12:06 AM — Ascension Gala, Third Floor — Shirley's POV
The pressure grew stronger with every step.
Shirley slowed unconsciously, his hand drifting toward one of his cleavers. Beside him, EBS frowned and looked around the dark prison.
"Seriously, what are you feeling?" she asked.
Shirley ignored the question. He knew this feeling. Back in the Sovereign District, he'd felt the exact same thing standing near the woman with the katana.
The pressure led them to a cell near the end of the row.
A woman sat against the back wall with her eyes closed. Unlike every other prisoner they'd encountered, she wasn't struggling against her restraints or begging for freedom. She simply sat there quietly.
The moment Shirley stopped in front of the cell, her eyes opened.
"Took you long enough."
Shirley's face immediately lit up, "See? I knew it was you!"
EBS stared at him, "That's your first reaction?"
"Because I was right."
Michonne sighed, "I was hoping captivity would've made you quieter."
"It didn't."
"I noticed."
Shirley stepped closer to the bars. "You're really here?"
"Unfortunately."
"You know what's going on?"
"A lot more than you do."
Shirley's expression immediately became serious, "Then tell me."
Michonne's gaze shifted toward EBS, "And who is this?"
"EBS, streamer, and a influencer. Oh, and a professional genius recognizer."
"I never said that last one," EBS quickly added.
"I can tell," Michonne replied.
EBS frowned. "You don't even know me."
"I've known you for six seconds."
"That's rude."
"It's accurate."
Shirley pointed between them, "Can we focus?"
Michonne ignored him. "How did you get out of your restraints?"
"I got my head through the collar."
Silence.
EBS folded her arms. "See? This is what I've been dealing with."
Michonne stared at Shirley for several seconds before nodding slowly. "What? How?"
Shirley grinned. "Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
The grin disappeared instantly, "Oh."
Michonne rubbed her forehead. "You escaped your restraints, retrieved your weapons, and somehow found me before causing a disaster, that's honestly impressive."
"See?" Shirley said, looking at EBS.
"Don't encourage him," EBS replied.
Michonne's eyes drifted toward the weapon table in the distance. "If you're here, then I assume Diamond isn't."
The name immediately caught both of their attention.
"You know where she is?" Shirley asked.
"No."
"Then why bring her up?"
"Because that's what worries me."
The seriousness in Michonne's voice immediately killed any remaining humor.
EBS shifted slightly. "Okay, we aren't talking about 'that' Diamond right? Who exactly is Diamond?"
Michonne was quiet for a moment.
"Someone dangerous."
"How dangerous?"
Michonne looked directly at her, "If Diamond wanted everyone on this plane dead, we'd already be corpses."
Neither Shirley nor EBS had a response to that.
After a few moments Shirley finally spoke. "Okay… let's forget Diamond for a second. What actually happened? The last thing I remember is D2 getting cut down."
Michonne nodded. "Then you remember where everything started."
"What happened after that?"
"You fell apart, The Sovereign District fell apart, guests panicked, guards panicked, and D2's death threw the entire floor into chaos."
"And Diamond?"
Michonne's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Diamond smiled."
Shirley and EBS exchanged a glance.
"…Why is that bad?" EBS asked.
"Because everyone else was reacting to the situation."
Michonne leaned back against the wall.
"Diamond looked like she'd been waiting for it."
11:32 PM — Ascension Gala, Second Floor: Sovereign District — Michonne's POV
The man appeared behind Shirley so suddenly that even Michonne didn't notice him until it was too late.
He wore an immaculate black suit. Black jacket, black shirt, black tie. The only thing that stood out were the sparkling gloves covering his hands, glittering beneath the Sovereign District's golden lights.
He smiled, then he punched, the impact echoed throughout the floor.
Shirley's body was sent sideways before crashing into the ground unconscious.
For a split second, Michonne froze.
Then rage consumed her.
"No!"
Her katana left its sheath instantly.
Strength Presence surged through her body as she launched herself forward.
Around her, the Sovereign District erupted into chaos. Guests screamed and scrambled for the exits. Tables overturned. Glass shattered. Guards appeared seemingly from nowhere, blocking every staircase leading back toward the Entertainment District.
Below them, music continued blasting as if nothing was wrong.
Michonne didn't care. All she saw was the man standing over Shirley.
"I'm killing him."
She leaped.
Then suddenly stopped.
A hand wrapped around her waist and yanked her out of the air.
Michonne twisted immediately.
Diamond.
The woman stood there smiling as though she were watching a performance.
"Let me go!" Michonne snapped.
Diamond casually released her. "I couldn't care less what happens to you."
Her grin widened.
"But allow me to save your life, again."
Michonne's eyes narrowed, "Again?"
The man with the sparkling gloves hadn't moved. He simply stood there smiling.
"He just knocked a child unconscious," Michonne growled. "I'm going to kill that bastard."
Commanding Presence leaked from her body. Several nearby guests stumbled under the pressure.
Diamond sighed.
"You really can't control yourself, can you?"
Michonne tightened her grip on her katana.
"Your priority should be the kid," Diamond continued. "I'll handle him."
Michonne looked toward Shirley's unconscious body.
Then back at the man.
"…Fine. You better not die."
Diamond laughed, "What a sweet thing to say."
Then she started walking, the man slowly raised his fists. Diamond stopped directly in front of him. Close enough to touch him. For the first time, the man's smile faltered.
Then light exploded from Diamond's arm.
Crystal spread across her skin in an instant. Fingers, hand, forearm, until her entire right arm had transformed into flawless diamond. The Sovereign District lights reflected across its surface like hundreds of tiny stars.
Michonne's eyes widened.
"…Absolute Presence."
The pressure alone made her stomach tighten.
"I underestimated her…"
Diamond swung, Michonne barely saw the movement.
One moment Diamond's arm was at her side.
The next, the man's head exploded.
Blood sprayed across the Sovereign District. Across fleeing guests, across tables and guards alike.
His body remained standing for half a second before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.
Silence followed, not because the chaos had stopped, but because everyone nearby had frozen. Michonne included.
One punch, that was all it took.
Diamond casually shook the blood from her arm before looking back at Michonne.
Her smile hadn't changed.
"What?"
Michonne stared at the corpse.
Then at Diamond.
Then back at the corpse.
Michonne felt uneasy.
Not because Diamond was strong. But because she made killing someone look effortless.
12:18 AM — Ascension Gala, Third Floor — Shirley's POV
Michonne exhaled slowly, EBS slightly shivered from the story.
"After you blacked out… everything went to hell."
Shirley leaned forward slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"The Sovereign District wasn't just chaos," she said. "It was a setup. The guards weren't reacting. They were coordinating."
EBS frowned. "Coordinating for what?"
Michonne's eyes shifted.
"Extraction."
Silence hit the cell for a moment.
Shirley blinked.
"…Extraction?"
Before she could continue, Shirley tilted his head.
"Wait."
Michonne paused.
Shirley pointed at her, "You said Diamond saved you again earlier."
EBS turned slowly.
"…Again?"
Michonne clicked her tongue, "That's not important."
"It sounds important," Shirley said immediately.
"It isn't."
"You're dodging it."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Michonne sighed sharply. For a few seconds she said nothing. Then, "…We were both connected to a organization."
Shirley stopped. EBS straightened slightly. "…What kind of organization?" EBS asked.
Michonne's expression darkened, "One that doesn't officially exist."
Another pause.
Then she finally said it.
"It was called…"
"The Playing Cards."
Silence.
Not the loud kind.
The kind that felt like it pressed down on the air itself.
Shirley slowly repeated it under his breath.
"…Playing Cards."
Michonne nodded once.
"Diamond… is one of the cores of it's existence."
12:18 AM — Ascension Gala — August's POV
August leaned back in his chair, feet resting lazily on the edge of his polished desk.
The room bathed itself in soft gold light, reflecting off expensive surfaces that looked almost too clean to be real.
Guards stood around the perimeter.
Still.
Smiling.
Not speaking unless spoken to.
A few attendants moved around August quietly, tending to him with practiced ease, fixing his collar, massaging his shoulders, offering small luxuries without hesitation.
Everything in the room existed for him.
In the corner, half-shrouded in shadow, a white-haired figure convulsed slightly against the floor.
Not restrained.
Not helped.
Just left there.
August didn't even glance in their direction.
"…Yes," he said into the receiver. "Make sure the cargo is fully loaded."
A pause.
Then, calmly, "Confirm it twice."
The voice on the other end was deep, controlled.
"ETA?"
August smiled faintly.
He tapped a finger against the desk once.
"Three a.m."
A slight pause.
"Three-thirty at the latest."
His smile widened just a little.
"But it won't be anything in between."
Silence.
Then the line clicked.
Disconnected.
August lowered the phone slowly.
For a moment, he simply stared at the empty space in front of him.
Then he exhaled.
"…Good."
His eyes drifted upward, as if looking through the ceiling of the plane itself.
"Everything is moving exactly as planned."
A woman behind him gently traced her fingers along his neck, smiling as if nothing in the world could go wrong.
August didn't react.
He only smiled wider.
"Time is fleeting," he said softly.
But this did not sound like a warning, it sounded like a promise.