- The morning of the 5th Eruption. Singapore time -
The café was silent. Attention was fixed two ways. People stared at their phones in horrified wonder. Or as groups they watched the news holograms and waited for the next distressing announcement. The café's kitchen had gone silent. Everyone was clustered past the counter. Complete strangers hugged each other and attempted to keep tears back. Some couldn't find words to speak. Others paced back and forth nervously.
Change channel.
"Schicksal have confirmed that the first evacuees have landed in Queensland, Australia."
Change channel.
"Anyone from Coral city will have to be kept under quarantine and close medical observation for the next week. Exposure to Honkai radiation in prolonged or high enough doses can be lethal."
Change channel.
"Why won't they let the survivors speak? It doesn't seem fair that all external telecommunications are blocked. If you ask me, they're trying to hide something."
Change channel.
"A tsunami has struck the western edge of all islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Tsunami warnings were delivered but residents had little time to make it to higher ground. All contact with Midway atoll has been lost. Body count is currently unknown."
Channel change.
"The loss of life is absolutely devastating. But the economic loss will ripple around the region for decades. Coral City was an incredibly important industrial and trade hub. Without it the South East Asian region will suffer."
Hanakawa took a small sip of her black coffee and continued tapping away at her laptop. Already she had three reports complete. The current analysis of insurance claims was taking longer than expected. Another wail of emotion carried over the quiet café. People had come in from the street to stare at the holographic updates or meet with friends. The tragedy played out across every news channel on the planet. Coral City's fall was good for news and good for clicks. News sites would milk this for weeks and weeks.
Another report completed. Another sip of her coffee. Her earpiece chirped as predicted. A double-blink activated the optical AR.
"Good morning, Ms Hanakawa. I take it you are appraised of what is happening in Coral City?"
"Good morning, President," Hanakawa replied, bowing her head to the businesswoman. "I am aware of the facts and have been working on our response."
Hanakawa touched two of the digital reports and sent them across the company VPN. The President's eyes flicked briefly across the delivered documents.
"Surprising. I was not aware that we had such insurance coverage."
"I included it in our annualised reports. You green-lighted the updates."
"Your firm grasp of business jurisprudence is as commendable as always."
"Thank you, President."
"For now, remain in Singapore and monitor the situation. Schicksal isn't releasing any survivor reports. Even under my personal pressure they will not budge."
Hanakawa kept her face impassive and professional. Personal thoughts on Schicksal and possible ulterior motives would not serve her in a business capacity. The President was right. They needed to remain cool and calm. Their financial losses due to destruction of production capital could be annulled by insurance claims. The loss of human capital on the other hand, that took decades to adequately replace.
"Understood, President. I will check with my contacts and forward any relevant information."
The connection was severed. Hanakawa lifted the coffee cup to her lips. Stilled for a moment. Downed the scalding contents in one mouthful. Heat. Pain. Shock scorched her nervous system and scoured away any semblance of somnolence. Killing intent. Ethereal fingers scraping across the back of her neck. Hanakawa set her now empty cup to one side and leant down, pulling a small analogue diary from her laptop bag. Enough time to let her eyes do a quick scan of the room. Raiden Ryoma's old training bubbled up. Where she sat was not out of convenience. Tactically Hanakawa had an optimal view of the café through human eyes or reflections via glass or mirror. Motion caught her gaze with that brief reconnoitre.
'Four. Two men. Two women. Civilian garb. Gloves. Weapons beneath jackets. Angle of elbows relative to torso indicate pistols or SMG sandwiched between bicep and ribs. None have obvious signs of cybernetic augmentation. One of the women just made me making them. Professional hit squad. Three seconds until contact.'
Hanakawa slid back on her chair, stood up, spun 180 degrees, put a toe under the seat of the chair and flicked it into the air. Taking a step back, she kicked it hard in the direction of her assassins. They scrambled away from the table, drawing weapons as the chair flew through the space where heads had once occupied. Hanakawa used the distraction to vault the table and land on the other side of the low wood wall divider between customer tables. Small arms fire laced the air overhead. The café filled with screams. People diving for cover. Others scrambling out the entrance.
Hunched behind the thin barrier, Hanakawa scurried for the kitchen. The wooden fixtures provided zero protection. Indiscriminate fire would hit Hanakawa. And several other patrons lying on the ground whimpering in fear.
'Avoiding civilians. Interesting. Not World Serpent then. Possibly AE. Cocolia or one of the other Executors taking care of a final loose thread.'
Eyes took in her surroundings and reflections, ears listening for possible approach. Glass. One of the front windows of the café shattered. Hanakawa's ears were very good. The sound was of the glass caving into the café, not out of it.
'More coming in off the street. Kitchen exit it is.'
Hanakawa's hands made a few tiny AR gestures. The battery in her laptop had a dual purpose. Long-life for those 32-hour work days. And an explosive when work was difficult. Hanakawa planted fingers in ears, closed eyes and opened her mouth. A concussive pulse rebounded around the cafe. Unlikely to be fatal. Very likely to leave anybody caught in its blast with burst eardrums and nausea for hours. The café filled with smoke, powdered wood, dust and clouds of fragmented plaster. The sight of any normal individual was reduced to nose-length.
In that brief window of opportunity, the PA leaped into the kitchen. A few staff huddled on the tiles, gripping each other in fear and confusion. The rear exit flew inward, a new figure with one hand under their jacket. Hanakawa read her. Competent and capable. Slight hesitation. Everything she needed. The kitchen was now a hot-zone to be abandoned. Ever the adaptive, Hanakawa grabbed a pot of clear soup where it sat ready to be plated and threw it onto the hot stove. Steam billowed outward, obscuring Hanakawa's retreat out of the kitchen and toward a more defensible position. The assassin in the kitchen was closest. She would be taken out first.
Hanakawa dropped into a crouch behind cover. The air was thick with dust, smoke and steam. All advantages to an unaugmented human. Hands slipped to underarm holsters and drew twin pistols. Light and Shadow hummed as the EM field activated. She peaked around the corner with one eye. Her glance was greeted with several firebursts assaulting her position. Hanakawa retreated toward a window, firing several shots back at her aggressors. Cryonic shots from her pistols were negated by the returning fire. Whoever she was facing, they were both an excellent marksman and in possession of weaponry that produced enough heat to negate Light and Shadow.
'My firepower is perfectly matched by my opponent. Considering the rapid fire, muzzle flare and acoustics they are wielding dual pistols. Neither the Fafnir nor Fire Spirit series possess such power. That would rule out Schicksal.'
Hanakawa reached the window and shot it out. She dove out and onto the street, rolling on one shoulder before coming up in a crouch, pistols pointed toward the window. A blade sat on her shoulder. Hanakawa hunched her head a fraction. Her jacket was an armoured model; reinforced with carbon fibre. Strong enough to take a blow to the collar. Hanakawa dropped the pistol in her left hand, pushed her reinforced collar into the blade and caught the end with her now free hand. She turned on the balls of her feet and pointed her other pistol at her foe.
"How?" Hanakawa managed.
Older. Longer hair. Eyes in shades of blue to purple. Mouth a thin, vicious smile. But it was still her.
Mei-ojou-sama.
A sheet of small arms fire raked over the pair where they stood in strange tableau in the street. Civilians screamed and dashed away in all directions. Automated security proclamations began, warning people to evacuate to a safe location whilst police forces were enroute. Hanakawa didn't budge. She had already picked out the faint glassy shimmer of a Honkai energy field. The hum that danced down the blade and into her neck confirmed the source. Munitions struck the field and fell to the ground.
"I hate that I was right," Mei whispered under her breath.
Hanakawa let go of the blade and lowered her pistol. She knew that tone well. The same tone Ryoma-sama used when unimpressed with a situation.
Speed is a relative thing. So is training. Hanakawa was human. As human as could be. She possessed both impressive natural speed as well as extensive training in the Raiden Hokushin Itto-ryou fighting style. When pressed her martial skills would equal many so-called soldiers or warriors. It was just that she was a better personal assistant than soldier. That's all. Mei demonstrated what it was to be peerless in speed and training. Hanakawa could barely sense the woman's presence when she supressed it and leapt into the smoke of the café. Her assassins had hidden themselves tactically behind cover. It would have been better to flee.
In the scant ten seconds it took to eliminate the assassination squad, Hanakawa was up on her feet, knees dusted and thoughts put back in order. A woman strode out the front door, hands pressed into her pockets, grimace evident. Hanakawa reached for her weapons. The one from the kitchen would be her kill.
"Did you really have to do that, dear Customer?" the kitchen assassin grizzled.
Mei strode out of the smoke, blood wet on her blade. The way the two spoke, stilled Hanakawa's hand.
"I needed to send a message. You go after one of my own, you had best be ready to lose your assets and more."
"Fine. Fine."
Electricity crawled along the katana, scorching blood off. Mei sheathed the weapon and nodded to the pair.
"Introductions later. We have perhaps a minute before Singapore security appear."
"I have an escape route."
"I have an escape route."
Hanakawa locked eyes with the woman from the kitchen. She was given a defeated gesture.
"I resigned already. Bad habit sorry. All yours."
The driverless taxi took the trio rapidly toward the airport. Singapore was a city where neutrality was both valued and had value assigned to it. It kept all the major and minor powers in check with strict counter-measures. Nobody could afford to aggravate the country and weather the financial backlash. This also engendered a thriving market for discretion and deceit. If people were connected and willing to pay, then all sorts of things could be arranged out of sight, sound and smell of the authorities. Transport was one of these currencies. Travelling incognito charged top dollar. Hanakawa always had an extraction route and taxi booked in advance. If you had enough money, even an airport could be made to look the other way.
The blue haired woman, Mei had addressed her as Amarant, looked out the mirror tinted windows cautiously from the front seat. Hanakawa sat in the back with Mei. She was so much older and taller than when Amarant could last recall. It wasn't just physical appearances that had changed. Her personality echoed that of Ryoma. Confident and in command. But still uniquely her own. There was a lethal edge to her. Charming. Dedicated. Violent. It pulled you in with the beauty of a vibrant storm.
"It is good to see you, Mei-ojou-sama, and if I—"
Mei gripped Hanakawa in a tight embrace. The pair remained silent. Amarant kept her gaze conspicuously forward. Eventually it broke off. Mei's eyes looked a little glassy.
"Schicksal tried to kill you," she said with firm emotion. "The woman who was more of a parent than my parents."
"Schicksal?" Amarant asked from the front.
"Weapons were generic. Gear too. But one of the women had an artificial stigma. You don't buy those from the convenience store. Rush job. They wanted Hanakawa dead quickly."
Hanakawa made to speak. Her voice fell silent when Mei raised a hand.
"I'm not a young girl anymore, Hanakawa. If you would accept my offer of employment, I would prefer Raiden."
"Killer offer," Amarant added.
"At the most inappropriate of times," Mei muttered.
"One of the many reasons you keep me on your payroll, dear Customer."
Hanakawa summoned up her AR and clicked a hotlink she had permanently stored in the corner of her vision.
"I have just submitted my letter of resignation effective immediately. How may I serve, Raiden-sama?"
Mei smiled. Dazzling and dangerous. Mei would break people with that smile.
"You will have to hit the ground running," Mei apologised. "Here's my rough needs, itinerary and plans."
Hanakawa accepted the WAN access and decryption keys. Her AR expanded rapidly and frightfully. Shared between Mei and Amarant and now Hanakawa were a library of documents, images, archives, recordings, texts and more. Whatever they had researched, whatever they were planning, its scope was beyond normal comprehension. Shifting into work mode, Hanakawa began skimming the most recent documents marked high-priority. Eyes flicked over text as they travelled the roads of Singapore. Rain started sleeting down. The cabin hissed under the constant downpour.
"It has been less than 6 hours since you left Coral," Hanakawa summarised as she read. "Schicksal were still able to not only determine my value to you, but find me and dispatch a hit squad to my location. In Singapore of all places. They were willing to weather the blowback from such actions."
"Which tells me they want to nip whatever they think I am planning in the bud very early," Mei agreed.
"It wasn't orders from the very top," Amarant added.
"Oh?" Mei was dubious.
"Otto is many things. Hasty or disorderly is not one of them. Like you said, this was a rush job. That is NOT Otto's modus operandi. This seems more like a quick counter-stroke from the Schicksal Council.
"They would still need Otto's rubber stamp."
"So they're acting without his authority. Which is even stranger. We're missing pieces of the puzzle and neither of us likes that sensation. I'll start digging."
Amarant pulled out her phone and began fishing through contacts, information drops and dark net user groups. Hanakawa had paid little attention to the conversation. Her immediate priority was determining the best next course of action. Using herself as a template, Schicksal had determined that allies close to Raiden Mei would need to be assassinated immediately. Why she was suddenly a target, Hanakawa was yet to learn from the documents. However events in the last hour were a template from which the actions of their opponents intentions could be inferred. If that were the case, she needed to look through and assess other human capital assets that Mei would be seeking out in the near future and prioritise their extraction.
"I believe that you should immediately fly to London," Hanakawa announced.
"London?" Mei inquired.
"Schicksal correctly predicted the highest on your priority list for recruitment was myself. After that the most valuable asset would be Dr Elijah Orr."
"Dr's Makaria, Schwarz and Orr. The true architects of Project-MEI."
Hanakawa fell silent. These were names she had not heard in many years. The way Mei's shoulders tipped a little. The soft sigh. That glint in her eyes. Hanakawa wondered for the briefest of moments.
"I recall it, Hanakawa. I recall Project-MEI. I remember all the times you drove me to the building in Nagazora. I remember the woman that was infinitely patient and kind to me. I recall that loyalty and will repay it in kind a thousand-fold."
Hanakawa let her professionalism slip for a moment. A brief smile. A faint look of reverie upon old memories.
Quiet. Barely a toddler. Missing her mother. Composed.
A shattered shell. Emaciated. Missing fingernails and toenails.
Withdrawn and possibly psychotic. Talking to herself.
Driven to prove herself. Needing of a parent's approval.
The perfect young lady. Loved and respected by all.
The downcast heir. Hated and reviled. Cracking at the edges.
All to this moment in time. This Mei. Hanakawa could not be certain of the depths of the Raiden Mei she now served. That would take time. Still. Hanakawa felt the presence that radiated from Raiden-sama.
'Your daughter has become someone wonderful, Raiden Ryoma-sama. I trust you will approve.'
"I appreciate that all of you have been glued to your screens since you woke up. The Honkai outbreak in Coral is shocking. But if you come to my class, I expect you to pay attention to the lecture and not the international news channels."
Elijah Orr rubbed his eyes and muttered something less than tactful under his breath. The joys of being on GMT+0 was that when something happened in daytime in Oceania, he was blissfully asleep and got to wake to trouble. It hadn't been a good morning for Elijah. Delivering an 8:00 am lecture on Honkai energy modelling as a way to understand practical application of quantum entanglement and theoretical dimensional tunnelling made for dry learning. Worse still, the cafeteria where he normally ordered his early grey tea was closed. Even more depressing was that the world was going to hell. Right now his normally attentive students that filled the tiered lecture hall had their minds firmly centred elsewhere.
"Maybe I should just cancel this morning's lecture," Elijah muttered. "It's not as though anybody is going to notice my absence."
Elijah did this gig purely for personal reasons. He was a researcher first and foremost. Education was something he did in hopes of finding the next generation of scientist to be immediately recruited into his division. With how events had been cascading lately, he gave the planet another 2 years at the most before the Herrschers wiped the species out. Elijah had over his short life been given access to information and material beyond the classification of most governments. He knew what had happened in the past, about humanities true history and what was possibly to come. Ryoma had been certain to give him the very unvarnished truth of history.
"Are we free to go, Dr Orr?" one of his students asked.
"Sure. Sure. That does not mean I'm giving any of you an extension on your lab work. Deliver it by next week or expect a mark of zero."
The class slowly shuffled out. Most had their noses almost pressed to their devices. Elijah didn't want to think about it. Another Honkai Eruption so soon after the previous was not a good sign. Not if the past was anything to go by. Elijah began cleaning his things. He powered down the laptop and crouched behind the lecture to disconnect the power supply.
"Would you believe me?" a calm feminine voice said from above. "If I told you that both the 5th and 9th Herrscher manifested in Coral?"
"I would say that your grasp of elementary mathematics is wrong. Herrschers manifest in cardinal numerical sequence. This sequence however can be disrupted, in a certain sense, due to the presence of a Herrscher core that aligns with the Herrscher sequencing pattern. Put another way, if the 5th manifested then the 6th should have next. However, the 6th and 7th cores are currently extant though docile. The 8th should have manifest after the 5th. Not the 9th."
Dr Orr stood up and stared into the mesmerising purple eyes of his past. The moment he heard that voice he knew it had all caught up with him. Raiden Mei. Subject-MEI. The beginning of his career and possibly the end. She looked quite normal in her civilian clothes. The dark-skinned woman with crimson eyes standing protectively to one side stood out a little more with her unusual red skirt, top and accessories.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms Raiden?"
"Come with me if you want to live."
"And if I don't, Arnold?"
"Schicksal made an attempt on Hanakawa four hours ago. The reason I got here first is because my private VTOL craft is supersonic. I give you maybe an hour or two before the hit squad…"
The dark-skinned woman spun and looked toward the double-doors at the top of the lecture theatre. Both wooden doors swung inward. The people entering the room looked as normal as Mei. Just seven everyday people wanting to corner the not-so-famous Dr Orr and ask him curly questions about Honkai energy theorem.
"Valkyrja?" Mei asked in a low voice.
"No, my Lady."
"Deal with them."
"Yes, my Lady."
"We head for the roof via fire-escape," Mei ordered.
Elijah blinked. The dark-skinned woman was gone. The smell of ozone filled the air. Then several screams. He looked up to see the violence unleashed at the double-doors. People reaching for concealed firearms or melee weapons. The dark-skinned woman lashing out with crimson lightning limned fists. Mei stepped in the way.
"You really don't want to see that," she advised.
The doctor was hustled out of his lecture theatre. Fear made his chest tight and gasps for breath pained. Kurikawa left the lecture a few moments later, breathing a little deeper after the exertion. Nothing that remained in the theatre drew breath.
Dr Orr hadn't expected a VTOL aircraft to be hovering just above the roof of the university hall. Gravity steps descended, the three people standing on the roof quickly loping up and on board. Once inside the aircraft activated it's stealthing systems and flew east. Their flight itinerary would take them back to Singapore and one of the silent airfields where they could plan in detail what to do next.
The three stepped into the main cabin. Elijah stopped in place. Seated with her hands running over numerous holographics was an old friend.
"Ohisashiburi desu ne, Hanakawa-san."
Hanakawa stood and gave a polite bow in that Japanese way that indicated both respect and happiness simultaneously. Elijah had missed living in Japan. With all it's frustrating idiosyncrasies and issues when dealing with foreigners.
"Gobusatashiteorimasu, Orr-san."
"Shall we stick to Japanese then?" another woman asked in a perfect accent.
Elijah looked to the new speaker. He didn't recognise her. The short blue hair certainly made her stand out. Her eyes though. Orr knew those eyes. Like his sister. Those sorts of eyes. He would be very careful.
"Perhaps introductions are in order for everyone," Mei said, moving to stand in the centre of the impromptu conference.
"I'm Raiden Mei. Herrscher of Thunder and soon to be thorn in the side of everyone. The one bowing politely is Hanakawa, my Personal Assistant and right hand. The woman in red clothing is Kurikawa, my bodyguard and left hand. The one with blue hair is Amarant, an Information Broker currently in my employ. Everyone, this is Dr Elijah Orr. Polymath and one of the former leads from Project-MEI. He is also incredibly knowledgeable regarding Herrscher, Honkai Energy, the Imaginary Tree, Quantum theory, STIGMA and a great many other disciplines. I am in the process of creating a new organisation, Dr Orr. It is called Yurei. And I am offering you the position of lead researcher."
"Some light reading," Amarant added.
The information broker handed a tablet to Elijah.
"Did you need anything to eat or drink?" Kurikawa asked politely.
"No," Elijah said absently. "Thank you."
Events were moving very fast. He sat in a seat when offered and stared absently out the window.
"I have yet to accept the job offer and already there is work in my lap."
"How about an unlimited budget," Mei replied. "Along with the best facilities and staff money can buy and maybe a year to save the world?"
Orr sighed.
"It's worse than what we imagined would be, isn't it, Mei?"
Mei slumped down in a seat next to him.
"I remember the endless hours of tests. Of me trying to channel Honkai and Herrscher energy in various ways, shapes and forms. Apply it in any way imaginable. Now that technology is going to be put to use. So yes, it's worse, Dr Orr."
Orr smiled and sighed.
"I think I've been in a holding pattern these past few years. What we did with you. It was science. Ground-breaking science. The sort of research and application that happens once a decade. Since then, I've floated from point to point."
"You knew that it didn't end with Nagazora."
"There was no way Project-MEI was going to end with Nagazora. If we didn't resurrect it then someone else would have. I guess you could say I've been waiting for the chance to continue what I started. I never expected it would be you."
"Life gets busy very fast."
"Taking into account time zones, then yes, for you it has been busy."
"Herrscher don't need to sleep or eat. I can keep doing this as long as necessary. I'll explain things in greater detail later. The documents on that tablet are what Amarant, Hanakawa and myself have curated as a basic synopsis of our plans. Familiarise yourself with them. Now that we have you, I can finally raise the needed capital, get to work on infrastructure spending and personnel hiring."
"I have arranged a meeting with the board of ME Corp for two days hence," Hanakawa announced.
"Schicksal went after people. Do you think they'll try to target our material assets?" Amarant asked.
Mei tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Oddly enough. No. An individual person. You can explain that as an unfortunate accident. Going after a company as internationally established and embedded economically within the world economy as ME Corp. That is something even the almighty Schicksal would find difficult to swallow in one bite. They may throw lawyers at me. Manufacture some war crimes or sexual abuse claims. But it will have to filter through the courts and that will take years. The Herrscher of the End will have come and gone by then. No, these little assassinations were impromptu acts of opportunity."
"Fair point. I haven't been able to get any solid information on Schicksal's higher command decisions."
"Your inside contact?"
"I'd prefer not to."
"Make an exception. This is very unlike the script they follow. World Serpent. Now World Serpent I can see making multiple gratuitous and graphic attempts on myself, my personnel, facilities and plans. Not Schicksal. Hanakawa might have been an exception. Orr makes it a pattern"
Amarant nodded and focussed on whatever her phone screen displayed.
Elijah, much like Hanakawa, was focussed purely on getting up to speed on what his employer was working on. Orr scrolled with one hand through the information on the tablet. He was busy chewing the thumbnail of his other hand. One particular section he moved back and forth over several times before groaning.
"You're as bad as your Father," the man muttered.
"Oto-sama is a kitten in comparison."
Orr stopped at another area, eyes bulging, mouth falling slack.
"You may just be right," he admitted in a hushed voice.
"What do you think?"
"You, Raiden Mei, are utterly insane. How did you even come up with this? How the hell did you come into possession of such knowledge?"
"What I am does not rule out the validity and possibility of my goals. How I know is for another day when I can trust you."
Orr set down the tablet.
"You want to steal a battlecruiser from underneath Schicksals nose. Then after grand theft boat your next goal is to—"
"We're not stealing it. For now, we merely infiltrate the vessel and put into place everything necessary for its future acquisition."
"Should I mention you have to stealthily break into Schicksal HQ, the most secure area on the planet, first? Then get past whatever incredible security they have watching this behemoth. Then do whatever reconnaissance you need. THEN escape undetected."
"That is our role. Yours is."
Mei leant forward and tapped one paragraph on the tablet. This time Dr Orr smiled.
"I see why you need me."
"After Project-MEI was folded you transitioned to pure research. Even lacking qualifications numerous private interests sought you out. Clearly your knowledge of Honkai, Imaginary Space and the Imaginary Tree was leagues ahead of colleagues twice your age."
Orr shrugged. It was Amarant's turn to speak up. Eyes flicked over her phone before fixing on the man.
"World Serpent tried to recruit you. Jackal was most emphatic on securing you."
"I told them I would think on it. Fortunately, they haven't killed me yet."
"I'll ask again. What do you think?" Mei asked.
"You are genuinely more trouble than Raiden Ryoma. I can help here. But securing four Herrschers is something I cannot conceive of."
"Five, to be precise. Kiana is the keystone, so she counts are the fifth. With Bronya and I there are two more needed. And unlike World Serpent I need them alive and lucid."
"This is so crazy it might just work."
"We have two alternatives. Either the Honkai win or STIGMA annihilates all but 20,000 people. Assuming it even succeeds."
Dr Orr sighed and leant back in his seat. The man ran fingers through his hair as he contemplated his options. Finally, he sat up and nodded.
"I'm in. You at least have better odds than the alternatives. Oh and we'll need Makaria. I know where she is stationed these days."
Mei smiled a wolf's smile. Another piece on the gameboard was hers.
"Well. Bugger."
It couldn't have been a more quintessentially Australian expression. All eyes turned to Amarant where she sat scrolling through her phone.
"Dear customer, you know how you said that Herrscher don't have to eat or sleep."
The look Mei graced Amarant with could have frozen the Herrscher of Fire. Amarant shrugged apologetically.
"Someone has attacked Schicksal Headquarters."