“A proposal.”

  A proposal… of course. Mother hasn’t come for a chat. Vivena had known it from the moment she had learned of her mother’s arrival and yet it stung a little. However, with her high Mind attribute and [Mind Fortress] passive skill, these were just echoes of true emotions. She had been forced to buy [Mind Fortress], for a fortune, to cope with her father’s death. A better skill for that would have been [Mental Healing] but it had limited combat application. She had no use for it. On the other hand, [Mind Fortress] was perfect against mind assassins, which plagued the World Government right now.

  “What kind of proposal?”

  Her mother put down the glass and smiled. It was a kind of smile that made Vivena worry. She wasn’t afraid of her mother, she worried about her. She didn’t want to make an enemy out of her.

  “Maybe the word ‘proposal’ isn’t the right one here…”

  “I’m listening,” Vivena said, keeping her true thoughts out of her voice and face. Her spiritual aura was likewise kept under absolute control.

  “I want to rebuild the House of Sael. I want to make it as powerful as it used to be or even more.”

  Vivena snorted mirthlessly, then gave her mother an unimpressed stare.

  “Don’t tell me an uncle sent you?” Please.

  “Marakus? No, I haven’t spoken for years. Why? Do you have a bone to pick with him?”

  “After dad had died, he came here and demanded to hand the dominion to him.”

  “He what?” Her mother got to her feet, her face twisted by rage.

  “Relax,” Vivena said. “I warned him that if he ever returns or sends someone with a similar demand, I’d kill him.”

  While her mother sat down, Vivena took a good look at her mother’s spiritual aura. She loved her but she had been backstabbed by people she cherished and trusted so she wouldn’t take chances again.

  Her mother’s aura confirmed that these were genuine emotions.

  “You’d do us a favour by killing that little shit. He is a stain on our family’s reputation.”

  “Speaking of our family… What with rebuilding our name? Why now?”

  Her mother didn’t reply right away. She considered her answer well.

  “You are aware of your reputation and nickname, aren’t you?”

  “Queen of Poisons.” Vivena nodded.

  “A dark testament to your power.”

  “What about you? Do you have a nickname?”

  “Yes,” her mother laughed. “But nothing so grand. They call me Red Acid Bitch.”

  Despite herself, Vivena smiled. It was strangely fitting to her mother. Sadly, her mother’s plan was bound to fail. Within the Solar Council, Vivena’s reputation meant nothing. All because of that fucking creep Doctor. If not for his treacherous Talent, she would have slaughtered them all and gotten her freedom.

  “I’m sorry, but your plans won’t work.”

  Vivena expected many things but not that her mother would causally comfort her.

  “They will, trust me. I haven’t spent the last year idly sitting on my ass. The House of Sael will rule the world and won’t even need to fight anyone to the top.”

  Was her mother insane? Did dad’s death break her mind? Ruling the world? What for?

  “Mom, I fail to see—”

  “Soon, I will be among the highest in the High Parliament thanks to Frog’s ground-breaking Talent research, while you, my daughter, are the most powerful woman in the Solar Council. We are in a unique position that we must take advantage of. We will take over from within.”

  Vivena sighed, considering if she could trust her mother with the truth about Doctor. Without telling her, her mother’s concocted plans would backfire. She didn’t want to give her false hope.

  She told her and expected… anything but this.

  Her mother remained unfazed, mostly. There was a shadow of a smile on her lips. What the hell?

  “That explains everything. I have been wondering how they made you do their bidding. But now… hm. It actually works perfectly for us. You will marry him.”

  “I despise him,” Vivena sneered.

  “Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t say you should love him. All you need is him to love you. Or at least, trust you enough to remove the switch from your body.”

  A wave of disgust rolled through Vivena.

  “I’d rather remove it myself.”Or die trying.

  “It isn’t only about the switch Doctor put inside you.” Her mother shook her head. “That man is the head of the Institute, and the Institute’s power is growing rapidly. In the future, it may even break away from the Solar Council and become the third power.”

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  Vivena disagreed but she had also spent very little time concerning herself with the politics of the Solar Council and the Institute. She kept her involvement in their affairs to a minimum, and if she could, she’d have paid it no heed, but the world didn’t operate on a wish basis. She understood that simple truth. She lost naivety a long time ago.

  When her thoughts settled down, she admitted that her mother’s plans had merit. They were both significant figures in two ruling organisations. If Vivena took advantage of Doctor’s feelings, she would not only be able to break free from his grasp but rule.

  But did she want to rule?

  Actually, she already ruled her dominion. Some of the members showed her reverence befitting a real queen.

  Their conversation was interrupted by Bill.

  “Vivena! Vivena, you must see this!”

  He came inside, looking clearly disturbed. She was not happy about the interruption but she knew him well, without a good reason, Bill wouldn’t barge in.

  He handed her the tablet and she made a motion, projecting the video to a large TV hanging on the wall.

  “The world is still in shock after Hunter, the strongest man in the solar system, clashed and drew with Esopp Earl, a former High Lord and…”

  Vivena watched the news, stunned. Hunter was a rift essence Level 10. He could wipe the floor with Windsor Freeman. How could he draw with the likes of Esopp Earl?

  “Thank you,” her mother said, giving Bill a cue to leave, which he understood and left. She turned to Vivena. “This is great news. With that, the ironclad position of the Solar Council is shaken. Now, thanks to Untainted Paradise, the Solar Council it’s at its weakest. Use it, daughter.”

  Vivena barely heard her mother; thinking about Untainted Paradise always led to the same point — Keynes Kid. The only person she hated with her whole being.

  ***

  Lights flickered across the wall filled with mounted medical equipment, crafted from rift materials, runes, formations and even glyphs. Its cost was astronomical. Doctor had long ago stopped concerning himself with monetary affairs. One couldn’t put a price tag on advancement.

  The diagrams showed the recovered information from the Human Project led by Nitisha Romanov. When she was alive, Doctor reminded himself. He had never met the woman, but heard enough stories to be glad that had been the case. Her notes, on the other hand, were surprisingly insightful. But she had missed the point, which led to later disaster.

  Wasteful…

  His phone vibrated. Doctor pulled the phone out of his coat’s pocket and answered the call.

  “Turtelli,” he said, then nodded, listening to the chairman. “I understand.”

  Doctor’s voice was quiet and methodological like his craft. He slowly put the phone away on the table beside him. Turning to the door, he mused about what he just learned. His thoughts were precise and sharp as he went through the possible consequences, breaking it apart piece by piece.

  I wonder if it was enough to break Hunter through to Level 11, Doctor asked a rhetorical question. Well, I will know soon.

  Hunter was about to arrive at the Institute through a formation teleport.

  ***

  “I have to admit, I am impressed,” Windsor said, leaning against a palm tree. In front of him spread an azure blue water. Rugman found himself a piece of paradise. The island wasn’t large but secluded and self-sustaining with two Level 2 rifts hidden in an underground bunker. “I didn’t expect Esopp to catch up with Hunter this quickly.”

  Rugman sat on a chair under the palm’s shade and sipped a drink. The ex-vice president had been absent from politics for years. Obviously, it was by design. Windsor would have never allowed a man like Rugman to fade into obscurity.

  “As impressive as it sounds, it begs the question why does Hunter keep coming back? He has no business poking at Untainted Paradise when Sandman’s dominion grows in power and the World Government is doing shady deals under Turtelli’s nose?”

  Windsor and Sandman had some dealings in the past but eventually their paths diverged to the point that further cooperation became impossible. Windsor suspected that Sandman had gone insane, trapped inside his own dominion.

  “Hunter and Turtelli are idiots,” Windsor said.

  “Hunter has no political acumen,” Rugman admitted. “While Turtelli may be out of his depth.”

  “Turtelli is a puppet.”

  “Indeed.” Rugman nodded. A long, comfortable silence settled between them. They had known each other for their entire lives. If there was one person Windsor trusted, it was Rugman. Most of my allies are dead anyway.

  “So, what do you need me to do?” Rugman asked, having finished his drink. He put on the ground and stood up, still looking at the ocean.

  Windsor snorted.

  “Always perceptive.”

  “Perceptive?” It was Rugman’s turn to snort. “Anyway, let’s talk business.”

  Windsor gave him a sidelong look, a smile playing on his lips. Rugman was a grumpy old bastard despite the face of a twenty-year-old. If he wanted to talk business, then they were going to talk business. There was no use in the idle talk.

  “I need you to go to Untainted Paradise.”

  Rugman turned to Windsor, a frown displayed in his face. Rugman’s spiritual aura betrayed doubt, the ex vice-president harboured.

  “You don’t consider recruiting Esopp?”

  “No, that ship has sailed a long time ago I am afraid,” Windsor replied. “I am not looking to recruit anyone from his organisation but with Esopp, and by extension Untainted Paradise, growing in power it is time to make an alliance.”

  “Oh and you are worried about going yourself because you haven’t fulfilled your promise to Keynes Kid?”

  “The timing wasn’t right,” Windsor said defensively. “But now with the blow to the Solar Council, it is a perfect moment.”

  “And what makes you think they would be up to ally with you?”

  “It’s time to share with them the Shaper’s constructs.”

  Rugman’s spiritual aura remained sceptical. The old man didn’t believe in his plan anymore? Interesting.

  “What’s the matter?” Windsor asked, when Rugman didn’t react to his plan in a verbal way.

  “There haven’t been any new outbreaks in three years. No third global dominion. And we both know why that is. Keynes Kid vanished and Zimmermann is behind it. They are up to something and I would rather not be anywhere close when shit hits the fan.”

  “This is why you aren’t going alone. I will send Daiyu Fen with you. Her job will be to find out what happened to Keynes Kid.”

  ***

  Columbus and Wagner stood in the heart of Emerald City, deep underground in the room designed for omni-surveillance. The large circular chamber had a 360 degree screen that showed image definition unachievable before the first outbreak.

  Neither man marvelled at the technology. They stood somberly, in silence, their eyes tracking the flying silhouette of Esopp Earl.

  ***

  Ethan Blackwood read the reports from Earth while in the background, behind the thick window, a ground-breaking experiment took place.

  The massive warehouse on the other side of the window was built atop a rift on the surface of Ganymede.

  A man in a thick, black spacesuit stood in the middle of the warehouse, holding a large key in his hand. In front of him was a rift.

  Ethan finished reading the report, then watched the experiment unfold.

  In silence.

  The dangerous kind of silence..