On one of the underground levels of the Academy hospital complex, in a small room that was filled with the massive rectangle of the dream pod and various pieces of medical equipment, beneath its transparent lid, a young woman with ivory skin and long silver hair slept, undisturbed by anything.
Suddenly, a series of lights ignited on the surface of the pod, and the medical machinery in the room came to life, producing various noises.
A few moments later, the girl opened her striking silver eyes.
Outside the room, four guards opened the door and walked inside and watched as the room burned with white flame.
At the center of the flames stood Changing Star, daughter of Broken Sword, and heir to the Immortal Flame clan.
Her face showed indifference, but her eyes burned with hatred and anger.
Deep hatred, not any less to her than the hatred she felt for the killers of her father.
***
In another room, like where Nephis was, but a bit smaller, inside a dream pod, a delicate girl with pale blond hair was sleeping beneath the transparent glass lid, her face surrounded by wisps of cold vapor.
Suddenly the room that was dark for a long time lightened as the dream pod turned on.
Moments later, the girl opened her striking blue eyes and screamed in fear.
She rose up, her head met the armored glass that broke at impact. The girl fell down and screamed in agony and fear; tears burst from her eyes as she cried. But there was no pain.
Feeling the tears on her cheeks, she touched her eyes and felt them. They weren't gone, but... the pain of her eyes gouged out also wasn't gone, as it was imprinted in her soul.
The door to the room opened, and two guards and a nurse ran toward her.
The nurse screamed at her, but she didn't listen as she remembered everything that happened to her... and everything she did too.
The nurse noticed the young girl whispering something, so she closed in and heard it. A broken sound filled with pain and sorrow.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
***
…On a top floor of a private care facility in the center of a city, in a spacious room with tall windows and a luxurious interior, a state-of-the-art sleeping pod stood silently, bathed in sunlight. An attending nurse sat in a comfortable chair beside it, monitoring the vital signs of a beautiful young man who slumbered inside.
For the past three years, there had not been a single minute when the young man was left alone. His pod was surrounded by fresh flowers, and someone was always there to keep watch.
For three years, the flowers and nurses came and went, but the young man had remained the same. Nothing about him ever changed.
Suddenly, the nurse opened her eyes wide.
A second later, the sleeping pod shone with bright light. Its lid swiftly slid sideways and hid in a special housing slot.
The figure inside was slowly raising in the air, as if pulled up by an invisible force. The beautiful young man was… levitating.
The nurse remained motionless for a few seconds, stunned. Then, she hastily ran to the panel on the wall and pressed a call button.
The nurse watched as the young man fell down on the ground; he opened his beautiful green eyes, and the young man gritted his teeth, and he closed his two hands with much force that made them bleed.
It was his fault, his fault that he didn't see the true nature of that man. At least that's what he believed.
If he didn't help him that day, none of that would happen! Because of him, hundreds died!
The young man whispered, his right eye turning red as a blood vessel broke.
"I'll kill you no matter what it takes, Faraam!"
***
…In a small apartment in one of the less prestigious areas of the city, in a tiny room, a tall young woman was lying in an old and barely functioning pod. This one was possibly the last representative of its model, taken out of production a long time ago. Still, it seemed like the most luxurious thing in the apartment, by far.
The door of the room was open, letting in the sound of a news broadcast. A saddened and hurt tone was currently saying:
"...Dear viewers, we have just received a report from our correspondents that a large number of sleepers have turned hollow. The representatives of the great Legacy Clans have commented about this tragedy and shared their sympathy with the families of the..."
Suddenly the sound of glass breaking echoed outside.
Soon, the sound of rushed steps could be heard, approaching the room where the pod stood.
Just a second later, however, a fist slammed into the armored glass of its lid from inside, sending a net of cracks through it.
And from the pod emerged a woman; her eyes opened wide, and blood mixed with tears fell from them.
***
In a large castle, inside one of the rooms, a woman stood in front of a dream pod. She had long hair that fell like a waterfall of black silk and wore a simple dress of carmine fabric, which nevertheless looked regal and mesmerizing on her slender figure.
She seemed almost irresistibly alluring, breathtaking, and tantalizing. She was tall, with fair skin and red, sensual lips. Her cold beauty was only made more striking by her inviting dark eyes, which were full of strength and willpower
She was Saint Song Eunbin, also called Beastmaster.
Beastmaster watched in fear and hope at the dream pod in front of her. Just moments ago she received the news of a large amount of sleepers going hollow; the moment she heard that, she ran toward where her sister was sleeping, the sister they lost a decade ago. The Lost Princess of Song.
'Come on, Seishan, don't make me bury another sister...'
Suddenly, the sleeping pod shone with bright light, and a pale hand punched through the armored glass, and a pale grey-skinned woman with crimson eyes emerged.
Beastmaster sighed and smiled and opened her arms.
"Welcome to the waking world, sister. You took your time."
Seishan smiled at her sister. "It's good to see you again, Eunbin. You've become more beautiful than the last time I saw you."