Back in District 2, Lenora sat in her chair looking at the distant city in deep thought. She was in the living room watching TV while her maid prepared lunch in the kitchen, and Lenora glanced at the clock—3:30.
Orson had left home around 8:00, not that she cared. I mean, she had to. He was her husband, and besides, if he went somewhere dangerous and died, how was she supposed to know? She just sighed to herself as she watched the screen in front of her, then looked down at her legs while thinking about her past.
Lenora was a proud woman. Why wouldn’t she be? She was the one and only prodigy of the Sloane family and the family pride, of course she was full of pride. The main family was the true power of the world, and she was one of them.
Not just that, but her pride grew during her awakening when she awakened a Violet class life gate, and Lenora felt like she was on top of the world. After she bonded her life gate with her astral being and went through trial after trial, her pride just grew with it.
Although Lenora knew being too proud was a slippery slope to her downfall, even after gaining that knowledge about her world and about herself—she was even the fourth person in their generation to conquer the fourth contractual trial in all the great family lines—and now Lenora just wanted to die. But she felt even death was too good for her after what she had done.
She looked down at her legs, thinking about the price she paid just to survive. But who wants to live a life after becoming the cause of a lot of families’ losses, only to be saved by the same people she had condemned to their death? Just thinking about it sent a hot rage through Lenora as she looked down at her legs and gripped her wheelchair so tightly that blood dripped from her hands.
Before releasing her grip, she looked back at the TV and felt that she did not even have the right to be angry.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Miss Baker finished with lunch and reached Lenora’s side. "Ma’am, lunch is done. Would you need anything else?"
Lenora did not look at her; she just watched TV before saying, "You can go. I will be fine."
Miss Baker wanted to protest, but when Lenora turned her cold eyes to meet hers, she did not say anything and just left. Lenora watched her leave as the door closed, and the glass that was see-through turned back to glass that only reflected the face of a helpless, pitiful woman in a wheelchair. Lenora looked back at the TV for a while before moving her wheelchair to the kitchen for lunch.
Miss Baker had cooked for two people, and Lenora looked at the meat on her table. As she was about to start eating, a memory flashed in her mind as she looked down at the food. Weird enough, as she remembered everything, that was the one memory that was clearer than the others, and it was about her husband.
It was when he cut her food. There was no pity in his eyes; he just looked cold, like she did. Weird. Was it because of that? Lenora looked at the food again. Maybe he was planning something. Why should she care? Besides, he was just as pitiful as her, so why should he feel pity for her? Even as she thought about it, everything just did not make any sense. Lenora just sighed and ate her food in the quiet of her home as the TV played in the background, making the scene look cold and pitiful.
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, inside a breach at District 12, a heist was being planned by two non-awakened members of the pupils, much to Orson’s resistance. But Orson was getting to learn just how hard it was to say no to Corvin.
No matter how hard you try, it felt like the guy was either not getting it or he was playing dumb, with all the signs of no Orson was throwing at him. Orson thought that even if he had a large board that said no, Corvin would still play like he did not understand what was written. But still, Orson could repay the favor, although even if Corvin did not know this, Orson had learned a lot about this world from him.
First, at the age of eighteen, everyone undergoes an awakening trial to check their life gate, and each gate is represented as colors from Crimson, the lowest, to Violet, the highest. When you know that, you can enter the astral plane world to challenge an astral being.
But Orson had no idea how those beings looked, yet once you form a link with one, you will be connected to the system—whatever that meant.
Corvin did not know much about the system, just that there are different astral beings and you have to be careful which you choose. But to Orson, that did not explain the risk Corvin was going on about until Corvin explained what happened in order for you to form an astral contract with an astral being.
Once they have bonded with you, you are taken into a trial in order for them to condition your body to meet their bonding conditions. As Orson put two and two together, he understood. So if someone is weak, the trial will do everything in its power to make them fail, and so on.
The trial itself is no joke, but people experience different things there—things that are unholy, things that change a person. Even as Orson heard all this, his face was still calm. Maybe too calm, Corvin thought as they reached the edge of the island.
High above, there was the second island. Corvin looked up and pointed. "The beast is on this island, Orson."
Orson looked up. "And how do you plan we get up there?"
Corvin looked up and smiled. "I have a plan."
With that, Corvin looked up at the floating island about 300 meters in the sky before tapping his boot, and it launched him high into the sky as the wind blew through Corvin’s clothes.
He reached the underside of the island and used his hands to dig himself in so he would not fall. Orson was shocked by the display as he looked up.
Just then, a young man walked forward. "Wow, do Awakened still use that type of gadget to jump up? Wow, surprising."
Orson looked at the man speaking, and the man looked at Orson. "Wow, as I live and breathe, Orson Graves of the Mercer family. I thought you would have died in a ditch somewhere."
Orson looked at the man in front of him and asked, "And you are?"
Sen just smiled. "Wow, cousin, that hurts. You know who—it’s none other than the one and only Sen Graves."
Orson looked at him. He had a keep-your-distance vibe about him.
"So, Orson, what the hell are you doing here? And don’t tell me it’s for the weapon as well."
Orson looked at him. "What weapon? I am just here to make money."
"Oh, I heard about it, and trust me, my mom wanted to stop it, but the Sloane family are a hard family to convince. Sorry about the marriage."
"Well, it’s no problem."
"But if you are here, why don’t you find the weapon as well?"
Sen looked at him before he sighed and took another vape from his pocket and lit it before saying, "Orson, you should really not be here. Things are going to get dangerous. But anyway, want a ride up?"
Orson just nodded. "I know. I plan to leave soon after getting what I came for."
With that, Sen released his blade and sliced the air as a small portal opened from here to the second island. Orson looked at it as Sen entered the portal, and Orson followed after.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the five suns shone down on the world, but inside the middle, larger sun, there were multiple cracks around it, and a small dark cloud drifted out of the cracks of the sun.