"New Eridu may appear prosperous, but you and I both know—it's more like a cradle for children. You're her successor, so you should understand, we..."
"Old man."
Major Xin suddenly cut him off. The interruption didn't offend the elder—if anything, he seemed to regard her with deep respect.
"Have you ever considered that the fire might not follow a predetermined path?"
At those words, the old man paused, his gaze growing distant and quiet.
He didn't know how to answer.
"A flame is called a flame because it can choose to ignite or go out. That's never been a decision others can make."
Major Xin lowered her eyes and spoke softly.
After a moment of silence, the old man nodded.
"You're right."
"Old sir, I have one more question."
"The fire... is it human? Or is it Ethereal?"
The moment her voice fell, the old man responded without hesitation, hands clasped behind his back.
"Not everything in this world can be divided into black and white."
"It's the gray in between."
The gray between black and white...
Major Xin repeated the words silently to herself.
Time passed slowly. The old man didn't linger. After teasing her about her temper and reminding her to rein it in, he turned and left.
Major Xin was left alone.
The moonlight fell like snow and ink—pure, and yet unnervingly strange.
"Maybe, for many reasons, the fire will follow the path you all imagine for it."
"But I don't want it to follow any set path... isn't that just another form of delusion?"
Her eyes burned with intensity.
The old man was, after all, old.
The white wings at her waist slowly spread open. As she gazed at the same nightly view she saw every day, a violent surge of emotion finally welled up inside her.
"New Eridu is strong, thriving—but its sewers are always crawling with rats."
"Rats that can even climb to the top of the highest towers."
Her lips parted as she folded her hands at her chest, bowed her head slightly, and closed her eyes, murmuring softly.
"I need a fire. A blazing inferno that can burn all the filth away."
"O Fire of Helios... will you help me?"
...
"Uh—sir, if you want to take the bus, you, um, can go to that platform over there and buy a ticket after getting on... Wait, no—there aren't any buses running now. Corin—Corin suggests the subway instead..."
Watching the flustered and nervous Corin stammer her way through directions, Zane pressed his lips together, forcing down the urge to tease her further.
"Thanks for your help."
He smiled and was about to turn and leave when Corin suddenly bowed deeply.
"Corin is happy she could help you, sir!"
Zane blinked in surprise and waved his hand quickly—who was thanking who here?
Seeing Corin rise again with her fists clenched nervously in front of her chest, those big eyes watching him closely, Zane gave a light wave goodbye.
After he left, Corin slowly lowered her hands and let out a sigh of relief, her skirt swaying gently with her movement.
"Looks like I really did help him!"
Just as she had told Zane, it genuinely made her happy to be of help.
"Ah—! I almost forgot about Ellen!"
Suddenly remembering something, Corin's expression changed, and she took off running in a panic.
The doors would open soon—if she didn't hurry, she'd miss the half-price nighttime ticket!
...
Subway station.
Following Corin's directions, Zane bought a ticket to Sixth Street from the staff at the platform and waited in the designated area.
Before long, the train arrived. Zane boarded. Since it was getting late, there weren't many passengers—mostly salarymen and students returning from a night out.
He found an empty seat and sat down, casually calculating the value of Dennies in New Eridu.
One subway ticket cost a little over a hundred Dennies—not bad. He'd seen a milk tea shop earlier where drinks went for just two hundred.
Thinking back to the land prices with eight zeroes in the price tags, Zane started to get it.
In this post-collapse world, energy wasn't scarce thanks to the presence of Etheric material. But with the constant pressure on public infrastructure and the threat of Hollows, land had become the most valuable resource. In a city-center like New Eridu, prices like that...
Made sense.
What Zane didn't realize, though, was that because of his identity as an Ethereal and his very different priorities, he still had a fuzzy sense of what money—Dennies—actually meant.
After all, back when he fought the Defense Forces, a casual blow from him had destroyed a mech worth tens of millions of Dennies—the "Fallen."
The train moved steadily, not too fast nor too slow, so smoothly that Zane almost felt like closing his eyes to rest.
"Ruby, look, there's a handsome guy..."
"Huh? Where?"
"Right there! His eyes are so pretty, and his hair color matches so well. Do you think he got it dyed at that new salon? I want to go there too..."
"Think I've got a chance? He looks like he's about to doze off. If I sit next to him, maybe he'll rest on me?"
"Monna, what are you even saying? You never act like this—and you're still in high school! Have some dignity..."
"But he's really that good-looking."
"I know! You should at least ask for his contact info..."
Zane had no idea anyone was talking about him until two cheerful high school girls approached and explained the situation.
Only then did he realize what was going on.
Unfortunately, he didn't have any contact info.
He'd barely left the Public Security Bureau and hadn't had time to buy a phone, let alone set one up.
When he explained this, the two girls thought they were being gently turned down—but they weren't discouraged. Instead, they struck up a conversation.
Zane didn't turn them away. The chat picked up quickly, and before long, he heard them gossiping about the most well-known students at their school. He raised an eyebrow at one name.
A Sharkian? Coincidence?
After asking more, Zane confirmed—the Sharkian they mentioned was Ellen.
He had just met Corin, and now he was hearing about Ellen. Maybe he really was fated to cross paths with Victoria Housekeeping.
Considering their elite clientele and impressive combat strength, Zane was curious.
If he returned to his Ethereal form—how long could Victoria Housekeeping last against him?
Would it be an even match?
He couldn't help but feel intrigued.
Soon, the train reached its destination. After saying goodbye to the two students, Zane exited the subway and walked for a bit until he arrived at Sixth Street.
A legendary black zone full of hidden talents.