Evening. Twilit birches were quickly morphing into a weave of slender silhouettes. The blueish hue painted on the sky during sunset slowly drained off. After a few minutes of walking, the birch forest opened up to a patch of black, inky land. He strode on the very edge of it. Moonlight shone down, splattering into a wavy glitter on the surface of the lake. Its reflection was neither crescent of full, but a stream of bright turquoise running as far as the eye can see. Indeed, the light was not emanated by a single moon, but a shining white ribbon that stretched across the night sky.

The man halted, right as a small rowboat came. A strange glowing ball illuminated a short and chunky man rowing the paddles. The floating light seemed to follow the man closely, as if controlled by him. Suddenly, the boat rocked hard, as a shadow jumped two meters into the air. Landing on the gravel so hard that pebbles flew everywhere, the dwarven girl greeted him with delight:

“Uncle Kris! Welcome back!”

A smile appeared on Kris` stern yet elegant face. He pat the girl on her head.

“Little brat, you got water all over me!” The other dwarf grunted.

The girl hid behind Kris, before both men laughed it off. Mounting on the boat, the metal cane which too much resembled a floor mop left his hand.

“You`ve been away for almost a week now. Means good news no?”

“I`ve detected an opening beneath the small waterfall. Not just a cavity, but an entire underground cave system. Rich in coal, and can contain some natural gem traps...” He pulled out a leather scroll “...Chemical compounds found in these samples don`t lie.”

“Hmn...“The dwarf skim through the report, before glancing at him “You only brought a radar cane. How did you penetrate water? The spot is at the bed of that lake you know...”

“Well it wouldn`t have taken this long if I could hover the radar right on top of it. Took some time, but if you pay attention to the angle, you can clearly see empty space from the radargram. Then just blast it on maximum power.”

“Or a ton more...” The dwarf said, eyeing the molten base of the radar cane. “Melting that with just radar waves, you`re one hell of a monster eh?”

“Uncle Kris is not a monster! He`s really handsome!”

“Now Papi, don`t say that or my wife will be upset.” Kristopher exhaled.

Papi pouted and glanced at their destination. Surrounded by a water trench so massive that anyone would think it`s a lake, the main castle was an extraordinary feat of engineering. Hidden behind its Gothic-styled stone walls and sculpted architecture, an impregnable fortress built from steel-reinforced concrete kept its residence safe.

The three got off, went inside the castle`s walls, and headed to each of the four main buildings.

“Well, Marie is probably upset anyways.” Kris thought to himself, as he gazed at the cathedral before him.

Stolen story; please report.

***

“Kristopher Lawrence!”

He avoided eye contact.

“Look at me in the eyes!” She hissed, grabbing him by the chin.

She locked her pupils onto his. Kris can feel her hot breath brushing against his cheek. As if captivated by the abyssal blue in her eyes, his entire body went numb.

“Now, dear” She spoke softly “What happened to the promise you made?”

“Uhm… I`ve found a source of coal! Took a whi…”

“Is that any reason to ignore the promise you made with your wife?”

“Well… No, but with coal now we can finally automate the ore smelting…”

“Hush, shh, shh.” She put a finger on his lips “You owe me a night of service.”

Kris swallowed. Abruptly, Marie let him go.

“Now we need to worry about our little Andy. He`s been sleeping like an angel all day.” She gazed at the crib.

Unlike Kris` turquoise hair and Marie`s cerulean, the baby had black hair. His face did not have the western features like everyone else. This has led to some scandalous events, but nothing that could shake the parent`s marriage.

Marie lovingly caressed the baby`s head. Kris held her waist from behind.

“You know, the coal can also be used to power the freezers in your laboratory. You won`t have to waste time charging the mana crystals and.. maybe we can have a few more nights...”

“Ara, do you think taking care of Andy can make my desire subside?”

Kris blushed. She placed the baby down, and gave a bewitching smile.

“Nee… How about we…” Her face got closer. Kris felt her breath.

*Someone knocked on the door three times*

“Please come in.” Marie called out.

The door opened, revealing a humanoid woman. Her formal maid outfit perfectly complimented the voluptuous curves on her figure, which stood about 2 meters tall. Her skin had a soft olive color, going tone sur tone with her greenish blue hair. Slightly bowing her head, Sharlith reported:

“Preparations for the laboratory are done. We should commence the treatment as soon as possible, my lady.”

Pushing the carriage, Sharlith`s footstep clattered along the lengthy corridor that led to the lab. Answering the disturbance, the caged creatures frantically scurried as far as they could from Marie. After the array of various cells containing grotesque miscreations, came the cold storage chamber. Lines upon lines of fridges containing who knows what were packed tightly in a chamber that reeked of chemicals. From one of the bigger freezer, Marie pulled out a glass capsule. The substance inside looked like very thick blood, with thin blue threads and clots forming a mesh-like structure. She attached a mana crystal to it, and the liquid slowly lit up, emitting a dim turquoise light.

Staring at it with a dreamy smile, Marie whispered:

“ This miracle neuron… Andy will become the greatest Elementalist ever… No, he will become god!”

“With all due respect, Miss Marie, that is overly ambitious, even for you.”

“Well, I`ve always been a romantic dreamer, my dear Sharlith.” Taking a deep breath, Marie steadied herself. “Let`s follow through with the operation.”

The main lab was located right next to the cold storage. The baby was placed onto a warm metallic surgeon table. Sharlith prepared and plated a set of ornamented metal syringe onto the operating station. Wearing sterilized silk robes, the two feminine figures loomed upon the baby.

He woke up, and started sobbing.

“Yes~” Marie exclaimed with ecstasy. “My little Andy already knows what to do.”

Looking at Sharlith, she continuted:

“He knows, sedatives will probably kill him, so he won`t get any. And he also knows, that in order for us to monitor his vital signs, he needs to be wide awake. My son is already a genius, is he not?”

The maid replied with indifference. She proceed to completely restrain the baby, whose yelp leaked through the mouth gag.

“Now… To open up that cute tiny head of yours…”

The gag went all the way down his throat, and they look at the rapid convulsions to check if he was conscious.

“Yes… Now to implant the neurons… No no, don`t let him lose consciousness! Administer 0969 Volts… Yes… yes… Scream, my dear Andy… Let me know that you are still awake…”

The thwarted shrieks echoed through the building, sending chills down the spines of even the foulest caged creatures.