The Shadow Order had been quiet since the One-Hour War.
After all, their best branch across the federation—the cluster city branch was destroyed. Their black markets closed down, dealing a lethal blow to their finances.
All thanks to a man they hated to their core.
To make themselves seem less pathetic than they were, they started painting him as a monster.
A man who couldn't be caught. A fighter who was only below Sovereigns. A creature that wasn't even a human.
That was the mental image Shadow Order desperately painted.
That way, the fact that they were crushed under Dreamer, again and again, wouldn't seem shameful.
After all, who could fight such a monster? Their loss was only natural.
No matter their extremist activities, their PR sense was perfect.
Using this excuse, they not only repaired their damaged image but also elevate themselves as an organization that fought off this horrible monster and came out alive.
Thus, every evil guy in the federation—from part-time villains to full-time experts—applied to join.
"War!"
"Blood!"
"Kill!"
The seven shadow lords were pretty pleased with the development.
"Just wait for two decades. We'll be able to recuperate and reach our past glory!"
"Mhuahahaha!"
"Yes!"
"Kekeke!"
"G-Guys, guys!"
The evil laughter of six shadow lords was interrupted by the last one.
They all glared at him in annoyance. Yes. They were in a really fucked up situation now. Yes. A huge loss in finance and manpower. But can't they at least have a satisfying laugh?
Even the evil guys in movies were allowed their laugh! What about them? Real-Life Villains!
What the fuck was this guy's problem?
"Look at this." The Shadow Lord showed pointed to a hologram.
<< Dreamer is an 18-year-old boy. >>
"Son of a…"
"Are you serious?"
"Wait, whaaa!"
The shadow lords clutched their hair with a disbelieving gaze. They were sure that this was a sick joke.
Because if it wasn't—
Cling! Cling! Cling!
The alpha orbs of the shadow lords lit up and voice messages flooded in.
"Boss, we got news! The new recruits in the Oxyr branch are rioting! They killed your uncles saying you deceived them."
A Shadow Lord's eyes turned red in grief. 'It's my uncles!'
"Boss, we got news! The new recruits kidnapped your son and castrated him in revenge…They are also selling them on the black market!"
Another Shadow Lord's eyes turned red in anger! 'My family's jewels!'
"Boss, we got news! The new recruits kidnapped your new wife and gave her some, ugh, medicine. But…she went berserk and scared them away before returning. Boss! Your wife is pulling my pants—Hey, stop! Boss, she says I'm the biggest she had!"
The Shadow Lord's eyes turned red in humiliation. 'And she said she was a virgin!'
The messages kept coming and the shadow lords' eyes kept turning redder. In the end, they banged their head against the table in front.
"We need to get back at that bastard! He made our lives miserable! Our uncles, sons, wives….they're all gone!" A Shadow Lord wiped his tears and stood up.
"Yes!" The six seated lords nodded fervently.
"Revenge!" The Shadow Lord pumped his fist into the air.
"REVENGE!" Six more fists rose.
*** **** ***
"Hahaha!" Varian clutched his stomach and collapsed on the sofa.
"What are you laughing at?" Sia asked with a curious expression.
"N-Nothing!" Varian closed the hologram and decided not to share the balls-for-sale news with Sia.
"…I feel like it's something dirty." Sia leaned back on the sofa opposite him and narrowed her eyes. "And perverted."
Varian looked at her with a sad face. "Do I look like someone who'd do that?"
"Yes, master!" Boo jumped out and nodded. "During the vacation after Valos, you were browsing for latest—"
"Hold it there!" Varian closed Boo's mouth.
Then, he looked at Sia with an expression 'Believe me!' "It isn't anything like that."
Sia tilted her head and her eyes shone with a suspicious glint. "I don't remember you having this habit. So, it's kind of hard for me to believe you doing something like that."
"Right?" Varian nodded with a hopeful smile.
"But who knows. You changed a lot. So, maybe." Sia giggled.
"D-Damn!" Varian clutched his heart like it shattered and collapsed on the sofa.
Boo, free from Varan's control looked between Varian who was pretending to be dead, and Sia who was giggling.
'Boo also wants to share the joke!'
So, it said.
"During the vacation, Master searched if it's alright to forgive the enemy's family if they didn't directly harm your loved ones. He must be looking about Xanders! Those bastards!"
Sia's smile froze and her face paled.
On the sofa, Varian opened his eyes and sighed. Standing up, he stared at Sia's pale face with a wry smile.
The joyful atmosphere was gone and an awkward silence filled the air.
Even though they both tried their best, they couldn't return to how they were in the past.
They were still close, but…
"…Boo said something wrong, right?" Boo couldn't completely understand. The sections related to such complicated emotions were unfortunately missing.
"I'm sorr—" Varian was cut off by Sia.
"Don't worry too much about it," Sia said with a stiff smile. The memories of her days in Roxanne's torture flashed and her body involuntarily shivered.
"It's all in the past. It's over. Don't blame yourself for it, okay?" She smiled brightly.
Varian clenched his fist behind his back and nodded. "Yeah."
He nodded again, heavily this time. "I'll try to make sure you forget about the bad stuff. I'll try my best."
"But…I'm your worst memory." Sia lowered her head.
"You just said it's all in past, right?" Varian cheered her up.
"Hm." Sia bit her lip and nodded.
It was hard for their trauma to heal. But at least, they decided to take the first steps.
"Alright!" Varian clapped his hands and pointed outside of the ghost ship's window.
They were quickly approaching a space city near Earth. It was a beautiful city with exquisite architecture.
The ghost ship dived into the city's atmosphere and entered one of the wealthy districts.
It soon crossed countless mansions before stopping in front of a vast and beautiful estate.
There was a large field covered by lush green grass along with stunning flower gardens, clear ponds, and artistic fountain falls.
The way to the mansion at the center of the estate was paved by a white crystalline rock that seemed too beautiful to step on. On both sides of the path were floating lamps with dreamy colors.
"This…" Sia opened her mouth in shock and turned to Varian.
Varian smiled and gestured to her.
They both jumped out of the ghost ship and landed on the pathway. The ghost ship turned into an invisible ring on Varian's finger.
"Filthy rich people spend their money buying lavish mansions in space cities," Varian said as he walked on the crystal pathway, towards the huge mansion.
"Our financial status didn't allow us to buy even a normal house, much less a mansion," Sia said as she walked beside him, but careful to keep the ten feet distance. Since the pathway was wide, it wasn't a problem.
"Yeah, but once I met Boo, I could get the money I want. And that Sovereign Vianne also gave me a lot of money." Varian smiled at her. "But then, the thought of buying a mansion never occurred to me."
"…Then why did you buy it now?" Sia asked as they reached the entrance of the mansion.
Varian tapped on the huge door and footsteps sounded.
"The name of this city is Eos. It means dawn. A new beginning." Varian patted his chest.
Sia stared at him in surprise.
"We went through a lot of pain and suffering. Our relationships were strained. You and I are just 18. We're fucking teenagers!" Varian's words startled Sia.
That was indeed true. They were just teenagers.
"Even if I'm a madman who only likes to train, I would still want to go to the academy, attend classes, Nah, bunk them actually and attend only combat classes." Varian gave her a lopsided grin to which Sia laughed.
"But." Varian's expression fell. "We had none of those. And because of the power we wield, we'll have none of it in the foreseeable future."
"…Right." Sia's shoulders hunched and she nodded with a wry smile.
At some point, she forgot that her greatest worry a year ago was entering a good academy. Even in the future, she'd be risking her life and fighting for the safety of humanity.
It was contrary to what Sia envisioned as her teenage life. She wanted to work hard once she got to the academy, but she also wanted to make friends, have fun and do stupid and crazy things with Varian.
"Reminding me this, you're making me feel bad." Sia glared at him cutely.
"Heh," Varian smirked. "There are better ways to tease you than this."
"Then…"
"We can't change the past, we can't escape our responsibilities. But we can do what we can."
"Huh?"
"In this city of Eos, I want the three of us to have a new start." Varian winked.
"T-Three?" Sia blinked in confusion.
With a creak, the door opened.
"Welcome home. Varian, Sia." Sarah greeted them with a smile.
