Black and white. The colours of the world were gone, drained from the landscape as if swallowed by shadows. Everywhere they looked, the world had become a sea of monochrome, stark and lifeless. Only they remained untouched, their bodies standing out in vivid contrast, as if they were foreign to this strange, colourless place.

Black and white. Black and white. Black and white. That was truly all they could perceive in this world.

“You gotta be kidding me…” Vincent voiced out his concern, as his hand immediately grabbed onto his holstered revolver. He had tried to sprung into action. But— “What the-?”

Eldryn noticed that gesture, and grabbed the man’s wrist without looking. He didn't speak any words out, but the move sent a clear enough message for Vincent to stand down for this one. At least, until their de-facto leader had spoken out about this.

“Adrian…you know anything about this?” The princess was the one to turn her gaze towards the leading man in the front, a hand hovered over her sword just in case. The aura of this place was already eerie enough, but to notice that Adrian was familiar with it somehow made things more uneasy than it was before.

“No…not really, but I might know who had done this.” He said, before whispering under his breath, sighing. “She's certainly acting quite troublesome here…”

Her brows furrowed listening to those words, before facing forward again. None of them really dared to cross, though Adrian was about to take a step to try and find out about this, before—

“Marilyn?” Adrian halted his advance, as the girl with the silver eye walked forward faster than him with a certain decisiveness. It was as if she was trying something. “You know you don't need to, right? Let me handle this.”

The girl turned her face towards him, “No worries. I’ll call for help when necessary.” And Marilyn then proceeded further away from the group.

Adrian could only watch on, a bit concerned by the sudden action. “Just be careful.” He said. Despite the fact that he could handle this by himself, he was curious about what she was doing here.

“Good luck, Lyn-lyn!” Elysia then yelled out, waving her hand with a smile.

Marilyn nodded, her staff at the ready, her other hand hovering over her sword. A couple of steps she took, before her distance from the rest was about several metres away. She presented that magical staff towards her front, and the magical crystal acting as its focus began to glow a brilliant blue.

Her eyes glowed a stellar azure, and she would try to scan the presence of magic in this area. She wasn’t fearless, but her scepticism outweighed any fear at the moment. Taking a deep breath, she began.

Analysing…

Presence of complex Essence Magic detected. Path of Shadows suspected. Beginning alteration.

She aimed to rewrite the magic surrounding them, to unravel the enchantment that had turned the world to monochrome. Slowly, the black-and-white world around her began to bleed into colour again, like a painting filling with life.

It was a calculated plan—to bait out whoever was responsible. But if they didn’t take the bait, or if there weren't anyone to interrupt her at all, at least the manor would return to normal.

Then—

“Stupid mistake.”

The voice was low, female, dripping with disdain. Before Marilyn could react, a dagger pressed coldly against her neck, the assailant seemingly appearing from nowhere.

“Tch! Vis Propulsiva!”

Marilyn reacted instinctively, swinging her staff behind her and summoning a force that knocked the assailant away. She whirled around, but her eyes couldn’t track the figure. It was as if the attacker had disappeared entirely.

Her heart raced. Something’s wrong.

Suddenly, all her senses went dark. She was deaf, blind, and numb to everything except a deep, creeping sense of danger. Like a shadow looming, untraceable.

Yet, despite the handicap, Marilyn knew how to follow that sense of doom. She steadied herself, trying to predict where the next strike would come from.

To an outside observer, it would look as though Marilyn was fighting thin air. But the shadow was there, weaving through the environment, striking in ways no one else could see.

Knives—many of them—whizzed through the air, multiplying mid-flight until they rained down like arrows. Marilyn drew her sword, slashing through space itself in an attempt to deflect them.

She failed.

“Ah—!” Pain lanced through her as several blades found their mark, cutting into her arms and legs. The knives vanished from sight, but the hurt they induced, in spite of no injury, was real. She should have been able to block them—this made no sense.

Analysing…

Illusion Magic detected. Potency marginally above current skill level. Risk level: High

Marilyn gritted her teeth, struggling to stay upright as her mind raced. She could feel the illusion warping reality around her. Each cut, each slice, twisted her perception. But even as the danger escalated, her will hardened.

She wasn't done yet.

Her pain disappeared almost instantly, but the rain of knives persisted, relentless. Marilyn continued to deflect them with slashes through space, gusts of wind spinning off her staff. Yet despite her efforts, some blades found their mark. She gritted her teeth, fighting through that pain.

This wasn’t her usual fighting style as of recent times—Marilyn rarely cared about defence, preferring to strike fast and hard. But now, she had no choice. She was forced to defend, forced to react. Even her barriers weren't enough. The unseen enemy had her pinned.

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This battle was tougher than anything she’d faced before. Even tougher than the assassin.

“Haaah!!” Marilyn slammed the butt of her staff into the dirt, gathering Essence in a desperate attempt to break the monochrome spell, to flush out her attacker.

“What—?”

Before the magic could release, bands of shadow wrapped around her wrists, ankles, and throat, yanking her back. She struggled, pulling against them, but they held firm. Her limbs trembled with the effort to break free. She was trapped.

The attacker still hadn’t revealed themselves—just a vague shape in the corner of her vision, a shadow flitting between perceptions. Marilyn's heart raced. The longer she struggled, the more helpless she felt.

Then, in a blur, the shadow lunged, ready to deliver the final blow—

“-!!?”

But a flaming blue lash shot through the air, cracking like thunder, knocking the assailant back before she could strike. Marilyn gasped as Adrian appeared beside her, his whip and sword still aglow with Essence. He sighed, the fire dimming slightly as he turned to face the shadow.

“That’s enough, Julia. You’ve made your point.”

At the sound of her name, the shadow froze. A tense silence followed.

Adrian’s tone wasn’t harsh, just tired, as though this wasn’t the first time he’d been through something like this. He stepped forward, keeping his weapon at the ready. Marilyn’s wide eyes darted between him and the still-hidden figure, unsure what was happening but trusting Adrian’s control of the situation.

After a long, charged pause, the shadow spoke. “...Fine.”

With a flick of her wrist, the shadowy bands binding Marilyn vanished, and the world of black and white dissolved around them. Colours returned in a hasty wave, the oppressive atmosphere lifting. But one thing didn’t change.

The assailant—Julia—remained entirely black and white, from her skin to her clothes.

As she fully revealed herself, Marilyn finally saw her attacker clearly. Julia wore a long trench coat, a tall, tilted top hat, and oversized boots. Her expression was a study in gloom, like someone weighed down by perpetual sadness. She looked… completely out of place in the now-colourful world.

Vincent, his revolver still at the ready to be unholstered, voiced what everyone was thinking. “The hell…?”

Julia exhaled, a weary huff, before flicking her hand again. The last of the magic dissipated. The shadows were gone, but her black-and-white appearance wasn’t. She remained drained of colour, stark and monochrome.

“Is she…?” Cecilia asked, eyes narrowing in confusion. “Was that the spell?”

“No,” Adrian said quietly. “That’s just how she is.”

Julia’s colourless eyes flicked to him, her expression remaining neutral, but there was a faint glint of annoyance in her gaze. “You were too slow.” She muttered.

“Yeah yeah, I really thought she could pull through before I stepped in. You could've also just not done that in the first place, you know why I’m here.” He retorted, arms akimbo, sighing. “But nice seeing you again, little sis.”

The gloomy girl just huffed out again, hands in her pockets. “Touche, that spell was made to test you. You failed, therefore you must be punished…won’t be now though.”

“J-just what kind of test was I supposed to take there even?” Adrian sounded worried, he didn't even laugh, just full on concerned.

“Well, I wanted to fight you, but for some reason she was the one to do it for you.” She explained, “So, once again, you failed.”

Adrian blinked, “You're really stubborn when it comes to testing yourself huh?”

A small smirk appeared on her face, “...correct, you’ve always beaten me in mock fights, after all.”

Marilyn, still catching her breath, rose shakily to her feet, gripping her staff. She cast one last glance at Julia, bewildered, but kept her thoughts to herself. Cecilia was the one that had run all the way towards her, keeping her stable. The battle had ended, but the tension remained, hanging thick in the air like the remnants of a storm.

Well, it would've been if it weren't for—

“Ahhhh!!!” Elysia had charged and tackled the mysterious sister of Adrian into a hug, it even made her hat fall. “Nice to meet youuu!!! I’m Elysia, Adrian's life partner, you're so cuteeee!”

“Get-! Off!” Julia was caught immediately by surprise, her expression immediately going out of character as she tried to force Elysia's head away from her face. One detail was identified quickly by the rest of the group however, barring Adrian who already knew about it.

“You're…” Cecilia was the one to speak out, “A rabbit-folk?”

The black and white bunny ears were clear for all of them to see, and it only made the girl blush some more, as she had fully knocked Elysia away from her. “Half-blood, not a full one.” She clarified, sighing.

“Yeah…” Adrian scratched his cheek, laughing awkwardly, “My father's a full human, my mother's the full rabbit-folk. She was the result.”

“Hmm…” Marilyn began to contemplate those words, “That means only one trait right? Only ears and no tail?”

Julia was retrieving her hat from the ground, wearing it again after dusting off as she heard that. “Correct.”

“Wait…does that mean Elysia’s a half-blood too?” Cecilia turned towards the dragon-kin princess, who was just too happy not to be upset about her fall.

“Huh? Where did you get that from? I have a tail!” She yelled out, turning towards her arms crossed, “I just hid it with a partial transformation, that's all!”

Cecilia nodded, the realisation hitting her, “Ohh, makes sense.”

Julia adjusted her hat, her black-and-white figure stark against the now-vivid colours of the world. The tension hung in the air, but Elysia, ever unfazed, bounced back to her feet with a grin.

“I’ve always wanted to meet your family members! I didn’t expect Adrian to have a half-bunny sister, but this is perfect!” She exclaimed, her energy cutting through the awkwardness.

Julia huffed, clearly uncomfortable. Adrian scratched his head, half-amused, half-exasperated. “She’s more trouble than perfect, trust me.”

Julia responded with a glare, “You still owe me your punishment."

Before anyone could respond, the sound of footsteps broke the silence. All heads turned as a tall woman with brown hair, taller than Marilyn and equal in height to Adrian if it weren't for her rabbit ears, approached the manor gates, arriving with several bags full of groceries.

“Mum…” Adrian said, his voice softening.

Lydia Hunt greeted them with a warm smile, her presence both graceful and commanding. “I see that I’ve missed quite the event.” She casted a knowing glance at her two children. “I told you two not to roughhouse with guests.”

Adrian winced. “It’s not what it looks like, Mum.”

Lydia chuckled, waving it off. “No need to explain. Julia’s always had her...ways.” She turned to the group. “Since you’re all here, why don’t you join us for dinner? I’ve just returned from the market. It would be a shame to let a good meal go to waste.”

Elysia’s face lit up. “We’d love to!” She shot Adrian a wink. “He told me you’re an amazing cook.”

Adrian blushed slightly. “Maybe once or twice…”

Cecilia stepped forward with a bow. “We’d be honoured, Mrs. Hunt."

Lydia smiled warmly. “None of that formal talk. Just Lydia, please.” She gestured toward the manor. “Come along, all of you. I’m sure you’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

Julia cast a final glance at Marilyn before following her mother. And Marilyn, still catching her breath, somehow knew that this wouldn’t be the last encounter with Adrian’s half-blooded sister. But for now, the danger had passed.

As they walked toward the manor building proper, Elysia nudged Adrian. “Why didn’t you tell me your sister’s half-bunny?”

Adrian sighed. “You never asked.”

“Well, I’m asking now!” She grinned. “She’s got the ears and everything!”

Adrian rolled his eyes. “It’s complicated. Julia’s always been competitive, trying to prove herself. She's lovely, but that quality of hers is always an odd one.”

“She reminds me of Lia,” Marilyn remarked.

Cecilia shot her a glare. “Excuse me?”

Elysia giggled. “You’re both stubborn and love to compete.”

“I don’t love competition.” Cecilia muttered. “I just don’t like losing.”

Adrian smirked but said nothing, clearly thinking the same.

As they reached the doors to the manor itself, Lydia pushed them open, revealing the interior of the Hunt family's generational abode. Marilyn sensed that there was a clear historical significance here, almost felt like she was walking into a museum. The air felt quite different altogether because of it.

There was also an odd woman standing at the corner of the hallway, pale blonde hair and porcelain skin. She was almost...doll-like?

“Come in, make yourselves comfortable.” Lydia said, ushering them inside. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

Marilyn hesitated, glancing back at the now-colourful world, feeling that this was only the beginning of what lay ahead. But for tonight, she stepped into the warmth of the manor, letting the door close behind her as the smell of home-cooked will fill the air soon enough.

For now, there was peace.