The light of a new dawn filtered through the window, slowly lighting up a big, luxurious room. Inside, there were tons of furniture, decorations, all the cutting-edge tech you could imagine—and right in the middle, a huge bed.
The moment the sunlight filled the room, a young girl's red eyes opened. Almost in perfect sync, her brother beside her woke up too.
They were totally confused. What was this huge, beautiful place they were in?
"Good morning."
A voice suddenly spoke, making both of them jolt and realize there was someone else in the room. Darian was sitting at the edge of the bed, watching them calmly.
The moment they looked at him, something felt… off. It was their brother, but at the same time, it wasn't.
He gave off a totally different vibe—his presence, the way he looked at them—it wasn't what they were used to. Just meeting his gaze made them feel like all their secrets and thoughts were being laid bare.
Darian let out a heavy sigh and said, "We need to talk about a few things…"
But before he could finish, he felt a weight hit his chest. His energetic little sister had jumped on him, hugging him tightly, shaking.
The pain Darian felt hearing her cry was crushing. Everything bad they'd been through over the past few days was his fault. He'd come up with a plan to get money so the three of them could survive, and it would've only worked if he died from the poison in the end.
But… he awakened, and that awakening completely healed the poison. After that, he had to leave with Rhea.
From what Rhea had bought off the black market, those people had found traces of his blood back at that place. They paid off some people in the empire to dig up his identity—and found out he had siblings.
From there, it was easy for them to catch the twins and try to get any info they could about him.
Darian blamed himself for not paying attention to that detail. Maybe if he'd told Rhea… no, she definitely would've helped, gone back and cleaned up any trace of him.
But after a few minutes… seeing his sister's tearful eyes, and then the pure smile that spread across her face, he felt something heavy lift off his chest.
He then turned to look at Lucius, who seemed calm, and just as relieved to have them all together again.
It was kind of hard to believe, but even at such a young age, the twins were incredibly strong and didn't dwell on what had happened. The hard life they'd lived, and then the loss of their mom, had shaped them.
As for Darian… well, he felt like he was changing fast. Honestly, it was fair to say he was turning into a completely different person.
Darian gently calmed them down.
Lucy was a very energetic and smart girl. Her brother, on the other hand, was more quiet and serious, but just as sharp. Neither of them really acted like their age.
Before they'd woken up, Darian had analyzed their bodies. Because of the ancestral awakening, they already had a complete spiritual root. But they didn't have the ring that served as their power source. That meant they could live normally for a while, without noticing anything strange.
Rhea had explained to Darian everything he could and couldn't tell them. So now, it was up to him to introduce them, like a kind of recruitment.
A bit later…
"If my brother's taking the risk, I'm in too," Lucius answered right away.
"Me too. I'm not gonna be a burden to anyone. We can only count on ourselves to stay safe," Lucy added.
Darian just sighed. He already knew what they'd say. Even though he'd rather keep them safe on Earth, their lives belonged to them. All he could do was support them as much as he could.
"Unfortunately, the test only happens once a year. I took the last one a few weeks ago, so you'll have to wait a year. Don't ask me anything else about it. There are things you'll only learn at the right time," he said gently.
"Now, let's go see the city together. Rhea brought clothes for you two. Get dressed."
They just listened in silence. He opened the wardrobe to show them the outfits, then calmly left the room.
A few minutes later, the door to a massive two-story house swung open.
Rhea had just arrived and stepped out of a car. Then she saw Darian and the two young twins come out of the house, eyes wide open. They'd just seen their new home and still couldn't believe they were gonna live there.
But once they stepped outside and saw where they were… the shock only grew.
The city was huge, full of houses and low-rise buildings that didn't block the view or the sky. The air was fresh, everything was clean, beautiful, and filled with advanced tech.
Rhea walked up, looking closely at the twins. Their hair was a light green, different from their brother's darker shade.
Lucius had a pleasant look, with shoulder-length hair and a calm expression. In his hands, he held a thick book — a recent gift from Darian.
Physical books were rare and expensive. Pretty much all knowledge and info was consumed through electronic devices with screens.
Just like Darian, Lucius liked reading about everything. Darian had asked Rhea before about that fantasy book. But when he looked into it, he couldn't find the title for sale anywhere in the city. Actually, he couldn't find any information about it at all.
Darian thought that was really strange. Unfortunately, his copy got destroyed when he awakened. Not that it was a big deal — he'd read it so many times that he could probably rewrite it without forgetting much.
Lucy, on the other hand, wore a big, expressive smile that gave her a youthful, mischievous vibe. Her hair was tied in a long, elaborate braid, decorated with multiple yellow ribbons and bows — things Darian knew she liked.
The two of them were glowing, each in their own way. It was hard to believe they'd be living in the imperial capital. They kept wondering if they were really awake or stuck in a dream.
Rhea introduced herself, and the two quickly bowed, politely thanking her for everything.
She smiled and started showing them around the city, walking casually through the wide, shiny streets.
They had already agreed to take the test and knew about the High Humans, so Rhea could talk a bit more freely. She began explaining:
"The city's split into four sectors. The biggest one is the center, where the Empire's central government operates. The second biggest covers the whole west side and belongs to the Red River Pact clan. That's the largest High Human clan in the entire New Arcadia Empire."
"The east side is split into north and south. The south, where we are now, is the residential area. Everyone who's not a High Human lives here. The north is where nine smaller clans are based."
"Those nine clans are ranked right below the top one?" Lucy asked curiously.
Rhea shook her head. "No. The Empire's territory is huge. The second to the fifteenth-ranked clans all live in other major cities far from here. Clan competition is intense. Having two top-tier clans in the same city wouldn't be good for anyone. To make the difference between them clearer, there's a ranking system."
"The top three clans are ranked S. From four to twenty, it's A-B. From twenty to fifty, it's C-D. Below that, they don't even get a rank — they're just large groups, like mercenary crews. They don't want to belong to any clan and usually get hired by the bigger ones to help with missions."
"These letters also match the difficulty level of a mission given by Heaven's Will — and of course, how capable a clan is of completing it. Every few days, missions are given to one of the six Empires. There are strict rules, like how many people can go, what their power level can be, and what the objective is. The mission also gets a difficulty rank."
"Because of that, the clans are super important and there are always missions coming in. Sometimes, one clan isn't enough to complete a mission, so it's pretty common for several to team up — or even hire those 'mercenaries' to help out."
Darian and the twins listened closely. Choosing whether to join a clan or not — and what rank of clan to aim for — was a big decision. Of course, there were people of all levels in every clan, but the higher the rank, the riskier it was for everyone — the hardest missions always went to the top.
"Almost two-thirds of the city are High Humans," Rhea added, easing the mood. "The rest are their families and close people."
"All High Humans live in a similar way. We spend a month training away from home, then we come back and rest as much as possible. Every one or two months, missions come up that match our level. Of course, everyone's monitored by the Empire. Every year, there's a minimum number of missions we're required to complete. We can't just sit at home doing nothing. If we don't volunteer for one, we'll be forced to go."
As they walked, a lot of regular people from the residential area looked at them. They could see Rhea's lips moving, but couldn't hear anything she said. That was normal to them, and no one seemed surprised.
Rhea explained that too, showing them a necklace she wore, with a shiny gem like a ruby in the middle. It was a simple artifact, pretty common for people to have. With it, she could talk freely — but only people within two meters could hear her.
Later, they stopped at a restaurant. Soon, the twins and Darian were enjoying the best food the Empire had to offer, not a care in the world.
They ate and ate, while Darian's mind wandered a bit — remembering that Dragoness with what looked like a hole where her stomach should be...
After the meal, they spent the rest of the day exploring and discovering the city's many breathtaking places.
Darian had more than enough money to make sure his siblings lived comfortably. For at least a year, they'd live life to the fullest in that place. They'd have access to everything they never had before, without limits.
But... Darian's fifteen-day break passed quickly.
On another morning, Rhea showed up at their house to pick him up. It was time to train, fight, and face the abyss once again.