"Is that so? Then why are you here instead?" Maruti said with a light chuckle, tilting her head at him. "Your future-seeing mirror doesn't sound very reliable to me."
Berlin's eyes widened. For a moment, he looked completely lost. Maruti's words hit him harder than any slap could. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. What he saw in that mirror — a life of wealth and happiness — was gone, replaced by this cruel reality.
His face turned pale, his lips trembling. Slowly, he lowered his head, unable to say anything.
"That's because it only shows one of the best possible outcomes," Esdeath said coldly. Her voice was calm but sharp, like a blade. "Just because it showed you something good doesn't mean it would actually happen."
Berlin raised his head quickly, his eyes filled with desperation. "B-but the essence stones were real!" he said, his voice shaking. "I can take you there! I know the way! The path is dangerous and full of strange monsters, but I can help you! Please, just don't kill me!"
He crawled forward, trying to grab Esdeath's leg, begging for his life like a man drowning. But Esdeath took a step back and pointed her gun at his forehead again.
"I already know the location," she said firmly. "You're of no use to me. And besides..." she looked toward Maruti and smirked, "the girl beside me can already see the future."
Berlin froze. His mouth hung open, his face turning even paler. He looked from Esdeath to Maruti, trying to find a hint of mercy in their eyes. "B-but you said you'd spare me!" he said weakly, his voice almost breaking.
BANG!
The sound echoed through the quiet alley. Berlin's body fell limp as blood flowed down his forehead. Esdeath didn't even flinch.
"Let me do it too," Maruti said, grabbing the gun from Esdeath's hand. She spun it in her fingers like she'd done it hundreds of times before and fired three more shots — BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sound bounced off the brick walls.
Maruti smiled softly, her tone almost nostalgic. "It's been almost a year since I last used a gun." She handed it back to Esdeath.
"Let's get out of here before anyone notices," Esdeath said calmly, walking toward the exit of the alley.
As they stepped out, both of them undid their disguises, returning to their normal appearances. They walked down the dimly lit street, blending in with the crowd.
The night air was cool, carrying the faint scent of smoke and food from nearby stalls. But what stood out most wasn't the smell — it was the noise.
Everywhere they looked, there were protests.
Some people were shouting about corruption, waving signs demanding justice. Others were speaking against the unfair treatment of the poor or demanding better living conditions. There were even groups calling for equal rights between men and women.
The streets were alive with anger, hope, and rebellion.
Esdeath glanced at one of the protest groups before turning her eyes toward Maruti. "Is this your revolutionary group's doing?" she asked.
Maruti nodded with a small smile. "Yes. The people were already tired of this corrupt system, but we gave them a push — a reason to speak up."
"All we did was light the spark. Now they're the ones feeding the fire "
"Not bad actually," Esdeath said, crossing her arms and watching the crowd with mild surprise. "In FLF, they were just a bunch of background characters who got killed by the kingdom. I thought they were just trash characters from a trash game."
Maruti laughed a little but then stopped when her eyes caught something nearby. A large crowd had gathered near a raised platform — the public execution area. Several prisoners were on their knees, their hands tied, and soldiers stood beside them with swords.
"Whoa, a public execution?" Maruti said with sudden excitement. "I completely forgot it's still the medieval era here! Let's go see!"
She grabbed Esdeath's arm and tried to pull her along, but Esdeath didn't move.
"I've got better things to do," Esdeath said flatly, pulling her arm back and walking away.
Maruti pouted but then shrugged and skipped toward the execution area while Esdeath headed back home.
Esdeath didn't actually have anything better to do. It was already night, and she wanted to get home before Lortell returned.
When she entered, the first thing she saw was Selene running around the room like a small whirlwind. The moment Selene noticed her, she ran over and hugged Esdeath tightly.
Before Selene could even start talking about how she had learned something new or refined another essence stone, Esdeath cut her off with a tired sigh.
"I'm too exhausted," Esdeath said softly and sat down on the sofa.
Selene didn't let go. Instead, she sat beside her and hugged her again. Before she could say anything more, she realised Esdeath had already fallen asleep.
"It seems Mother got Aunt Maruti's illness," Selene whispered to herself, remembering how fast Maruti could fall asleep anywhere.
Her voice was soft and playful, but soon her own eyes began to feel heavy. Within moments, she fell asleep too, resting her small head on Esdeath's chest.
The room was quiet except for their slow breathing.
Then came three soft knocks on the door. No one answered.
After a few seconds, the door opened quietly. Lortell stepped in, holding her spare key.
"How was the auction?" she started to say, but her words stopped as soon as she saw the two sleeping peacefully on the sofa.
A small, gentle smile formed on her face. Instead of waking Esdeath, she quietly went to the kitchen. "I'll prepare dinner myself tonight," she whispered, wanting to surprise them.
But what Lortell didn't know was that Esdeath wasn't completely asleep — at least, not at first. She had pretended to fall asleep to avoid Lortell's questions about the auction.
If Lortell later asked about it, Esdeath planned to mix truth and lies carefully. And if Lortell never brought it up, that would be even better.
The next morning, Esdeath followed her usual routine, got ready, and headed to the academy. Maruti looked happy for once, mostly because Kailith, Alice, and Ravenna were absent that day.
Of course, her happiness wasn't complete. Those three were likely out somewhere, planning a date together with Brenna.
Classes started soon, and everyone expected another boring lecture. But when the teacher entered, he was holding a notice paper instead of books.
He stood before the students and said, "Alright everyone, listen up! The written exams will be held on Monday. Since today is Wednesday, you have four days to prepare."
A low groan spread through the class.
The teacher continued, "Now, about the practical tests! The missions for each student will be given next Wednesday. Since the academy doesn't have enough staff to check all the missions at once, we'll do them in phases."
He looked around the room, his tone serious. "That means some students will complete their missions first, and once their results are analysed, the next group will begin. This way, the academy can make sure every result is fair and accurate."
"And lastly, Results of written exams will be given at next Wednesday as well!", He said and ended his notice.
Maruti immediately looked at Esdeath, her eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Since you've played this game hundreds of times, you must already know what's going to be on the exams, right?"
Esdeath smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I sure am, but we better not top the exams. It'll only gather suspicion. Of course, it wouldn't be the case for you, the Goddess's blessed who can see the future. But it might lower your reputation since you're using your powers in the wrong way!"
Maruti nodded, taking in Esdeath's words. She didn't say anything else, understanding the implications of their actions.
Soon, the lectures began. One by one, after some theory lectures, it was time for sparring sessions and weapon mastery as well.
In the sparring match, Maruti's sister, Sasha, wearing boxing shorts and a sports bra, threw her opponent like a ragdoll effortlessly. With a powerful jump, she delivered an axe kick directly to his stomach.
BAM!
The boy crashed into a corner of the dueling ground, unable to stand up, while Sasha descended gracefully, waiting for the referee to announce her victory.
But the referee's words were completely unexpected.
"Samsara, you are restricted from dueling again for the next two weeks!" the referee said.
"Huh? But why? Can't you see how I defeated him?" Sasha asked, her voice tinged with irritation.
The referee shook her head. "This is a sparring match, not a life-and-death fight. I've already warned you several times in the past, but you wouldn't listen!"
"Tch!" Sasha kicked the air and turned back, starting to leave.
"Hey, come back! Lectures aren't ended yet!" the teacher called out from behind.
But Sasha only waved her hands and didn't say anything, leaving the academy for a breather.
---
Meanwhile, at the same time, Selene was getting bored in her room alone. So, she went outside.
It wasn't her first time. Since Esdeath had to go to the academy and Lortell had a lot of work, Selene had to be alone for most of the day. She either read books, tried refining essence stones, or learned something new. Or she would just go outside for a stroll to refresh her mind.
Although Feynopptterz was a rural area, because it had the head branch of the Awakened Academy, it was more developed than other rural areas. It had a lot of different things to enjoy, such as theme parks, Love Garden, a museum, and a beach, among others.
But going alone was no fun for Selene. She just walked in the streets, seeing strangers walking back and forth, kids running around, and construction work going on somewhere.
After going to the heart of Feynopptterz, she sat beside the fountain made in the center. The city looked too big for her tiny figure.
"Huff, I wish mother and father wouldn't have so much work and could spend more time with me!" she thought to herself as she exhaled deeply.
At that moment, a hand gently knocked on her back. When she looked back, it was a beggar wearing tattered, dirty clothes. His leg was very small and dislocated, as if born that way.
He carried himself on a small wooden plank with wheels attached.
"Little girl, do you have money? Or something to eat?" the beggar asked, his voice hoarse and pleading.
Selene looked at the beggar and calmly analyzed his appearance. "Clothes that look like they've been tattered on purpose, a fake leg attached. Like mother said, he's one of those guys who are too lazy to do anything and just leech off other people's spare money!" she thought to herself.
Instead of chasing him away, she sighed and tossed a gold coin directly at him. "Shoo! Take it and don't bother me!" she said, not out of pity but because she didn't want to waste any more time with him.
The reason she gave a gold coin was simple: she only had gold coins. Whenever she asked Lortell for pocket money, either Lortell gave her whatever she wanted or handed her a pile of gold coins. To Selene, a gold coin was just like a shiny rock, nothing more.
"A gold coin?" The beggar's eyes widened, and he immediately looked at Selene. "Which big shot's child are you? Where are your parents? Are you alone here?"
Selene immediately looked away. "What does that have anything to do with you?" she asked back.
But greed had already taken over him. He stopped pretending to be handicapped and stood up on his real legs. "I'll take it as a yes then. Your parents will surely give me a lot of money for you! Haha!" He laughed and grabbed Selene's frock collar, attempting to kidnap her for ransom or sell her to someone else.
Still, there was no change in Selene's expression. "I guess he needs a punch!" she thought, stretching her hand back to obliterate this noisy guy in one go.
And then, BAM!
A punch directly landed on his face, but not from Selene—from someone else. The man flew twenty meters back and landed unconscious, his face completely distorted by the blow.
Selene looked back and saw an extremely tall girl with vermillion hair and a muscular body. It was none other than Sasha, Maruti's elder sister.
"Humans are greedy as always. Barbarians never use such lowly ways of making money!" Sasha said while cracking her knuckles.
She then sat beside Selene and smiled lightly. "Who are you, little girl? What are you doing here alone?" she asked in a childish way, like how adults usually talk to little children.
But Selene immediately snapped, "Don't say it like that, it's cringe!"
Sasha's lips twitched, but she maintained her smile. "This little one, why does she remind me of Maruti?" she thought to herself.
She took a deep breath and turned serious. "Okay, I'm serious now. Where are your parents? Leaving you alone in the middle of the city like this?"
"It's not like I'm lost!" Selene scratched the back of her head. "Well... My mother is in the academy for education!"
"Ohh, she's a teacher, it seems!" Sasha nodded in understanding.
But then Selene shook her head. "No, she's a student!"
"W-what?", Sasha immediately froze. "Is this what I think it is?"