She had waist-length hair the color of cherry blossoms just beginning to bloom, woven into two neat ponytails that hung softly over her shoulders. Her skin was fair and lustrous, her features so exquisite she looked like a porcelain doll carved with meticulous care. A pair of pink eyes, as clear and bright as flawless crystal.
Yet those same eyes now brimmed with irritation and conflict that felt jarringly out of place in the cozy room. She wore a simple white silk nightgown hemmed with delicate lace that accentuated her slender, delicate figure. No one who saw her like this could ever connect her with the sinister, blood-soaked Corrupt Abyss Cult outside.
Once she was sure the footsteps beyond the door had faded, the composure she'd maintained crumbled instantly. She hugged her knees, chin resting atop them, her pretty face scrunching into a ball of resentment as she let out a muttered complaint.
"Ahhh… this is driving me crazy!"
She flopped backward, sinking into the soft bedding, pink twin-tails fanning across the pillow. She rolled twice across the bed, then pressed a pillow over her face as if it could shut out the suffocating world beyond.
"Damn commander… when are we finally going to close the net…" The muffled grumble seeped from beneath the pillow, thick with frustration. "Three years, then another three—I'm about to become their real 'Saintess'! When that happens, does it count as outstanding performance, or do I get purged for corruption?!"
Her mind screamed, a blizzard of complaints racing through her head like bullet comments on a screen.
'Day after day it's "feel the grace," "searing truth," or watching those freaks perform bizarre rituals… I dream of them dancing around at night!'
'And that elder with the creepy eyes—every time we meet I feel he's sizing me up as the next sacrificial offering. If my acting weren't Oscar-level, I'd have blown my cover ages ago!'
'Now they've actually put their "Saintess" in charge of a mission—against Katerina Lafa? The strongest of the younger generation in the Silver Moon Duchy!'
'Does that damned elder overestimate me, or has my cover been blown and he wants Katerina to do me in?'
'And this task—"warn" White Thorn City? How—stand in the square and use my "Saintess" status to invite everyone into the Abyss? I'd be sent home by Katerina's sword the next second…'
She rolled again, lying spread-eagled, staring at the warm ceiling light with eyes full of existential despair.
"Undercover till I'm the second-in-command of the branch… If I stay much longer they'll probably nominate me the next leader of the cult!"
"When the bust finally starts, will I have to shout 'You guys go, I'll cover you!' and then get cuffed by my own commander, becoming the highest-ranking suspect in the takdown? What kind of joke is that!"
The more she thought, the bleaker her future looked. When she'd accepted this infiltration assignment, she'd figured she'd just investigate the Corrupt Abyss Cult's structure and movements—who knew it would explode so fast. Relying on competence and, well, lousy luck, she'd "earned" their trust and climbed the ranks, gaining access to ever-deeper secrets.
The intel she smuggled out had helped the Empire and the duchy foil several plots—but each success bound her tighter, making extraction almost impossible. This trip to White Thorn City was clearly a deadly gamble. Success would push her prestige to its peak; slipping away afterward would be even harder. Failure… meant "martyrdom," with no chance of being cuffed by her own side.
"No, no…" She sat bolt upright, slapping her cheeks to force herself calm. "Can't panic. Orders are out; there's no hiding."
She drew a long breath, stuffing the torrent of complaints back down. "White Thorn City… Harvest Festival… Katerina Lafa…" she murmured, mind racing. "Maybe… this is also an opportunity—one that lets me retire for good."
She rose, walked to the vanity, and studied the pink-tailed girl reflected in the mirror, eyes complicated. "I have to get the op's details and personnel list to the commander… White Thorn City must be ready."
She picked up a comb and neatened her tousled twin-tails. "Hope the commander's net is strong enough—otherwise your best undercover agent will 'give her life for the cause' as the next-generation leader of the cult…"
Early morning on Harvest Festival day, the first ray of sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains and settled on Luna Belle's eyelids. Her thick, curled lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, then slowly lifted, revealing sleepy, jade-green eyes.
Vision blurred at first, then sharpened.
"Same ceiling…" she mumbled huskily, voice still drowsy.
Wait—this wasn't the cramped but cozy second floor of the New Eridu video rental store… and you don't actually fall asleep inside the game no matter how long you play Zenless Zone Zero. She realized: this was the alien world of White Thorn City.
As awareness returned, her senses woke up. And she immediately felt an… extremely "full" restraint. Turning her head, the first thing she saw was Ellen's sleeping face inches away. Short black hair lay tousled across the pillow; usually tired crimson eyes were now closed in steady, even breaths. One arm rested obediently at her side—but that weighty Thiren shark tail lay heavily across Luna Belle's calves, warm and soft.
That was the good part.
Luna Belle stiffly turned her neck to the other side—and nearly stopped breathing. Alice "Symmetry-Fanatic" Timefield was currently locking her in an… extremely, well, "technical" embrace…