The Planetary Council Chamber
Elizabeth Sinclair feels shocked after seeing what her younger sister just did.
So shocked that she can’t muster any sort of reaction beyond simply staring and watching Ashley walk back into her booth. Same as all of the other people within the chamber.
Several seconds pass before the whispers start, with even more conversations no doubt held under the privacy of the booths that are shielded.
“Did that girl always act like that?” “I thought she was a meek child…” “When did she get a skill like that?” “Didn’t I see that skill used by one of the competitors she killed in an Event?”
Elizabeth scowls at the people below as she feels herself beginning to lose control of her anger, making the air begin to freeze around her.
Then one particular comment stands out amongst them and brings forth even more whispers.
“Wasn’t she like the Primordial of Chaos just now?”
Immediately after that, the Lords and Ladies of the Spires on Val focus on the similarities between the Successor of Chaos and Chaos himself.
Infuriating Elizabeth more and more with each passing second until snow begins to form high in the sky.
But she’s not the only one as she soon finds her mother, the White Enforcer, showing a very similar expression to her own. One that snaps her out of her rage before Elizabeth can attack the ones whispering about Ashley.
“Enough!” the White Enforcer’s voice echoes coldly across the chamber as everything begins to frost over ever so slightly. “We are here for a reason, and if you insist on speaking about my daughter, then you admit you’re willing to join him in the liquid below.”
That silences everyone immediately as they all look down at the bubbling crimson liquid with crimson bolts of lightning occasionally running through it that’s beneath their platforms. Where the Successor to Chaos tossed the dying corpse of the old noble. Then they all begin to show fear towards both the White Enforcer, and the Successor to Chaos.
As what she did finally begins to sink in.
And as they all realize that things are different here than they were on Val.
Elizabeth feels her anger returning with a vengeance as she glares at her mother, but her rage only serves to cause more frost to appear around the chamber as they both use the exact same root skill.
Absolute Zero.
That woman…
Elizabeth grits her teeth as she clenches her fist, feeling her anger bubbling up more and more. And she’s not the only one as she notices her two younger brothers glaring at their mother as well.
“You don’t have the right to call her your daughter,” Elizabeth finally declares, her eyes drilling holes into the White Enforcer’s as the White Enforcer herself flinches. Going silent without a comeback to be heard.
An awkward silence fills the chamber before the Successor of Order breaks it, declaring, “Let us begin discussions on the matter of our chosen currency.”
And everyone else within the chamber, almost every one of whom is an important figure within society from before the System came around, jumps at the opportunity to change the subject.
Just like they did two years ago.
Every time the drama of the Sinclair family comes up since Ashley’s coma.
A coma that finally snapped everyone in the family out of the self-hypnotized stupor they were living in.
Elizabeth stays silent during the discussions as she looks in the direction of Ashley’s booth. Which hasn’t changed at all since she reentered it.
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And all she can think about is her own regrets.
In the past, when Elizabeth saw her youngest brother being treated the same way as she was, albeit by their father instead of their mother, she rushed in to bring him away from their family the moment she could. But she, in the process, ended up leaving the twins to their own fate. Never realizing what situation they were in.
Because in her eyes, Blake was a prodigy in magic spellcasting. Something neither of their parents could do.
And his twin, Ashley, had no ability. So she was left alone by their parents.
But what Elizabeth never thought about while she was protecting Seth was that Ashley had it the hardest. As the only one without an ability born in the strongest family on the planet. And the highest profile family at that.
Yet she was still forced to attend all of the social events. Every last one. Without exposing her lack of an ability to the public.
Ashley, who had stopped genuinely interacting with anyone other than her twin since she was young. Who had stopped expressing her real emotions outwardly and put up a wall before others.
An act.
And Elizabeth isn’t even sure she knows the full story herself.
Everything the people within the chamber say goes in one ear and out the other as Elizabeth stares at the Successor to Chaos’s booth. And she sees her youngest brother doing the same thing.
Even Blake doesn’t hide his repeated glances towards her booth as he joins in on the discussion about the currency.
A sight that makes Elizabeth feel the faintest amount of warmth from.
At the end of the day, Elizabeth is endlessly grateful for the System. And to Chaos, who woke up Ashley from her coma. Even if she has no memories of the past.
And even if the twins now look just as young as their youngest sibling in appearance.
The fondest memories Elizabeth has are those of the time she spent with her siblings. Whether it’s the field days where the twins would come and cheer her on back when she was in high school, the two of them caring for the then little Seth and holding his hand, or the graduation ceremonies. High school, middle school, and elementary school. Each of which her siblings would be there.
Until Seth’s ability awakened at the age of thirteen, and Elizabeth’s own past started repeating itself with him.
Elizabeth turns her gaze towards Blake as the young man and Order’s Successor finally begin to settle the matter of the currency with the other people there. And she feels the slightest hint of a smile forming on her face as she takes in his younger appearance. As she remembers how the two twins used to look identical back in the first few years of elementary school, before Blake started cutting his hair short, the boy previously having kept it growing long like his older twin sister. Apparently to look identical to her and confuse their parents.
This time will be different.
She turns to look at Ashley’s booth again.
This time I’ll protect all of them.
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Ashley
I tap my chin as I lean my cheek against my fist, my elbow resting on my throne’s armrest. Just gazing out at the people who are supposedly my family.
Or to be more specific, gazing out at my siblings.
Gonna act like those parents up there don’t exist, even if they haven’t said anything since the woman calling herself the White Enforcer chastised everyone for gossiping about me. Not that I really care if they talk about me.
I’ve seen some of those System Forum threads where people are all about talking about me.
So I’ve gotten used to seeing people pitying me.
As for my siblings?
The one known as Elizabeth Sinclair clearly takes after the woman known as the White Enforcer with both her appearance and root skill, judging by the ice I saw forming around her. Ice just like the skill the White Enforcer seemed to use.
She has the same silver-blue hair the White Enforcer has, with cold blue eyes that seem to soften a bit when she’s looking my way or at one of my brothers.
On the other hand, the one known as Seth Sinclair clearly takes after the man known as the Black Enforcer. What with his pitch black hair and eyes. But I haven’t seen any hint of their skills, so I don’t know if he takes after him in that sense too.
And judging from what I can recollect of my appearance before the System, along with Blake’s current appearance, we seem to have taken after the Black Enforcer as well. What with our own black hair.
I don’t remember what color my eyes were though. And now Blake and my own eyes have both changed color thanks to our Primordials.
Which is good, since I’d rather not have a reminder of our parents staring at me in the mirror.
Eventually I’m snapped out of my thoughts when a System Notification appears in my vision about the decision the others came to about the currency. Which, in all honesty, wasn’t a very hard one.
A majority has been reached, choosing Val Units as the convertible currency of Val.
All Val Units may be exchanged for System Credits at a rate of 3 Val Units per 1 System Credit.
And immediately after the notification fades, a certain Primordial returns to the center of the chamber.
Although he doesn’t look particularly happy for some reason.