The laughter and chatter died down as Maria walked into the banquet hall, behind her, the two daughters followed, radiating an aura of pure superiority
Aki, indifferent to the spectacle, was silently drinking punch, texting with the other hand
*President, when's the festival starting?*
*Tomorrow 4PM*
'Tomorrow? I should go home and prepare'
Just then, Chloe walked over, holding two glasses of wine
She handed one to him. "Mom wants to see all three of us in her office"
He took a sip, grimaced and handed the glass back. "I hate alcohol"
"Sure. Anyway let's go"
Kai watched them go from afar, before leaning towards Snow. "Hey sis, why haven't I seen you two talking all day?"
Snow gave him a sideways glance, then pressed on her headphones, increasing the volume. "Don't worry about it"
"Don't worry about it?" He raised an eyebrow, then with a flick
[Wind magic] Torrent Shaker
A slight breeze swept the headphones off her ears, carrying them into his hands. "You've made me curious little sis, spill the tea"
"You really want to know?"
"Of course"
"Fine. The truth is." She paused on the note, then snatched the headphones and walked away, leaving her older brother confused
"The truth is. That's it?"
Meanwhile upstairs. The three siblings sat in Maria's office, Maria sat across from them, legs crossed, expression unreadable, she had a gentle smile plastered on, bundled with cold, sharp eyes
"You three, I have something to tell you"
They shifted in their seats, Aki's eyes flicking towards Chloe for a moment– 'Hopefully this isn't about the military camp'
"Rose, Chloe. You two still remember Alshay, right?"
"Yes?" Rose answered with a frown, while Snow looked confused for a moment, wondering why their mom brought up Alshay
"In two weeks" Maria pulled open a drawer, pulled out a cigarette, and pressed it between her lips. "We'll be going there for a visit"
Aki abruptly stoop up, then leaned against the table, Maria looked at him, eyebrow raised. "What is-"
Before she could continue, he snatched the cigarette, then sat back down. "Oh, sorry. Alshay was it? Can you tell me more about it?"
[Cosmic series] Dark Magic- Gamma burn
The hand holding the cigarette glowed warmly, and the cigarette burnt up to embers in a matter of seconds
"I've never heard of it, after all"
Maria looked from him to the burnt embers in his hands, expression unreadable, but the corners of her lips twitched slightly
"Alshay, or Alshay kingdom, is our home country"
"What?" The burnt cigarette fluttered from his palm to the ground, his eyes were on his mom, lips parted, mind racing‐ Home country? It cam out of nowhere
If Alshay is his actual home. What about Central city, the private island, what were they?
In his contemplation. His heart beat intensely, three times. His eyes shifted
[Void Gate] Void incarnation- Spatial detection
Every single movement in the building, he could hear and feel, his eyes were blue, and pitch black in sclera. His tentacles shot out towards the door, tearing through the wood. A muffled groan followed from outside
"Snap out of it" Maria poked his cheek lightly, snapping him out of his Void state. His eyes gradually settled to their usual red, the tentacles retracted back into his shadow
Rose and Chloe both stood up at once, saying they're going to investigate, leaving Aki and Maria in the office
Once alone, Aki finally voiced the worry in his mind. "Mom. About what's been happening-"
"Don't stress on that. Once we get to Alshay, it'll all settle"
"What exactly is Nature activation?"
"You'll know soon enough. Right now, focus on repairing what's broken" she got up, pressed a kiss on his cheek and left
"Fix what's broken?"
Outside. Rose and Chloe stood over a man knocked out on the floor. Talking to each other
"The Prime minister is playing a dangerous game"
"Isn't that an automated intercom?" Chloe pointed to a device on the man's collar
"It is, unluckily Prince's tentacles ripped it apart. Call Phineas and Mr Davis, have them collect him and lock him up in the cells"
"On it"
Aki stepped out of the office, intending to join his sisters, but Rose stopped him
"Don't worry about this. Go down to the hall, we'll be right there"
"Sure." He looked at the unconscious man for a brief moment, then turned and walked away
Right as he reached the stairs, he saw Kai marching up to him, face contorted.
"What's up with you?" He grabbed Aki's wrist, pulling him downstairs
"What's up with me? What are you on about?"
His grip tightened, and he smiled mischievously. "You two are hiding something, and I want to know what it is"
"Seriously?" Aki chuckled, looking at Kai with a mocking expression. "What are you? A gossip aunt?"
"I'm concerned, isn't that obvious? Every time I visit my little sister, she was always stuck to you like glue, now i see this cold wall between you, how do you expect me to react?"
Aki's smile froze. Holding onto the railing, he pulled his hand free. "Sorry to worry you, but there's nothing wrong between us"
"Oh yeah? If that's the case, then you wouldn't mind if I asked the two of you to talk, would you?"
He didn't answer, and instead just sighed, letting Kai drag him down the stairs
Snow was standing by the table, sipping punch, a young man stood in front of her, talking his heart out, but Snow didn't hear any of it, instead she listened intently to her music
Non of them noticed the two people approaching. The boy, after asking a question and not getting an answer, tried to grab Snow's arm, but a hand pressed down firmly on his shoulder
"Excuse us. This beautiful young lady is with us" Kai pushed the boy aside calmly then grabbed Snow and dragged her along with Aki to an empty room, on the way, tge two glanced at each other, Aki just shook his head, not saying anything
Inside, Kai shut the door, pulled out three chairs, then gestured for the two to sit down
"Alright" he crossed his legs, leaning back on his chair. "What's going on with you guys?"
Snow took her headphones off, glaring at her brother. "I told you. There's nothing going on"
"Oh yeah. Is that right?" He smiled at her, then pulled out his phone. "You guys went to the military camp yesterday, right? Maybe I should ask Patricia" he began to dial, but Aki snatched the phone away, summoning his tentacles to swallow it whole
"There's nothing wrong between us. Let the matter rest"
Kai's gaze swept across the two. The smile on his face fading. "You'd rather be united in denial than in truth, is that it? Fine, since you won't spill it. I'll just ask miss Rose instead"
"Goodluck"
"Hey Winter" he suddenly smiled, offering a hand, "white light"
"White ligh-"
[Psycho series] White light- memory search
Snow's chair rattled, her eyes dimmed and she collapsed sideways, Aki jumped and caught her, his heart tightening. Emotions surging by reflex
[Psycho series] Retaliated omen
Aki's eyes glowed intensely. Kai clutched his head, wincing and groaning
"You little bastard. I wasn't going to actually search her memories. Besides, I already got the reaction I wanted"
The feeling got worse, and he dropped down, shaking his head. "Come on, stop. This really hurts you know"
"Sorry, brother in law. I'm not satisfied with my get back yet"
He took a breath to steady himself, before glancing down at the unconscious Snow. His guilt overcame him. "Leave" he rasped the word out. Kai, wanting to escape torture, scrambled to his feet
"Roger that" he quickly got out of the room, sighing as the pain in his head seized, before he could walk away, the pained spiked for a second, making him scream in front of everyone in the banquet hall
Inside. He stoop up straight, put the headphones on his ears, and activated his relocation
Back home, he placed Snow gently on her bed, then covered her up. Outside, the room, he leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling. Ragnar, after waking up from its nap, walked to him and started climbing up his clothes using its tiny paws
"Hey buddy. Let me help you" he lifted the little kitten onto his shoulder, before patting it softly on the head.
"Man. Nothing about me is fine."
"Nature activation, home countries- it's overwhelming, you know? Not to mention my natural level of emotions"
"What do you think- Ragnar?"
Ragnar looked at him. Its gaze holding nothing but confusion, as if it wanted to say- human, I'm a cat. I have no idea what you're talking about"
It stomped on his face with its paws, its gaze now ferocious
Aki smiled, picked it up, and placed it on his head. "Thanks for that buddy, come on, let's go" he went into the kitchen, prepared two glasses of milk chocolate, as well as a bowl of regular milk
He went back into Snow's room, set the bowl down for Ragnar, then set glasses on the nightstand and waited