Click.
I put my phone away.
The flight attendant took my tray. She smiled. I didn't return it.
The window felt cold against my forehead.
Below, the clouds had thinned. Broken. Like cotton being pulled apart.
Through the gaps, I saw it.
Blue.
A blue so deep. So vast. It shimmered occasionally when the sun hit it. The ocean.
I had seen it inside Felius Castle. On Mars. The view from the Fifth Floor. But that was different. That was artificial. A living painting.
This… was real.
I pressed my face closer to the window. The cold seeped through the glass. I could see the tiny ripples on the water's surface far below, like wrinkles on a dark blue silk cloth.
No land. No ships. Nothing.
Just blue. And the sky.
I took something out of my jacket pocket. A tangled white object. Its cord was thin. Earphones. The ones I had left in the pocket of my old clothes before I changed.
I untangled the cord. It was a mess. I pulled it gently. One knot came loose. Then another.
I put them in my ears.
Then into my phone.
Click.
I opened the music app. A random playlist.
My thumb stopped on one title. I didn't read it. Just tapped it.
The sound came.
Piano.
The notes fell like raindrops on a puddle. Slow. One by one. Melancholy.
I closed my eyes.
Each note was a memory.
A cramped room. The blue light of a monitor. The clicking of a mouse in the dead of night. The smell of instant noodles.
A laugh from my other earphones. Noah's voice. Fitria's voice. The voices of my friends.
Lost voices.
I opened my eyes.
The ocean was still there. Still blue. Indifferent.
The piano music continued to flow. Filling my head. Filling the silence between the hum of the engines.
It felt like… drowning. But in a calm way.
I turned my head.
Belial was sitting next to me. He wasn't looking out the window. He was staring at the small screen in his hand. A phone.
His thumb moved quickly. Scrolling. Typing. His face was illuminated by the white light from the screen. His expression… was nonexistent. Just focus. Like a machine.
I wondered what he was doing.
Managing the finances of the Red Lotus?
Reading intelligence reports?
Or maybe… he was playing a game too.
I almost smiled at the thought.
Almost.
I looked back at the window.
The piano music reached its peak. The notes became faster. More complex. Like a small storm. Then slowed down again. Returning to raindrops.
A final note hung in the air.
Then silence.
I didn't play another song.
I took out the earphone. Rolled it up neatly. Put it back in my pocket.
I rested my head against the window again.
Cold.
The sky outside was still blue. No clouds now. Just an endless blue that met another blue on the horizon.
I saw Belial out of the corner of my eye. He was still there. Still busy with his phone.
I didn't say anything.
He didn't either.
We just sat there. Moving at hundreds of miles per hour. Inside a metal tube. Above the ocean. Below the sky.
Alone.
Together.
The journey was still long.
…
The two-hour and thirty-minute journey felt like an eternity. And then suddenly, it was over.
A small jolt. The hum of the engines changed pitch.
I opened my eyes.
Outside the window, the sea of white clouds was gone. Replaced by geometric patterns of gray and white. Rooftops. Streets. A city sleeping under a blanket of snow.
Shanghai.
I took out my phone. The screen lit up. 10:00 AM.
The wallpaper appeared. Me and Emma. She was smiling, her fingers in a 'V' sign. Her head was resting on my shoulder. We looked like… a couple.
I stared at the photo for a moment.
I don't remember when this was taken.
Then the screen went dark again.
"We've arrived," I said. My voice felt strange after being silent for so long.
I turned. Belial finally looked up from his phone.
"My apologies, My Lord," he said. A little awkward. "I was…"
"I know," I cut him off. "What were you working on?"
"Information, My Lord." He showed me his screen for a second. It was full of rapidly moving graphs and text.
"Intelligence. As you ordered. Our agents are already on the move. And… I was also learning."
He paused.
"This internet… even though it was created by lowly creatures, I must admit… it is magnificent."
I nodded.
"Emma has already told me your orders," he continued. "About studying their technology."
"Good," I said. I got up from my seat.
"Let's get out of here."
I walked down the narrow aisle. Joined the line. Belial behind me. I could feel his presence. Like a cold shadow.
I heard a child's voice. Whispering in English.
"Mom, look at their ears. They're pointy."
"Shush, be polite."
I didn't turn. My ears were indeed a little pointed. Belial's too.
I was an angel. He was a demon.
I felt Belial's hand tense at his side. I could feel his cold anger.
I grabbed his hand. Tightly. Without turning.
He understood. His hand relaxed.
We disembarked from the plane. The Shanghai air felt different from Tokyo. More humid. Sharper. The snow fell gently, like white dust.
This airport was big. Very big. The planes were lined up like metal whales. People flowed out of four different jet bridges at once.
"A big country," I muttered.
Inside, red flags with yellow stars hung everywhere.
Immigration check.
I placed my things on the tray. Walked through the gate. No beep.
I stood in front of a glass counter. An old officer looked at me from behind it. His uniform was neat. His face expressionless.
I handed him my passport. The one Merlin had made.
He opened it. His narrow eyes moved left and right.
"Arata Leon," he said. More a statement than a question.
I nodded.
"Purpose for visiting China? How long? Proof of funds? Return ticket?" A barrage of questions. Fast. No-nonsense.
I didn't like his tone. But I smiled.
I pushed a thin folder through the slot under the glass. "Business, 30 days." Then I showed him my bank balance on my phone.
I saw his eyes widen slightly at the string of numbers on the screen. Just for a moment. Then back to normal.
A mocking smile almost formed on my lips.
He picked up a stamp. Pressed it hard on my passport. The sound was satisfying.
"Welcome to China, Mr. Leon," he said. His tone was now a little… softer.
I took my passport. We didn't shake hands.
I walked away. Found a chair in the waiting area. I sat down.
Waiting for Belial.
Around me, people were speaking in Mandarin. The sound was like music I didn't understand.
I took out my phone again.
That wallpaper. A smiling Emma.
I looked at her.
I wondered if she would like the snow in Shanghai.