Before meeting up with Elrene, Monika puts drops of water into her eyes pretending to be crying. After the preparations, she runs in from the door and lays her head on the counter in front of Elrene

"El..Elrene." Monika sobs.

Elrene did not see this coming, she quickly drops everything in her hands and starts comforting Monika. She has no idea what happened but it's better to take no chances: "OH...What happened? Did someone act mean to you?" Elrene has never seen Monika like this before, so she has no idea what would make a person like Monika weep like this.

Monika suddenly feels bad about her acts, but she's already gone too far. There's no turning back. She quickly hugs Elrene hiding her face from her, she did it because the fake tears are drying. "It's Glissa, she was being mean to me." Monika is saying the truth about this part.

Hearing that name, Elrene shakes for an instant, but she comes back to patting Monika's head:" It's fine…. She's not really a good person from the start so just forget about it." Hearing the name Glissa, she suddenly felt uneasy about it. Not because she hates her but seeing Glissa is even being mean to Monika, she feels like this is like her back then. "What did she do to you?" Elrene asks.

Monika told everything that happened yesterday; however, she did leave out the part where the whole thing was trying to trick out the truth from Glissa. Monika doesn't really lie most of the time, but she's said all of this flawlessly, maybe some influence of Trazyn is acting on Monika.

"Why is Glissa such a horrible person!" Monika learned that it's better to not ask directly. Instead, she should just 'trick' the answers out.

Elrene didn't really answer, she just keeps organizing Monika's ponytail. "She was like this a long time ago…."

Monika followed up on the thought:" What happened?"

"She threw away my favorite duck toy and never told me the truth about it. "Elrene replied seriously:" It was her who stole, and she didn't even want to confess to me even once!" Elrene's face is red

"Wait what?" Monika suddenly releases herself from Elrene and holds her by the shoulder. "That's the reason you and Elrene are so against each other because something happened in your childhood?"

"It was my favorite toy! I knew it was her who stole it!" Elrene doesn't seem like lying, but why would Glissa call her a traitor then.

"Glissa called you a traitor, why is that?" Monika doesn't buy it; Nova stole countless things from her, and she didn't even flinch and now there's a rivalry that's caused because of a lost toy.

"Because of our conflict, I refused to serve her." Elrene's answer is clean and easy. Truth sometimes doesn't need any explanation. "But I do understand how much a jerk Glissa can be!"

Monika didn't expect this to be the answer, she just changed the subjects later on and chatted until Elrene needed to do something else instead. When Monika leaves, Elrene takes out her notebook and pulls out the picture from the beginning. Elrene also didn't tell Monika the answer, because sometimes the truth needs to be buried in order for the involved parties doesn't get hurt.

It's been almost two weeks that Trazy and Monika got separated, Monika at first was a bit upset that Trazyn didn't just teleport and be with her. But later on, she just gives up on the thought, she would rather hear the truth from Trazyn than just guess it randomly and torture herself.

Even though Monika has been here for a few months already, the locals are still quite unfriendly with Monika. Maybe just because of her unusual looks but she never really cared that much, if any one of them tried to attack her she would most likely end the person's life before he or she finishes their first sentence.

The food in this town is mostly edible, except for some fish eggs where Monika just couldn't dig into it at all. Monika doesn't really have a great taste bud, that's why she can't really cook well but it does give Monika the ability to eat almost everything, except of course the weird fish eggs this place offers.

Suddenly something came across Monika's mind. It's Wednesday's favor. She needed to retrieve an item in the cave but ever since she got here, Monika kind of forgot about the whole thing. "Oh no.." she lightly gasped, the item that Wednesday is looking for is called: Gunir. But right now, she has no clue where it would be or what's so ever.

But the gasping noise did attract someone:" Yo, what are you doing here your organic scum." A tall half-metallic man spoke loudly to Monika. Monika doesn't want trouble, so she just ignored him, just about Monika to leave and go somewhere else, that man grabbed her arm.

"Did aye tell you when you leave? You low-life creature, why haven't you been blessed by the father of the machine?" That person doesn't seem drunk or something, so Monika just assumed that he's just a scumbag to the root.

Monika doesn't want to waste a single breath on a person like him, she gives him a cold look and shakes his hand off.

"Oi ! Reply you dumb fu-." Before he could finish the sentence, Monika already had her arm wrapped around his neck and pinned him on the ground. Before she would have had no problems killing a person like him but ever since Dreyer she starts to be more 'rational' when it comes to dealing with scumbags.

She pinned that person's collar on the ground with one of her swords, during the whole thing she did not say a single word. Because dealing with this type of low life deserves no communication.

However again, her action just got her in more trouble again. A small group of people, which consists of ork, elf, and human but they are all modified physically, they pull the sword out and pick up that human on the ground.

Surprisingly their leader is an ork but he speaks politely:" I am sorry little missy. I apologize for the rude intrusion of my subordinate. I am also thankful that you handled it with profession and efficiency."

"You are an ork and yet you speak the language flawlessly." Monika doesn't really have a good image for the orks.

"I am sorry for my kind if they ever disrupted you. I was raised in a human village so I can speak normally like a human." He wears a captain's hat, but from his clothes, Monika can tell that he doesn't really work in an army or belongs to a resistance group.

"Gulgrog is my name, and you are…?" The ork asks Monika.

"Monika, also what are you guys doing here? I've never seen you or your kind for the past few weeks." Monika crosses her arm, she still has doubt for an ork despite it being polite

"We are here to find Elrene, she's a co-worker with us. And we all work for the red praetor." Gulgorg did not really hide the reason, because he knows that against a person like Monika, it's always better to just tell the truth.

"Elrene works for you?" Monika seems to be understanding why Glissa would call Elrene a traitor.

"She's our best medicine researcher but instead of being in the army, she prefers to stay and operate a hotel while continuing her work." Gulgorg tells Monika that because he noticed that Monika and Elrene know each other.

Monika never knew any of it, hell she never even thought about Elrene being anything but a nice, good sister that Nova never will be. She's thinking about this but little that she knows Nova is already in this world and heading towards her. Before they left, Monika got some more information about the red praetors and Elrene. Just like Trazyn, she starts to piece all the parts together, now she needs to find more information about this more praetor and find out whether to be hostile or not.

On Nova's side, things are much calmer in a way: "How does it feel to be living forever?" Nova suddenly asks this question.

"Depends on what answer you are seeking, emotion wise…. You will just end up being aloof about everything." Trazyn is playing with the mechanical bug on the ground. He can still use his Necron abilities, but somehow, he's fonder of having an organic form at this point.

"Are you going to do anything on Monika? Because she isn't like your kind, she has a life span, and she will die at some point." Nova is as always, the realist. But she's not trying to push Trazyn away this time, she's just stating the inevitable.

"Maybe until the time comes, but it's her choice." Trazyn seemed to experience something like this before:" I want her by my side but... " he suddenly paused.

"But…...?" Nova is a bit intrigued; she never would expect Trazyn would behave so human-like.

"I don't want her to feel locked up with me." Trazyn suddenly snapped the little beetle's head with his finger. "That's why I am always leaving her, giving her space. Isn't this what she wanted?" Trazyn asks Nova.

" I thought I would never say this to you in my life, but here it goes…" Nova sits next to Trazyn, she picks up the insect and throws it away:'' I trust your judgment, no matter what's going to happen, I am not going to blame either of you. That of course given Moniika's safety is assured. But you are an idiot." Despite them building a neutral trust, she still has some lines that cannot be crossed.

Trazyn is somehow relieved a bit, by Nova saying this, it means that Trazyn has greenlighted Monika from her. Just about Trazyn to put his hand on Nova's shoulder, she hits Trazyn on the face and makes Trazyn trips on the floor.

"Don't get familiar with me, I was talking to you as Monika's sister, but I am also Major Nova. And Major Nova will do her job if you ever piss her off or harm her sister in anyways." Nova looking at Trazyn like looking at a bug.

"Ouch... loud and clear." Trazyn feels the pain on his face, apparently, Nova did not hold back when it comes to punching Trazyn on the face:" With my estimation, we can get to the tangle within a day." Trazyn sounds happy, they've been walking/running towards tangle for the past few days, and it only took them two days to reach tangle. He's really impressed with the physical endurance of Nova despite she doesn't look tough whatsoever.

Suddenly a blue light covers Nova's suit, she changed into a more casual outfit instead of her combat suit. Not surprisingly she wears a similar outfit as Monika, a jacket and a pair of long pants.

'You two really have similar taste in clothes, isn't it?" Trazyn is being sarcastic.

"I do not want to comment on my taste, or anything related to that." Nova is an efficient person to the core. She cares not about what to wear herself. She surely doesn't care about the opinion of Trazyn. But she does want to give a good first impression to her sister, that's why she dresses similarly to Monika. Just like what Nova said to Trazyn, right now she's not Major Nova so she doesn't need to wear the combat suit at this moment.

Just as she was about to walk in the direction of Tangle, Nova felt a tremor on the ground, at first, she thought it was just a random earth shake, but it got stronger and stronger seemingly coming towards their direction. Trazyn pulls out a Necron phase blade, he can sense that there's something approaching their location and it doesn't seem to be friendly.

Suddenly, a corrupted monster charged out from the direction of the earthquake. It stopped in front of them because it ran into a metallic tree. The creature keeps dripping some strange-looking liquid from its body and screams towards Nova and Trazyn.

"Eh." Nova leaves out a disgusted gasp:" Why don't you take on that thing, i don't want to dirty my clothes."

"If I get those things on me, would you want me to hug Monika when we meet?" Trazyn replies.

"Oh. No. Please attack then, I would not want you to get even near Monika at all." Nova smiles:" Hold on if you get the disgusting juice all over your body. Do I get all the hugging time afterward?" Nova sounds excited.

The beast got a bit startled by the conversation; it doesn't seem to be able to understand them. But it surely got startled by the fact that they didn't even flinch in front of it. It suddenly spits out a wave of green liquid from its anus-looking 'mouth'.

Nova uses her telekinesis ability to hover the liquid in the air and throws them back at the monster. The liquid itself seems to do nothing on the beast, but it surely enrages him. It starts to charge towards Nova, but it gets pushed away by Nova's strong telekinesis ability. Just about the monster to charge, Trazyn pulls out a gauss cannon from his pocket dimension and shoots the beast in the head. Its head started to disintegrate and soon it collapsed on the ground with half of its body becoming dust.

"Never thought that you would use one of those basic Necron weapons." Nova fought the kind like Trazyn in the simulations before.

"You are kind of forced to use it when you want to keep a distance. I am more impressed by your psychic abilities." Trazyn said.

"Save your compliments, we need to find Monika first." Both of them start to run towards the town Monika is in.

At this moment, Monika was just done talking to Gulgrog. She needs to talk to Elrene, this is more than just about fixing the relationship between Glissa and Elrene. Monika quickly runs towards the tavern and slams into the door. Monika checks around even inside the kitchen, Elrene is nowhere to be found.

"Damn it." Monika leaves out a swear, she could sense that the people outside aren't friendly at all. Gulgorg seems to be polite, but it doesn't make him a good person or a less dangerous character. "Elrene!" She is trying to call her out. But no one replied, the other customer looks at Monika as if they are looking at some crazy person.

When Monika runs outside, she sees Elrene is already talking to Gulgorg and seemingly giving him a box of potions. Monika dashes next to them. Her speed startled both Elrene and Gulgorg. Elrene smiled at Monika:" What's the hurry?"

"What's happening here?" Monika is worried about Elrene.

"I am just giving them the potions they asked me to make. Don't worry, they are good people. In Fact, the red praetor isn't really interested in conquest what's so ever." Elrene is just saying everything that can ease Monika's mind. In her eyes, Monika is just a kid who just seems to have a strong fighting ability, that's why she's been taking extra care of her.

As Monika leaves out a sigh, she sees Trazyn running towards her:" Trazyn!" She dashes towards him and sinks herself in his chest." Where have you been? And why haven't you come and visit me?" Monika pretends to sound mad.

"About that..." Trazyn scratches the back of his head, the exact reason is really embarrassing.

But Nova finished it off for him:" He damaged his teleportation device because he was being careless."

Hearing that voice, Monika pushes Trazyn away and fixes her eyes on Nova:" What are you doing here?" She said it with a cold tone. Nova however smiles at Monika and walks towards her.

"Stay where you are!" Monika sounds like a startled cat; she doesn't believe that Nova would be here.

"Aww… you are embarrassing me in front of your friend." She waves at Elrene and the others:" Hi! My name is Nova and i am Monika's sister! Nice to meet y'all!" She sounds very cheerful.

Monika is startled because she's afraid that Nova will get rid of Trazyn as she did with most of her childhood friends. "I and Trazyn are together! You can't separate us!" Monika is acting very defensively.

Trazyn whispers to Monika about most of the things that happened in the past few days, after that Monika seemed more relaxed but she's still unhappy that Nova is here

Monika, Trazyn, Nova, and Elrene are sitting around a table. Monika is having her arm wrapped around Trazyn's arm. She's still very defensive about Nova, gods know what happened during their childhood that make Monika have to hide her relationships.

Elrene can tell that Nova and Monika are sisters, not because only of their looks but also the way they sit and the way they talk. But right now, they are in total awkward silence. Elrene feels like she needs to do something, she clears her throat and turns to Nova:" Hi, my name is Elrene. I work in this place and sometimes take care of Trazyn and Monika." She reaches out her right hand.

Nova shakes her hand and smiles:" Hi! Thanks for taking care of them, you seem like a really nice person."

Monika is looking at it with a salty face. Trazyn meanwhile smiles, because how much he likes Monika's salty face. He quickly pats Monika's head a few times before she gets madder.

"I hope my sister didn't really cause you a lot of trouble." Nova is acting very modest and kind. Which is the exact opposite of what Monika knows about Nova.

"Not at all, Monika has always been a cheerful presence in this place. She and Trazyn are great customers for my tavern." Elrene can see that Monika isn't happy about the existence of Nova, but she's trying to make the best of both worlds.

"Glad to hear that, thank you for taking care of my little sis." Nova's tone is polite and kind, if it isn't because of Monika's angry expression, nobody would suspect the person like Nova would harm anyone.

"I don't want you to be here." Monika couldn't hold it anymore, she said it while looking directly into Nova's eyes.

Due to what Monika said, the whole table becomes silent again. Trazyn however takes the initiative:" Anyways, I bet all of us are hungry. Why don't we eat something?" Trazyn is very good at redirection subjects.

"I will tell the chief to prepare a decent feast for you guys." Elrene stands up and walks towards the kitchen. She doesn't really want to get involved in all of their drama.

"Nova."

"Monika ?"

They stare at each other in the eyes, they are not fighting but everyone can sense the blood in the air. Trazyn however is looking at them with a smile, he's not really a fan of Monika being mad but seeing the Terra sister fights each other always entertains the hell out of him. Because the fights are usually started by Monika while Nova just constantly teases her.

"How did you get here?" Monika asks Nova. She always has a tone towards Nova, just like a rebellious kid.

"Wednesday helped me to get here, but I have no way of returning to our world." Nova replied

"Then, why did you come? Leaving everything you love behind just to come here, for what? Humiliate me?" Monika said.

Nova didn't reply, but Trazyn however is a bit annoyed by what Monika said. Clearly, Nova came because Monika is the only thing that's important for Nova, yet Monika is still unable to understand it.

"Haha… Honey, I need to tell you something… It's embarrassing." Trazyn then tells Monika in front of Nova what happened with Ria Ivor and asks her what he should do at this moment.

After a small pause, Monika let out a long sigh while giving Trazyn an 'unbelievable' face. Nova however is loving this little interaction between these two. Apparently, Trazyn didn't corrupt Monika what's so ever, that's the thing Nova is mostly worried about but now seeing they are behaving the way they are; Nova feels relaxed a bit.

"Soooo?" Trazyn is waiting for Monika's answer.

"I really don't want to but since you are my boyfriend. It's kinda my responsibility to help you when you are in trouble." Monika lays her chin on Trazyn's shoulder, she said the thing isn't only to Trazyn but to Nova. Most of the time, Monika would let Trazyn himself resolve the problem. Because this is Trazyn's sole responsibility.

"Well then, I shall help as well," Nova said

"NO!" Monika slipped it out without thinking.

Trazyn cannot tolerate this anymore, if there's anything he doesn't like more than anything is anyone being disrespectful. "Honey, I think you are going way too harsh on your sister."

This response kind of triggered Monika a bit:" She deserves it anyways, anything she would do even with seemingly good intentions is secretly trying to screw me over."

Trazyn can tell that Nova is hurt by what Monika said, he however doesn't want to be involved in the turf war of those two. "Monika my dear, why don't we take a walk outside. You know, only two of us. It's been a while, isn't it?"

Spending time alone with Trazyn always joys Monika, naturally she said yes. They then leave Nova behind after saying goodbye. To be honest, Nova isn't really bothered by anything Monika said. Her special training allows her to undergo any potential negative emotions. That's why she always has a smirk on her face, and that's the defensive mechanism to let her not feel anything in any situation.

Monika and Trazyn sits next to the river, it's quiet and is the few places that haven't been tainted by the phyrexian oil. Despite its full metallic plantation, the air is unusually fresh. Monika hugs her thigh and lays her head on Trazyn. Sometimes they just love this little moment, without talking, without responsibility. Just pure quietness. Trazyn and Monika cherish these little moments between them. God knows when it's the time that they will be separated again.

If there is one problem between these two is that they both don't want to say it out loud that they want each other 100% of the time. Not because of pride or anything like that. It's just the fact that they are both having the same solitary personality that makes it hard to say. They have no problems saying cheesy things but when it comes to claiming each other's total ownership, they just couldn't bring themselves to say that.

"I miss you." Monika lightly said, she couldn't get enough cheesiness.

"So do i." Trazyn lays his hand on Monika's head:" What happened between you two, the way you act is something that I've never seen before."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Emm. it's hard to explain in short, but when we were in high school a lot of things happened." Monika replies:" let's just not talk about it shall we?" Her green eyes under the sun are like the most precious gem you can find in this universe.

"Of course, by the way, I've got a small gift for you." Trazyn takes out a necklace, there's a small beetle at the very end of the necklace. "This will act as a defense mechanism, as long as I exist the necklace will shine with green light, and it will act as an emergency host for my consciousness. It also has an inbuilt beacon that allows me to track your location, you know...for emergencies."

"Aww. thank you Traz, you know…. You can just admit that you always want to know where I am. I won't say anything at all…" she then kisses Trazyn on the cheek while having a very satisfied expression.

A few days later... Monika is excited, ever since she got the advice from Glissa, she has been trying different clothes to impress Trazyn. Today, she finally got her choice and decided to give it a go. She chose a white dress with some flower patterns on it. Even it is a very common choice for a lot of girls but for Monika, it is something worth trying once in a while.

"Hey, Traz!" Monika beams with energy, somehow when she wears dresses make her mood better than usual as well:" Are you ready for the date?" She blinks her beautiful eyes.

Trazyn didn't really expect this, but it was meant to be a surprise anyway:" You look amazing! I hope I can see you more in these, instead of your boring jacket and pants." Trazyn smiles, he loves teasing Monika.

"Hey ! Those clothes are functional and comfortable!" Monika protests, not because she's mad but she also likes bantering from time to time. She holds Trazyn by the arm:" Anyways... Glissa allowed us to use her courtyard for our date. She has already prepared some food and drinks. All thanks for your girlfriend's charm!" The last part wasn't true, it was in fact the hard work of being a maid finally paid off. She annoyed Glissa days for her to approve the request.

Trazyn feels like Monika has grown a lot even since he left. He truly feels happy for her:" You are probably the best girlfriend ever."

Monika suddenly looks Trazyn in the eye:" Probably?"

Trazyn realized he said something wrong:" I mean THE best girlfriend ever." He emphasizes 'the'

Monika bursts into laughter:" I am just messing with you!" It did bother her a bit, but she won't let this minor error ruin their perfect day. Monika herself doesn't even know why but she feels relieved. It's like she found herself again. That's why on their way to Glissa's palace, Monika is constantly teasing Trazyn.

"Traz, did you miss me while you are gone?"

"Of Course, I did, I literally ran all across the continent just to see you faster."

"Aww... I missed you a lot…you know? Things... Happened while you are not here." Monika looks a bit depressed, but she then shakes her head to get rid of the bad thoughts.

Seeing this, There's a small smirk on Trazyn's face. He can't believe that that girl who lost a bar fight a year ago can develop into someone like this, he's really amazed by the human's ability to adapt and change over a short span of time.

After a short time, they arrived at the courtyard, Unlike the mechanical plantation outside. There are actually green plants in this place. This is something Monika did not realize last time when she was role-playing the maid. Of course, she did not tell that to Trazyn because she felt embarrassed to pull out a plan and failed miserably.

Monika picks up the rose cake on the table, which she specially requested from Glissa:" Hey… I've always wanted you to try this." Monika's face is full of sweetness, she wants Trazyn to try out the thing she likes the most in this world.

Trazyn slowly picks it up with his thumb and index finger then carefully analyzes the content in the rose cake, he knows the ingredients needed but you can't really obtain some of them in this world. For example, the flower rose does not exist in Mirriodin.

"Hey! Don't look into it too much, the point is to taste it." Monika loves these little moments between them.

Trazyn shrugs, what's the worst thing that could happen? As he puts the rose cake into his mouth, the sweetness bursts through the outer shell. This almost gave him a shock because of the unexpected sweetness. He turns his head at Monika, not because of the cake, but seeing Monika still managed to stay fit after eating this kind of thing constantly, he is worried about her body condition.

"Did you like it?" Monika blinks quickly as if she's been expecting Trazyn's answer for a long time. Her eyes are shining like the most expensive emerald, green gem.

"How do I put it together…." He's thinking about a response that would not upset Monika but also tell her that the cake she's been eating isn't healthy at all. At Least from a human standard. "Emm, I love it, but are you sure you want to eat it often? I think it's too much of a treat when you are eating ten of them in one afternoon."

Monika turns her head away while crossing her arms. She's like a child when she's with Trazyn:" Fine!" But deep inside she's glad that Trazyn and her are on the same page. She then lies on the grass. She really hopes time would stop at this moment.

"Honey, I have something to tell you." Trazyn stands up and jumps down from the grass platform. He makes sure that they are at the same eye level. "I've always been thinking to tell you about this, but I couldn't bring myself to."

Monika sits up, she could feel that Trazyn is being serious about what he is about to say. "What… do you mean?" Monika feels a bit insecure, Trazyn never said anything like that before.

"I am actually amazed that you can build all of this in your mind." Trazyn smiles: "I am glad that I can be with you for the time being. But now you have to let go."

"What? I… I don't get it."

"It's just a bad dream, all dreams end. At the end of the day, life needs to continue."

"But... it's too soon..." Monika jumps off the platform and hugs Trazyn tight:" I can't forget about you…. Please stay with me longer!" Tears ran out of Monika's eyes uncontrollably. While the surroundings are turning to bright white.

"I love you. Monika."

"I... Love...You. too..."

Hearing this, Trazyn leaves out a relieved smile.

...

"Captain!"

This is the first thing Monika heard while waking up, on the desk, there's dozens of flasks of hard alcohol and plenty more on the ground. She throws one bottle towards the noise, but it hits the ground.

"I have something to report, captain." It's a girl who's talking to Monika.

Monika forces open her tired eyes, it's a face she doesn't recognize at first glance, she's really tired:" Who the hell are you and why did you wake me up!" she sounds pissed off. If it wasn't that annoying girl waking her up, she could have spent more time with Trazyn.

"Captain, it's 3 pm in the afternoon. Sorry that I had to interrupt you but this is an urgent report." She seems a bit scared of Monika.

"Speak!" Monika's face is red, her hair is a mess. Worst of all she seems to haven't showered for days.

"The strike on the chaos spawn seems to be a major success. All thanks to your plan, HQ is going to promote you as a lieutenant colonel." The girl speaking is Kira, she's now a trooper who works under the regiment which is led by Monika.

"Passsss!" Monika prolongs the word and lies on the sofa next to her desk.

"Captain, if I may…. This is the second time you skipped your promotion. Your sister will also be there." Kira is holding the note from HQ with both of her hands because last time Monika just grabbed it and ripped it apart. It was not fun paperwork.

"Nova ? That…. Bitc…. ahh." Monika puked on the ground.

Ever since Nova left her post to find her sister, she's been punished for it. She managed to keep her rank but now she has to do a lot more missions instead of staying in HQ.

Kira hates to see Monika like this, she always sees her as her idol, that's why Kira decided to join the regiment under Monika's command. But now the once-legendary crimson hero is dying on a couch because of alcohol poisoning, she feels like she needs to do something.

"I am sorry, Captain but I need you to come with me!" Kira is boosting her courage to do so because the people like Monika can slice her head off without her even realizing it.

Monika did not reply, apparently, she fell asleep again. Kira holds her breath and carries Monika on her shoulder. She needs to prepare Monika for the incoming ceremony.

Kira enters Monika's private quarter with her keycard. She was surprised that unlike the scene in the office, Monika's room is clean and tidy. Kira opens the water in the bathtub and starts to undress Monika.

She sees a strange necklace that's seemingly alien. But she couldn't really tell. As she is about to remove it, Monika suddenly grabs Kira's hand:" Do not touch it!" Her voice sounded mad, but soon Monika fell back to sleep.

Kira is scared, she quickly continues undressing Monika and 'drops' her into the bathtub. Every move is dangerous when it comes to dealing with a drunk Monika. "Captain, I will leave you here alone and I will wait for you outside." she exits the bathroom and sits on the couch.

Monika didn't really tell anyone what happened to her, Kira just knew that after a few months of disappearance, Monika decided to rejoin the ranks. But ever since she's seemed depressed and at some point, starts to have intense drinking problems. But all of those problems did not stop Monika from accomplishing her tasks flawlessly. Once she single-handedly slaughtered the whole village full of heretics. That was the time when she was awarded by the Major title. But hearing to have the same rank as Nova, Monika immediately declined the ceremony.

Suddenly she hears a noise from the bathtub, Kira quickly runs into it, and she sees Monika is choking on the water. But this also helped Monika to sober up a bit:' Where the hell am I…?" Monika scratches her forehead.

"Captain, we are in your room. We need to prepare for your ceremony." Kira smiles, she's happy that Monika is back on her senses.

"Oh, hey Kira, didn't really see you there…. By the way, if it's in a situation like this, just call me Monika. " She still feels hungover but this time at least she can talk properly." Monika closes her eyes; she needs to rest more.

"Do you need help with anything else?" Kira asks

"No. I'm fine. Thank you for dropping me here…."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm kidding, you did a fine job. Leave, I'll take care of the rest."

As Kira leaves, Monika sinks her mouth into the water and starts to blow bubbles. She's depressed, but everyone would if they lost their love of life. Monika still doesn't want to think about that day. She's drinking alcohol because she heard that it helps to forget about things. She then lays back and stretches her arms: "why does dream always stop before disasters... " Monika thought but she then shakes her head to get rid of that thought.

After around half an hour, Monika finishes taking her bath. Despite her extremely unhealthy living style. Her body still seems to be adjusting fine. Her skin is still smooth, and her hair is still full of color. She opens the report file on her desk which is left by Kira.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Major Terra. Tomorrow at night, please join us for the ceremony." Monika reads out the words and scoffs. She feels like this is a promotion letter for Nova instead of her. She then dries her hair and wears her clothes. She sees another bottle of booze on the table, without hesitation she grabs and finishes the whole bottle in less than 10 seconds.

"You really should stop drinking." Nova appeared in Monika's room while laying her back on the wall. She shouldn't be here as she was sent away for missions. But she decides to see Monika personally after a few months.

"Why would you fucking care…" Monika swears when she's drunk.

"Because I am your sister."

"I don't have a sister."

"I did not know that would've happened."

Monika chuckles coldly:" You are the genius and invincible Nova Terra, why wouldn't you know that? Get the hell out of my sight before I start to have the thought of killing you." Monika leaves her quarter while still having Nova in it.

Monika returns to her office, seeing Kira is cleaning the room. Instead of saying anything, she jumps on the sofa and continues sleeping.

Kira walks next to Monika; she holds a bucket of water and pours it on her. Monika jumps up from the sofa and pushes Kira to the ground. She did not pull out her sword, she's just simply staring at her blue eyes while holding her collar. Both of them have no visible change of expression, Monika is still having that drunk poker face and Kira is still holding her breath.

Kira's eyes have no fear, she can't let Monika go down like this anymore. Even if it means risking her life:" Captain, no, Monika. You can't stay like this anymore. I don't know what you've been through, but I can tell it's devastating. So… Please let us help you." Kira's voice sounds like something is stuck in her throat.

Water drips from Monika's face on Kira's hair, the room is so silent that you can hear the water dripping on the ground. Monika's expression did not change, she just puts Kira down and leaves the office. Even after a while, Kira is still sitting on the floor due to the shock from the incident.

Monika is again off to buy more liquor, she hates drinking it but sometimes in her dream she can relive the old days, so she couldn't care less about her taste or body condition. As she walks towards the liquor store, she enters a corridor. The corridor isn't even long but she's been walking in it for ten minutes and there's seemingly no end whatsoever.

Monika thought she's drunk again and it's just her hallucination. But suddenly a voice echoes among the corridor:" We have noticed your act of blood. We are here to offer you an opportunity."

Monika scoffs, she's seen her share of chaos magic. Now they are coming for her to negotiate:" Pass, piss off." She puts one of her hands on the wall and talks to the echoing voice.

Suddenly a pool of red liquid appeared out of nowhere in front of Monika. The pool quickly turns into a small torrent and when all the liquid settles down, a human-like woman stands in front of her. She dresses in a suit and holds a glass of wine. Her hair is all white but her dark red eye is sending a message that she isn't some small fry.

Monika laughs:" All of those animations just for this? I thought you were going to eliminate me or something. Cough cough." She chokes herself because she laughed so hard. "You demons really need to work on how to be not so dramatic." She then has her power sword in her hand.

The white-haired woman did not seem to be bothered by what Monika said:" I am here to offer you a chance to bring back Tra…." Before she could finish her sentence, Monika threw the booze bottle in her hand to that woman's face. But it stopped right in front of her.

"Don't you dare continue…." Monika is pissed, like really pissed off. She tried so hard to forget that name, but it just got brought up that easily by the person standing in front of her:" Before I kill you… why don't you tell me your name?"

"Lucifer, ruler of hell, or queen or king. I don't really care; you can call me Lucie if you want." The tail behind her back is wavering.

"So, you are one of the chaos?"

"Not really, I'm from hell where the ancient human believes. Not some forces from another galaxy"

"What's the difference?"

"We have standards while chaos does not."

Monika seemed to be convinced by her answer, not because she's talking in a polite manner but also from Monika's experience, most chaos-related enemies are extremely aggressive. Monika fades away the power sword then lays her back on the wall:" So... what's your proposal?"

Lucifer seemed to be happy with Monika's response:" I am not really into torturing people whatsoever. You see, people like me are immortal. Which means that we are bored when there's no sacrifice that's made in our name."

Monika frowns:" Are you trying to convince me to kill people for you?"

"If you put it in such a bad way…. Yes ? Please?" Lucifer puts both of her hands on her back while having a smiling face.

Monika doesn't mind killing, her life at this point is purposeless:" What do I get from it?"

"How about the way to get your loved one back?" Lucifer smiles widens, she knows well what kind of offer Monika is looking for.

"Resurrection? Ha, don't make me laugh. I am not looking for that bullcrap." Monika shakes her head; those ancient demons are not as perceptive as she thought.

Lucifer finishes the wine she's holding:" I am not talking about bringing him back, in fact from what I've known. He didn't really die at all. He was banished or rather exiled into another dimension."

Monika is shocked by what Lucifer knows, this whole event happened in another world, yet she understands it perfectly. Monika walks in front of Lucifer and looks at her in the eye:" I don't really care how you knew all of the information, but you are right. I can use some help. Now let's talk terms."

"Oh my… Looks like my friend Trazyn did raise a smart kid." Lucifer chuckles but then she becomes more serious:" The black praetor from the other world is here. I want you to eradicate her and all of her top generals. You don't have to harm the non-essentials; I am not that low of a person. But what the black praetor doing is seriously affecting my territory."

" What is she doing exactly?" Monika is curious about it.

" Imagine enslaving all of those people but turning into machines afterward. I can't get anything in the process, so I need you to break the imbalance." Lucifer doesn't seem like she's joking.

"I will do it… but let me tell you something you don't know about me…." Monika holds Lucifer by the shoulder:" If you lie to me about anything or I don't get what you've promised in anyways…. I will find you and I will make sure the rest of your immortal life is worse than hell." Her eyes are full of cruelty and rage. Cruelty because her heart is cold and rage is because Lucifer is trying to use her emotion to act as leverage, this is one of the things that she hates the most.

"Hands off." Lucifer's expression did not change by what Monika said.

Monika releases her:" Anything else?"

"Not really, I guess it's time we bid farewell." Lucifer snaps her finger, and the elongated hallway starts to pull back. And Lucifer disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Monika looks at the booze store, without hesitation, Monika turns back and returns to her office. Kira is already gone, but the floor is already cleaned so is the sofa. She quickly accesses the database about any information related to black water, corruption, mechanization, and unknown creatures.

After an hour of a very thorough search, she found a lead: a small, separated town near the city of Lokar. This just reminds Monika almost a year ago she saw some wild animals become half machines and drip black liquid from its body. As she tries to think deeper than that, she suddenly feels a surge of dizziness and collapses.

When Monika woke up, she found herself in the hospital. This time she got some tubes plugged into her hands. She squinted her eyes and checks the label, it's just some liquid that has essential nutrients in it. She kind of remembered why she fainted, it looks like she hasn't eaten anything for the past few days, and she didn't even realize it.

"You are awake." It's Nova, she decloaks herself next to Monika. She seemed worried about her:" I've heard what happened to you from the doctors, you seriously need to look after yourself more."

Monika turns herself away from Nova, she doesn't want to be pitied by the people like her.

Seeing this, Nova stands up and leaves the room. But suddenly Monika talked:" Wait." She sits up and looks Nova in the eyes:" I am sorry that I am being a bad sister for…. Almost forever. I know none of the things that happened is your fault, but I was just so used to blaming everything on you….because" She paused and she's trying very hard to squeeze words out from her mouth:" You are always better than me at everything….what happened to Trazyn isn't your fault… it's his decision to…" Tears fall out from Monika's eyes, this is the first time after so long she confronts her fear.

Nova rushes in and hugs Monika, she was there, she also understands how Monika feels. But her responsibility forces her to stop mourning, instead, she needs to look forward. Not for herself but also for her sister:' You don't have to say more…. I will always be here for you no matter what happens."

Monika probably did not hear what Nova said because she was already crying while her body was shaking. Even people outside the room can hear her cry of sadness. After a few hours of the intense release of emotion, Monika feels way better than the time when she was having drinking problems. Monika told Nova about the deal she made with Lucifer, normally Nova would taunt Monika for being such an idiot to make a deal with the devil. But this time she did not say anything. Nova just tells Monika to do whatever she wants; she'll deal with the problems that might come for her while she's gone. But Monika also promises Nova that she will attend the promotion ceremony at night. Because It's not just for her but for their family name. The Terra family can finally use a win after a long time.

The reason this is important for both Monika and Nova is because of the competitiveness between the families among the ranks. The Thorn family where Maverick and Anton belong is known for producing fine captains for the imperium. They are usually the ones that fight among the frontline. Despite Noel being a lieutenant, the Vermillion family are known rich royal members. Normally they wouldn't even have to send their descendants into the army, but Noel is an exception. She's the youngest among her siblings thus she needs to find another way to compete among the family. Those competition among the family might seem unhealthy but it consistently ensures the quality of the fighters in the imperial worlds.

Terra sister's parents are the crew members of the famous admiral who saved the gothic sector of the imperial world and he's also the vanquisher of Abbadon's twelfth black crusade. However, her parents are gone with Admiral Spire. It's almost been a decade and there's no more information about either Spire or their parents. Naturally everyone thinks they are all dead, probably in a brave fight against the chaos. But the Terra sister still believes that they are alive and well. Even they have no proof or solid information.

Monika looks at herself in her uniform, for a young age she already has plenty of medals on her chest. For too long she has been living for herself, she almost forgot that she is part of the Terra family where their name is from the imperial home world: Holy Terra. She tightens her uniform, it's a feeling that she hasn't felt for a longtime. This brings her back during her time in the Academie. At last, she puts on her captain's boots and a pair of white gloves.

In the backstage, Monika noticed that there's around four more people who were getting promoted. One of them seemed oddly familiar, Monika recognizes the white hair, but she couldn't really tell who that person is from the back.

On the stage they all stand alongside each other as a line. Monika and the mysterious white-haired person are on the very edge so Monika couldn't get a good look at his or her face. "At first we are going to commend the brave soldiers who fought for the imperium. Some have given their lives for the god-emperor and thus we will remember them by not compromising to the advancing force of chaos and the Xenos. However, without the efforts of these talented and brilliant officers our loss of soldiers will be in vain. That's why today, we will accommodate these officers: Lieutenant colonel: Monika Terra. Sergeant: Avixis Solaro, High Commissar: Kjias Umberwolf, Lieutenant chemist: Lucie Morningstar and at last our most prominent fighter we've ever received in our army, who is why we are going to give her triple ranked up promotion, Captain: Ria Ivor!"

The crowd is shocked by the triple promotion because so far, the only person who managed to do so is Nova. This is no normal promotion, if she's being promoted as captain then it means that when she joined, she was just a mere trooper. But more shockingly, Nova and Monika recognize that name. She's the person that lost everything due to Trazyn and found refuge by pledging her loyalty to Imotekh the storm lord. Ria's eye looks down and fixes on Nova while Nova does the same to Ria.

Ria's eye is full of coldness, she's just like Nova, an extremely talented gunslinger. But what's concerning Nova is the intention of Ria. Why would she be here? Nova thinks it's a plan which is conducted by Imotekh to try to infiltrate the imperial HQ. When Nova tries to read her mind, suddenly she feels something snapped in her head. Noel and Kira noticed the irregular behavior of Nova, but Nova just let it slide away. Apparently, Ria's mind is unreadable, moreover, it is somehow full of anti-psychic barriers in her mind. Making it impossible to even enter Ria's mind. Seeing Nova snapped her mind, Ria has a smirk on her face.

But at the end, the ceremony finished without having more problems, afterwards Nova and Monika blocked Ria at the exit of the building. " What are you doing here?" Nova does not want anything to go wrong.

"None of your business, but nice to meet you, Monika. I'm glad what happened to Trazyn, he got what he deserved." Ria has a smirk on her face. She's intentionally trying to piss Monika off.

It almost worked, Monika is definitely not happy by what Ria said but this time after the talk with Nova and Lucifer, Monika is more tolerant about this kind of thing:" Answer Nova's question." She's trying hard to hide her emotions.

"I want to join among the ranks. Is there a problem?" Ria intentionally said it very loud, so everyone was looking at them. For others, they thought the Terra sisters were bullying a new rising star. Seeing this, Monika and Nova have to let Ria go. The last thing they want to damage is their family name in a time like this.

"Just as i thought..." Ria turns away with that beatable smirk on her face. This is almost the first time the Terra sister is facing a neutral enemy like Ria. Nova sees a potential danger to everything she's trying to protect while Monika sees a person that taunted her personally. Afterwards both of them agree that Ria Ivor needs to be dealt with.

At night, like every day Monika takes her necklace off and puts it on the table next to her bed, every day she hopes Trazyn can be found or alive at some point. Now due to her pact with Lucifer, she's preparing herself for the incoming journey. As usual, she takes a long bath and dries her hair. Before she leaves the bathroom, she looks outside of her house, the night is quiet but there's a couple holding each other's hand walking under the main street.

Monika covers the window with the curtain while staring at them, it could be her and Trazyn but now she's like a war widow. Thinking about this, Monika jumps on the bed and starts to hit the pillow. Her face is red due to jealousy. Every time she gets something good in her life, it just slips away. Just as she was sitting on the bed, she noticed something glowing green light. "The necklace!" She said it excitedly, as she grabs the necklace, it is indeed the source of the green light. Monika thought it was Trazyn, because he said it is used as a beacon, if it activates it means Trazyn is alive.

"Hello, my name is Vegas. An AI that is developed to assist with your daily routine." The necklace starts to talk. Monika is startled, she drops the necklace on the ground and pokes it with a small sword. " Please do not attempt to damage the necklace." it said.

"Vegas ? Aren't you supposed to be Trazyn?" Monika talks to the necklace, she thought she's crazy at this point,

"Trazyn is my creator, he developed me and put me in this necklace. I was supposed to be your anniversary present. But it seems Trazyn is currently MIA." It speaks in a very polite male voice.

"So… Do you know my name?" Monika picks the necklace up, she's impressed that Trazyn has thought this far in their relationships.

"Monika Terra, Lieutenant-colonel in the Imperial Navy. Relatives : Nova Terra, Maria Terra, Miler Terra and Leo Terra,"

"Wait what? Who is Leo Terra?" Monika never heard of that name before, needless to say knowing another male relative.

"In the database, Leo Terra is the firstborn of the Terra family, five years difference between you and him."

"But i never heard of him… Like never, never. Do you have his current location?" Monika asks.

"Unknown, it was never recorded."

"Damnit!" She hits the bed; she could feel a string in the mattress is broken but she has more important things to do now. She quickly wears her pajamas and runs towards Nova's room.

At the door, when she was about to knock, her hand stopped in the midair. She's thinking whether it's necessary to ask Nova about it. If she really has a big brother but never even bothered to show up, what's the point of doing any of this redundant work? As she thinks about this, the door is open. Maverick is just about to come out from Nova's room and sees Monika standing in front of the door.

Despite being in an extremely awkward situation, Maverick just quickly said hello to Monika and ran out of the quarter. Nova is a bit embarrassed about this whole thing but she's more curious about why Monika would be here at this moment. "What's up little sis?" Nova asks while scratching the back of her head.

"I was about to ask you something but never mind." Monika can see the messy bed.

Nova quickly grabs Monika by the shoulder and pulls her into the room. She quickly tugged on the inappropriate stuff in her room and brought Monika a cup of water:" What's the question?" She crosses her legs and half lying on the sofa.

"Do we have a brother?' Monika asks straightly.

Suddenly Nova's expression changed, she looked serious. Which is a face she never did to Monika:" How did you know this?"

"It doesn't matter, do you know anything about Leo Terra?"

Nova drinks the cup of water on the table and leaves out a sigh:" I knew eventually you would know about this one way or another." Nova apparently isn't really trying to hide the truth:" Leo Terra was the firstborn and probably the true honor of the Terra family." Nova sounded a bit jealous of Leo:'' All of us grew up with each other, but when you were young you did not really put a lot of effort on building relationships with him. It's within the expectation that you would forget about him. I however met him a few times while I was in the ghost program. He was… my trainer..."

"Then why didn't you talk about him?" Monika sounded a bit annoyed by the fact that Nova hides the truth.

"Because i don't want you…" Nova paused. It's hard to finish the sentence:" I don't want you to know more about him…. He's not a good person… Even for my standard."

Monika holds Nova's hand; she understands how much Nova has gone through that's why she's not really going to blame her about it. Instead, she shows the necklace to Nova. Nova is impressed by this little gadget as well, but she then warns Monika about the restriction of AI in the imperium. Monika nods her head and promises Nova that she would not get herself into trouble by having this. Later, Nova talked more about Leo to Monika. After that Monika went back to her room and slept. Tomorrow is her day of leaving the HQ and pursuing her journey of finding Trazyn.