The journey took quite some time despite the flying car’s incredible speed, but at least the woman had been telling the truth.
They eventually arrived in a city, and Declan couldn’t help but exhale in relief. Soon after, they came to a stop just outside a massive black gate.
For about a minute, they remained there in silence.
Declan was beginning to wonder why she wasn’t honking or doing anything to prompt whoever was behind the gate to open it, but before he could ask, a beam of green light suddenly emerged from the top of the gate and swept across their vehicle.
Scanning rays.
The beam moved over the pod from front to back, analyzing it before disappearing.
Then,
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEEEP!
The massive gate slowly slid open.
The pod immediately flew through, and the gate automatically closed behind them.
What lay beyond it was... surreal.
The first thing that caught Declan’s attention was the mansion.
It was enormous, yet its design was surprisingly calm and elegant.
Its white walls gleamed faintly beneath the surrounding lights, while tall glass windows reflected the fading sky.
At the center of the yard stood a grand fountain, spraying graceful arcs of water into the air. Under the soft glow of the garden lights, the droplets sparkled like tiny shards of glass.
Neatly trimmed lawns stretched along both sides of the driveway, with rows of palm trees lining the path.
As the pod turned toward the side wing of the mansion, the garage doors automatically lifted with a quiet mechanical hum.
Bright white lights spilled from within, revealing a spotless floor polished to the point where it almost looked like chrome.
Declan’s eyes widened slightly when he noticed the other vehicles inside.
There were three more super-pods parked in the garage, and judging by their sleek designs alone, they were clearly far more advanced than the one they had traveled in.
Only then did he understand why she had shown absolutely no interest in the money she could make by selling him.
Why bother with money when she already possessed this much?
The mansion alone, not to mention the vehicles inside, had to be worth millions of Nollars.
"We’re here."
The woman’s cold voice came from beside him as the pod doors opened.
Declan stepped out, and so did she.
However, instead of leaving the garage and heading toward the mansion, she walked deeper inside.
When she reached the far wall, which appeared to be made entirely of smooth glass panels, she raised both hands and pressed them lightly against the surface.
Immediately, blue light began to spread beneath her palms.
Three seconds passed.
Then,
BEEP!
The glass panels smoothly shifted aside, revealing a hidden corridor behind them.
"It’s this way," she said.
Declan followed.
They walked for roughly thirty seconds before reaching the end of the corridor, where another glass panel blocked their path.
She placed her hands against it once more, and a brief flash of blue light appeared.
The door opened, and the moment they stepped through, Declan found himself surrounded by darkness.
"Wake Up Elianor," the woman said into the empty space, and immediately, white lights flickered on throughout the room.
Declan instinctively squinted at the sudden brightness.
"Welcome home, Master."
A mechanical voice echoed through the room.
"Unknown life wave recognized."
"Preparing erasure protocol."
"Huh?"
Declan’s eyebrow rose.
Had he heard that correctly?
His expression changed completely when a section of the wall suddenly rippled, and something massive emerged from within.
A gigantic tank-like weapon extended outward, its barrel rotating until it locked directly onto Declan.
WHIIIIIIIIIR!
His heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
"Deactivate self-defense protocol and activate home recognition for unknown life wave," the woman calmly ordered.
The weapon immediately stopped, and the targeting beam disappeared from Declan.
Well...Not that he had been standing there anymore.
The moment he’d heard that terrifying whirring sound, he’d instinctively moved behind the woman.
At least if the thing fired, she would get blown up first and hopefully soften the damage before it reached him.
"Self-defense protocol deactivated. Home recognition initiated. Please state the name of the unknown life wave."
"Declan. Declan Ezra."
"Declan?" the woman repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"I don’t know. Sounds like a library."
Declan rolled his eyes.
Of all the things she could have said about his name...
"Welcome home, Declan Ezra," Elianor announced before continuing.
"Issuing privacy mode due to Declan. All regular preparations have been completed. Is there anything special you wish to request, Master?"
"No."
"Understood. I will remain on standby."
Privacy mode?
Declan silently wondered what that meant.
"Now that you’ve been recognized, you don’t have to worry about being blown apart," the woman said.
"You’ll be staying here for the entirety of your time in Veyron, so try to familiarize yourself with the place."
She walked toward an elevator positioned along the side of the room.
Then, just before entering, she stopped.
"And speaking of getting familiar with the place, find a way to reach the roof of the mansion."
Declan looked at her.
"Without using the elevator, of course."
The elevator doors closed.
A moment later, it disappeared upward, leaving Declan completely alone.
Only now did he have the chance to properly take in his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was the silence.
It was quiet, but unlike the eerie silence of the laboratory, this one felt intentional. Almost peaceful.
He was standing inside what appeared to be the living room.
An ocean-blue marble floor stretched across the enormous space, polished so perfectly that it reflected the lights above.
Declan raised his head.
A massive chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, its countless crystals glowing like soft flames as they scattered light throughout the room.
Behind him was an arrangement of furniture that matched the room’s color scheme.
Two ocean-blue couches faced each other with a massive glass table positioned between them.
At the far end of the room, a gigantic 110-inch flat-screen television played quietly, showing a green chameleon perched on a leaf.
Beneath it sat a long, low cabinet decorated with several silver ornaments.
The walls were painted in the same ocean-blue color.
By now, Declan was beginning to suspect that ocean blue wasn’t merely her preferred color.
It was probably an obsession.
On his far left stood a grand staircase that curved upward, its silver railings reflecting the light from the chandelier.
Beneath the staircase was what appeared to be a piano room, complete with a piano and a matching seat.
’So that’s probably where I start.’
If he wanted to reach the upper levels without an elevator, the staircase was his most obvious option, and with that in mind, Declan began climbing.
At first, reaching the roof seemed like it would be easy, as the mansion was only about five or six stories, after all.
But twenty minutes later, Declan was still walking, and at several points, had to break into a run just to save time.
The mansion was ridiculously large. Worse, its layout was so strange that it felt less like a house and more like a maze designed specifically to make visitors lose their way.
It was annoying, yet by the time he finally reached the roof, Declan couldn’t deny that he felt somewhat accomplished.
At least now he knew the place.
He’d practically memorized half the mansion just trying to find his way up, and that alone made being in an unfamiliar house feel a little less uncomfortable.
"You’ve finally made it."
The woman’s voice echoed across the open rooftop.
Declan stepped out into the open space, the evening breeze immediately blowing his hair.
He looked around.
The rooftop offered a clear view of the enormous property and the city beyond it.
Then he turned toward her, just as her crimson eyes settled on him.
"Let’s get down to business."