The morning air was cold enough to sting the skin slightly.
Jamie hated it.
She dragged the broom across the stone courtyard with all the enthusiasm of a condemned prisoner marching toward execution while pale dawn light slowly bled across the horizon above Aethelberg. The sky remained dark blue for now, though streaks of orange had begun creeping upward beyond the distant rooftops.
Birds chirped softly somewhere nearby.
The city was only beginning to wake.
Jamie yawned loudly.
Her maid uniform fluttered slightly beneath the early morning breeze as she lazily swept fallen leaves into uneven piles. The black-and-white outfit still irritated her immensely. Especially the frilly apron.
She looked ridiculous.
And worst of all—
This was entirely her own fault.
Two days ago Gyan had discovered her sneaking out and even saved her from being beaten by a unch of wierdos. Jamie hadn't expected the secretary to use that to blackmail her.
'Simply help with the chores and I won't inform Lord Alaric.'
Jamie had accepted immediately without thinking because at the time it sounded preferable to Alaric discovering she had snuck out to the city in the dead of night.
Unfortunately the excitement from yesterdays outing to the market had completely made her forget about the agreement.
Gyan, however, remembered perfectly. Which was why Jamie was currently sweeping the courtyard before sunrise like an unpaid servant.
"Tch."
She swept harder.
Then paused and glanced upward toward the second floor of the townhouse.
Specifically—
Toward Elias' window. The curtains hadn't moved. She could almost hear him snoring. Jamie narrowed her eyes.
'Not fair.'
They had stayed awake late because she forced him to tell her another story before bed. She had absolutely initiated everything herself.
But that was irrelevant because this was an injustice. She suffered while Elias slept peacefully beneath warm blankets.
"It's not fair," she said again, louder this time.
The door behind her opened.
Gyan stepped out, a basket of laundry balanced on her hip. She wore her maid uniform—the same one Jamie was forced to wear—but on her it looked like armor. Severe. Impeccable. Her afro puff was perfectly rounded, her apron was spotless, her expression was unreadable.
"What's not fair?" she asked.
Jamie's broom stopped.
"Nothing."
"You said it twice."
"I was practicing enunciation."
Gyan's crimson eyes flickered—amusement, perhaps, or dismissal. She set the basket down and folded her arms.
"Finish the courtyard quickly. The sun will be hot soon, and we have other tasks before breakfast."
Jamie looked horrified.
"Wait there's more?"
"There is always more."
Jamie suddenly understood why maids always looked tired. She groaned dramatically and resumed sweeping.
Then—
The doors to the neighboring Clementes estate opened and a large man stepped outside.
Jamie immediately paused.
He was enormous.
Tall enough that even from this distance he seemed imposing, his broad frame wrapped in thick muscle scarred from years of combat. Spiky neck-length dark hair framed a rugged face lined with heavy sideburns while old scars crossed his shoulders and chest like pale rivers against tanned skin.
He wore only loose black pants.
Completely bare-chested.
The man stretched his arms slowly before taking a deep breath.
"AHHHHH…"
His deep gravelly voice rumbled through the quiet street like distant thunder.
"The morning air here is incredible!"
He exhaled loudly.
"Way better than that damn sea."
Jamie blinked. Then the man turned. His eyes met Gyan's.
Silence.
The world stopped.
Not literally—but something shifted. The birds seemed to pause mid-song. The breeze hesitated. The light itself seemed to hold its breath.
Jamie frowned. Then she noticed the guards stationed outside neighboring estates—the ones who lounged against gates and pretended to be alert—retreated indoors with haste.
Others activated barriers around entrances. One noble servant slammed a window shut so fast Jamie almost heard the panic.
'…Huh? Why was everyone reacting like that?'
Then—
BOOOOOOM.
The world exploded. A massive sonic boom shattered the morning silence as the giant man vanished from where he stood. Jamie's eyes widened.
'Too fast.'
She barely managed to turn to see an outsretched hand centimeters from Gyan's face.
The air around them warped violently from pressure alone. But the blow did not land. That was because the man was intangled by black threads that shimmered slightly in the early morning light, thier ends seemingly manifesting from knowhere. They wrapped around his wrist, his elbow, his shoulders
Gyan did not move.
"Good morning, Dante."
The man grinned.
"Morning, beautiful." Dante said has he stomped his foot on the ground.
A massive crater imploded beneath Dante's feet as black threads appeared everywhere around Gyan like living shadows. The threads twisted instantly into dense layered cushions directly beneath the impact zone, swallowing the force before it could spread outward into the surrounding residences.
Jamie's eyes widened. The courtyard remained completely intact.
No collateral damage.
Yet the pressure alone made her ears ring.
Far above—
Inside the townhouse—
Elias frowned sleepily beneath his blanket. Birds chirped outside.
Warm.
Comfortable.
Peaceful.
He adjusted himself slightly deeper into the mattress.
Then—
BOOOOOM.
The bed violently launched sideways. Elias hit the floor hard.
"What the—"
Instinct took over immediately and his daggers were in his hands before he understood why. The Jade. The Obsidian. His eyes sharpened instantly.
Attack?
Ambush?
He rushed toward the window and threw it open.
Then blinked. Outside—
Gyan and a very large man were circling each other, their movements too fast to follow. Black threads wove through the air like a spider's web, catching blows that would have shattered stone, redirecting force into the ground. The man was laughing.
Elias saw Jamie behind a broken slab of obsidian. The rock was so cracked and rough that it looked like it had been there for years, but Elias knew it was new addition. It was protection most likely conjured by Gyan.
Beside her, Maria stood casually with her arms folded like she was watching morning entertainment.
"What?" Elias wondered out loud flabergasted by the scene.
Another impact shook the air.
Elias immediately jumped through the window. Wind gathered beneath him instinctively, slowing his descent before he landed lightly beside Jamie.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" He asked.
"Oh Elias. Good morning." Maria greeted with a grin.
"Whats so good about the morning? It's like a storm out here."
"Oh. That's just my father."
Elias blinked.
"That's Dante?"
"The one and only."
Another deafening boom erupted as Dante swung again.
Gyan sidestepped smoothly while black threads wrapped around his arm like living chains. The threads tightened instantly.
CRACK.
The ground beneath Dante exploded downward again from redirected force.
Still no surrounding damage.
Elias narrowed his eyes.
The threads weren't just restraining him, they were absorbing impact trajectories. Every strike Dante threw was being redirected beneath the earth through carefully layered Flow structures.
That level of precision was absurd. Dante's voice boomed across the courtyard,shaking windows.
"COME ON GYAN!You really won't go out with me one of these days?!"
Gyan's expression remained blank.
"I do not like brutish men."
"I'M NOT BRUTISH! I'M PASSIONATE!"
"You are loud."
"PASSIONATE!"
Dante lunged. Gyan's threads caught him mid-air, spinning him sideways into a flower bed. He bounced up immediately, covered in dirt, still grinning.
"You told me you liked strong men!"
"You told me you liked strong men!"
"You ignored the part where I said 'intelligent.'"
Dante clutched his chest.
"CRITICAL HIT."
He swung again.
BOOOOM.
This time Gyan moved first.
Threads exploded outward behind her like massive spiderwebs before tangling around Dante's torso and limbs from multiple angles simultaneously. Dante flexed once and the threads strained violently.
Jamie stared.
"All this…just because he wants to date Gyan?"
Maria shrugged casually.
"My father always liked strong women."
Elias glanced sideways at her.
"What does your mother think about this behaviour?"
Maria's expression didn't change.
"She died giving birth to me."
Silence.
"Oh." Elias hesitated.
"I'm sorry."
Maria blinked. Then laughed lightly waving her hand dismissevly.
"It's fine."
Her smile wasn't sad.
"You can't really miss someone you never knew."
Jamie quietly looked away.
"…I lost my mother too."
Maria glanced toward her. Then smiled softly.
"I figured."
Jamie frowned.
"How?"
"You look like a daddy's girl."
Jamie smiled, blushing.
"I guess I am."
Elias quickly changed the subject.
"Setting that aside…why are you just standing there?"
Maria tilted her head.
"Gyan is redirecting the force of Father's attacks underground using her threads."
Another impact thundered across the courtyard.
"And I'm canceling the excess vibrations with my Trait."
Elias blinked.
Then focused.…She was right.
Aside from the displaced wind and sound, he could barely feel the actual force spreading outward. Which was insane considering Dante looked capable of leveling buildings with casual cough.
Jamie frowned.
"What's it going to take for them to stop?"
"For Gyan to win," Maria said simply.
Elias frowned.
"Dante is a Praetorian though." he pointed out matter of factly.
Maria smiled smugly.
"You shouldn't underestimate your maid."
Another explosion erupted.
Gyan's threads wrapped around Dante's leg before slamming him downward into the ground hard enough to crater the stone beneath him. Dante burst back upward laughing.
"HAHAHA!Thats the spirit!"
His massive fist swung again.
Gyan leaned sideways elegantly to avoid. Dante grinned wildly as he turned.
"You know, I miss your other techniques!"
"I don't."
"That hurts."
"You'll survive."
Maria nodded toward them.
"Father usually uses these morning skirmishes as warmups."
Elias and Jamie both stared at her.
"Warmup?" the said together.
Maria shrugged.
"He likes starting the day energetic."
Jamie looked horrified.
"What kind of family are you people?"
"The fun kind."
Another boom erupted.
"Still," Maria continued, "it will take a while for Gyan to win. She's holding back. He's holding back. They're both being flashy."
Elias grumbled then slowly raised one hand.
"I don't wanna have to deal with this till then."
A ball of compressed air formed at the tip of his fingers, spinning, condensing, growing denser. Maria watched him with curiosity.
"What are you doing?"
Elias didn't answer but he hesitated.
'Dante is a Praetorian. He probably won't even feel it if this hits him...So maybe a little experiment wouldn't hurt.'
He added a little of his essence. A drop of Soul Predation, just enough to sting. The tiny air sphere crackled with multi-coloured sparks.
Elias narrowed his eyes.
'Let's see if I can predate someone strong.'
Tamamo had already been weakened during their encounter so he wanted to see if this would be different.
He fired.
FWIP.
To Elias, the projectile moved instantly.
To Dante—it crawled through the air. He casually glanced sideways mid-punch.
"Hm?"
The projectile approached slowly enough that Dante could practically inspect it. His eyes landed on Elias.
'Alaric's kid,' he thought. 'Looks just like his parents.'
The attack itself barely interested him. But the child firing it did.
Dante grinned.
"What exactly were you hoping to achi—"
Gyan moved. The distraction lasted less than half a second.
Enough.
Thousands of black threads exploded upward instantly and wrapped around Dante completely.
His arms locked.
His torso bound.
His legs restrained.
The ground beneath him collapsed inward from accumulated redirected force.
WHAM.
Dante hit the courtyard hard.
Silence.
Then Gyan sighed softly.
"Please stop doing this every morning."
Dante laughed from the ground.
"Will you allow me to take you out to dinner if I do?"
Gyan rolled her eyes.
Dante grunted and flexed once.
CRACK.
The shadow threads snapped apart instantly.
Jamie stared in horror.
"What."
Dante casually stood up brushing thread fragments from his shoulders.
"That was refreshing."
At that exact moment the townhouse door opened.
Alaric stepped outside yawning lightly.
His messy red hair suggested he had only recently awakened.
He glanced toward Dante.
Then nodded lazily.
"Ah. I thought I recognized that noise."
Dante immediately grinned.
"AURO!"
The massive man strode forward enthusiastically before grabbing Alaric into a crushing embrace.
"You still look half-dead in the mornings!"
"Wonderful to see you too."
Nearby estate doors suddenly burst open.
Several furious nobles and officials emerged simultaneously.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!"
"Some of us are trying to sleep!"
"Do you realize how expensive barrier repairs are?!"
One official looked ready to faint from stress.
Dante waved cheerfully.
"Morning neighbors! How're y'all doin?"
That somehow made them angrier. Alaric ignored everyone.
Instead he looked toward Dante calmly.
"Breakfast?"
Dante immediately brightened.
"Oh, absolutely."
The two men casually began walking toward the townhouse entrance like they hadn't just shaken half the district awake. Maria and Elias followed.
Gyan stopped Jamie bat the door.
"You finish the laundry while I prepare breakfast."
Jamie looked devastated.
"But—"
The door shut in her face.
Silence.
Jamie stared at the closed entrance.
"This…" she whispered.
"…IS UNFAIR!!!" she exploded.