LADY WHITE POV
I was born into expectations I could not escape. Zolthrak, the Crimson Supreme, demanded perfection; Zeyla, the Moon Maiden, vanished into her own ambitions, leaving my sister and me to navigate a world already tilted against us. I learned early that weakness was a liability, and attachment a chain.
The first ruin dive changed me forever. My best friend—bright, fearless—fell to the Ashbourne because she was… fragile. I watched her die, powerless to intervene. Rage, grief, fear—they could have broken me. Instead, they sharpened me. I swore that I would never again be at the mercy of the world.
Father was absorbed in spire politics, distracted, but even he could not ignore what I was capable of. He formed the Crimson Hounds—not for me, but through me—a tool to reach what I sought. I used them, but quickly saw their flaws. They were strong, yes, but predictable. They lacked subtlety. So I began to gather my own: orphans, misfits, those the world overlooked. I trained them not just to survive, but to anticipate, calculate, manipulate. The Shadow Syndicate was born from patience and cruelty—every member a living instrument, and I the conductor.
The Syndicate's purpose was clear: knowledge and leverage over strength. We learned to observe, to record, to calculate risk in its purest form. Every city, every ruin, every whisper of mana was an opportunity. And that was when the boy caught my attention.
Eylin. I first noticed him in the lawless hub, a boy scraping by, unnoticed, underestimated. He had raw instinct. Survival in his veins. Chaos around him seemed to bend to his will—not always consciously, but enough to leave a mark. He was reckless, yes. But recklessness in the right vessel can be honed.
I had my operatives shadow him quietly at first, noting habits, tendencies, how he interacted with others, how he navigated danger. I watched him from alleyways, rooftops, hidden vantage points. Each day he grew sharper, each survival more calculated, though he did not know why.
When he left the city, the forest became his trial—and mine. I followed, unseen, observing the ripple of his choices, the instinctive application of skill and misjudgment alike. He faced beasts, hazards, and himself, and yet he survived. Each step he took, I recorded mentally, tracing the lines of his potential.
The forest revealed more than the city ever could. His mistakes, his flashes of brilliance, his stubbornness—they were all lessons in raw potential. And I was patient. I let the viper test him. A simple predator, a simple exercise, yet it spoke volumes. The boy understood leverage before he even realized it—positioning, timing, application.
I remained in the shadows, unseen yet omnipresent. Every pulse, every flicker of his mana reached me. By the time he looked up and saw the aftermath of his test, I was there—not to punish, not to reward. To observe. To confirm. The instrument had learned its rhythm, and I would begin to teach it its purpose.
The Shadow Syndicate was more than survival. It was a lens, a scalpel, a network of foresight and precision. And Eylin—reckless, brilliant, alive—was about to learn what it meant to operate within it.
Eylin POV
I didn't notice her. Not yet. My vision blurred with pain, every rib and muscle screaming from the last fight. I dragged myself through the undergrowth, shards of teeth clutched in bloodied palms. Each fragment felt heavier than the last—but necessary. Each one a reminder: leverage over brute force.
I arranged the shards around me. First one, then two, then three. The forest whispered around me, every rustle and shadow a question. And I answered in silence, letting instinct guide the placement.
Something moved behind me. A hiss cut through the quiet. Scales slid over leaf and root. The viper. Thick. Calculating. Eyes like vertical knives.
I didn't panic. Couldn't. Couldn't afford to. Every movement became strategy. Roll left, drop a fragment. Step back, place another. Triangle. Almost square. Positioning, leverage, patience.
Its strike was a blur. I didn't dodge out of speed. I dodged where it would be, pushing it toward the traps I laid without thinking of traps at all—only survival.
And then it faltered. Just slightly. Enough. I drove the dagger through its neck. Precision. Execution. Not luck.
Exhausted, chest heaving, I barely noticed the presence that folded into the forest behind me.
Lady White POV
I stepped from the shadows. Red eyes sweeping over the shattered glyphs, the careful execution of his trap.
"You chose positioning over power," I said.
He forced himself onto one knee, dagger in hand, blood and mana staining his fingers.
"You chose the snake," he whispered.
"And you chose to survive," I said, voice even. Detached. I examined the fragments, the patterns, the precision. "You understand now. Leverage does not require strength. It requires foresight."
Close enough that his unstable mana recoiled instinctively. "You pass," I said quietly. Verdict, not praise.
And then… the cost.
His gaze flicked to the veins darkening beneath his skin, to the tremor in his mana. My subtle, sharp smile hinted at realities he had yet to grasp.
"And now," I murmured, "tell me, what do you desire in this accursed world?"
The orchestration had begun. Potential alone was worthless without guidance, structure, and a plan. And I would be both the lens and the scalpel.
His answer—or what I expected—never came.
He stared at me, looking deep in my eyes.
"Bitch… it's you…" he whispered.
"Ohh…" that's all I could imagine.
"You're the creep that was stalking me all along…" he added, keeping some distance from me.
I found it amusing—the little cub had noticed one of my subordinates watching him.
Looking at his actions, I did what I thought best. I flicked my hand; a runic glow enveloped my ring finger, summoning an old, covered book.
I threw it toward him, watching as he caught it amidst the pain. His eyes bulged at the title. He flipped through it in hurried breaths. After a while, his gaze shifted to me, greed evident.
"What I desire, huh?" he asked.
I moved closer, grabbing his chin, raising his eyes to meet mine. "That's right. What do you desire in this world…" I wore my usual well-practiced smirk.
Little did I know, I had awoken a tiny greedy storm:
"YOU… I WANT YOU!! Hahaha… Lady luck is smiling at me again… you got cash, right? Then I desire you…"
He went into an emotional tirade, leaving only one inevitable response.
BWONG!!!!!!