In the Lord’s office, Cyrus stood before the desk.
His voice was low, but the urgency beneath it was impossible to hide.
“Undercurrent is pressing again.” He flipped open his data pad.
“The Otherworld Lifeform has been in the maintenance bay for six months. All his metrics are declining. There’s still no sign of any awakening ability. Undercurrent will be sending their representatives to Azure City next week.”
Cyrus paused.
“If nothing changes, they will almost certainly take direct custody of him.”
The Lord did not speak immediately.
He sat in the main chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk as he read the report Cyrus had handed him.
His brow was slightly furrowed.
Rufina stood off to the side, her silver hair falling over her shoulders.
Her face was grim.
She knew exactly what “custody” meant.
No test subject that had ever fallen into Undercurrent’s hands had left their operating tables alive.
The Lord leaned back slowly in his chair, his fingers continuing to tap the desk.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
“What’s your opinion, Rufina?”
Rufina was silent for a moment.
“I oppose handing him over to Undercurrent. He still has research value. There is no conclusive proof that he will never awaken.”
Cyrus frowned.
“But we don’t have time. Undercurrent won’t wait forever.”
“Enough.”
The Lord’s voice was not loud, but both of them fell silent.
He closed the report and was quiet for a moment.
He knew better than anyone the relationship between Azure City and Undercurrent.
Their influence spread through every major city in the Star Abyss, woven into the resource chains of every major power.
No one could avoid them entirely, and no one could stand against them directly.
This was not a fight one city could win.
But he also hated giving things away for nothing.
“Before Undercurrent’s people arrive,” he lifted his eyes, “I want to meet this Otherworld Lifeform.”
Rufina blinked in surprise.
The Lord stood up and straightened his coat.
“Arrange it,” he said.
“Tomorrow.”
…
“Hah!”
Rufina exhaled sharply as her delicate fist exploded forward with devastating force, cutting the air like a bullet as it drove straight into Keran’s chest.
Keran took the hit squarely, gritting his teeth against the tightness in his chest.
He grabbed the collar of Rufina’s combat uniform, twisted at the waist, and threw her over his shoulder.
Rufina didn’t panic.
She planted her palms on the ground and flipped gracefully to her feet, absorbing the impact easily.
Keran didn’t press the attack.
He stood where he was, rubbing his chest.
“Is that all you’ve improved?” Rufina looked dissatisfied.
A faint, uncharacteristic flicker of anxiety crossed her crimson eyes.
Keran said nothing.
He had deliberately held back.
With his mediocre performance, the base should have written him off completely by now.
But for six months, Rufina had still trained him every day.
And today, she was pushing harder than ever, every strike aimed at a vital spot.
Rufina hadn’t expected him to answer anyway.
She knew Keran was quiet.
To everyone else, he was nothing more than a defective piece of goods that had never awakened.
She might be the director of the research base, but Cyrus had always held the real power over the core research.
Wandering the underground halls aimlessly every day, training Keran was one of the few things she had complete control over.
When she’d heard the Lord wanted to meet Keran personally, a quiet dread had settled in her stomach.
She had no idea what the meeting would bring.
They had barely spoken a word to each other in six months.
But day after day of training together had left its mark.
Rufina refused to name what that mark was.
She only knew she couldn’t bear to see Keran dragged off to Undercurrent’s mad laboratories.
How many times had she seen familiar faces disappear on some ordinary day, loaded onto transport trucks bound for higher powers, never to be seen again?
This world’s cold cruelty had taken too much from her already.
And then there was her sister.
The thought sent a sharp, aching pang through her chest.
If Keran could show even a hint of combat or superhuman talent at the last minute, maybe tomorrow’s meeting would make the Lord change his mind.
That was why she was pushing him so hard today, trying to force his potential to the surface.
But miracles didn’t happen easily.
The man in front of her was still just a barely adequate punching bag.
“The Lord is coming to see you tomorrow… You probably don’t understand what that means…” Rufina looked at him and finally sighed softly.
Strictly speaking, this was the first thing Rufina had said to Keran in six months that had nothing to do with combat training.
Rufina was looking down at the floor.
She didn’t notice that at the sound of those words, Keran’s usually dull, vacant eyes sharpened to a razor’s edge for a split second before fading back into their usual blankness.
So this day finally came.
A cold, humorless laugh rose in Keran’s chest.
He had always known his performance would eventually lead to this.
Being written off as worthless scrap and sold off.
To Azure City and Undercurrent, useless human material was just a worthless stock to be dumped before it bled out any more capital.
But he didn’t regret it for a second.
Because in the dangerous Star Abyss, the level of attention from the higher-ups was directly proportional to the level of surveillance.
If he had shown any extraordinary talent in these six months, he would have been locked down even tighter, exploited even more brutally.
With his sensitive status as an Otherworld Lifeform, he would never have been accepted into Azure City’s inner circle.
He would always be seen as a dangerous tool to be kept on a tight leash.
So he had decided to bet everything on this.
…
The next day, a heavy alloy door slid open to both sides, revealing a vast, cold office.
At the head of the long table sat a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with a steady face.
He wore Azure City’s dark uniform.
Even sitting silently, he exuded the cold, unyielding aura of someone who had held power for years.
Rufina stood beside Keran and spoke.
“This is the Lord of Azure City. And my adoptive father. Frederick.”
Frederick lifted his eyes, glanced at Keran, then turned to Rufina.
“Rufina. Wait outside. I want to speak to him alone.”
Rufina hesitated for a moment, said nothing, turned, and left, closing the door behind her.
The room was silent except for the two of them.
Frederick did not speak immediately.
He simply gestured for Keran to sit.
Keran sat down in the chair across the table and glanced around the room.
There was nothing superfluous in the office.
The only personal item was a framed photograph sitting on the corner of the desk.
His eyes drifted over it, then paused.
The photograph showed two little girls standing side by side in Azure City’s central square.
The one on the left had silver hair and was smiling brightly, her eyes crinkled into crescents.
She looked nothing like the cold, distant woman Keran knew.
It was a young Rufina.
The one on the right had golden hair, leaning gently against her, smiling more quietly.
Her features bore a striking resemblance to Rufina’s.
Keran looked away.
Just then, a notification popped up on his System Panel.
[You have triggered D-Rank Mission: Project Lightseeker. Accept / Decline?]
He blinked in surprise.
Six months.
This was the first mission he had ever triggered.
He had always thought the panel only provided information and enhanced his learning ability.
He had no idea it had a mission system.
There was no hesitation.
Accept.
[Mission Description: The dark and bloody rise of the Undercurrent has long been a forbidden secret in the Hundred Cities Federation. Rufina carries a hidden past. You have uncovered a single thread. Follow it, and you may find unexpected rewards. Or unexpected danger. You may also sell this information to interested parties for payment. Or you may bury it forever. The choice is yours.]
Keran closed the panel and returned his face to its usual blank expression.
Frederick had noticed Keran’s glance at the photograph.
His own eyes fell on the old picture.
After a moment, he leaned back slowly in his chair.
Something in his voice quietly settled.
“That’s Rufina and her sister.”
“Ten years ago, Azure City wasn’t as stable as it is today.”
“We had just finished building the city. Mutated creatures were constantly attacking the defenses. The dome technology was still unproven. Our energy and weapon reserves were almost exhausted.”
Frederick paused.
“To survive, Azure City had to look for help outside. And that’s when Undercurrent first came onto our radar.”
His eyes flickered slightly.
“They provided technology, weapons, and resources. They helped Azure City survive the worst of it.”
“In exchange, we paid the price they asked.”
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Frederick did not elaborate on what that price had been.
He simply reached out and gently straightened the framed photograph on the corner of his desk.
“Some decisions seem like the only option at the time.”
“But years later, you look back and realize some things can never be gotten back once they’re gone.”
Frederick took a deep breath, and his tone returned to the cold, calm authority of a ruler.
“You’ve been here for six months,” he said.
“I’ve been reading your reports.”
He didn’t say what the reports said, but the implication was clear.
“You should know Undercurrent is sending people next week.” Frederick looked at him.
“They’re not coming to assess you. They’re coming to take you.”
Keran said nothing.
Frederick pushed a file to the side of his desk.
It seemed like a casual gesture, but Keran noticed his eyes lingered on the file for a full second before moving away.
“I’ve raised Rufina for twenty years,” Frederick said.
Something in his voice quietly settled.
“I understand what she’s trying to do. I understand why.”
He did not elaborate.
The room was quiet again for a moment.
“I didn’t bring you here to tell you what to do.” Frederick looked back at Keran, his gaze calm and deep.
“Frankly, I don’t believe an Otherworld Lifeform could be this mediocre. Of course, I could be wrong. But one thing is certain. Undercurrent won’t give you a chance to prove anything. The moment they arrive, you will have no choices left.”
He paused.
“So if you have any plans. You’d better finish them before then.”
Keran sat in his chair, maintaining his dull, slow expression.
Not a muscle moved.
But his fingertips pressed quietly into the fabric of his pants.
Frederick said nothing more.
He turned to look out the window, as if the conversation was over.
Keran stood up and walked toward the door.
He stopped at the threshold, but did not turn around.
“I understand.”
He opened the door and walked out.
In the hallway, Rufina was leaning against the opposite wall, waiting for him.
She looked him up and down when he came out, but asked no questions.
Keran followed her back.
The hallway lights cast two long shadows on the floor.
He replayed Frederick’s words in his mind.
Then he replayed the mission prompt from his System Panel.
Finally, he looked toward the corner at the end of the hallway.
Time was running out.