied.
"Super shocker!!! Lady Aliénor and her maid Lysbet break into the Metrobank."
Breaking out of her reverie, she smiled. For one, she didn't have a maidservant called Lysbet—but—
I'm trending!
She could finally die in peace and bliss.