Saturday.

Gwen took a break from biometrics and practice, spending her third semester weekend with her babulya. It had been almost six weeks since Gwen had seen or spoken to her brother, burdening her with a growing sense of guilt.

As for Percy's neglect to call her, Gwen chose forgiveness. The boy was just a teenager seeking affirmation from Guo, thereby possessing excellent excuses like immaturity and inexperience. As such, were Percy's fault was not knowing better, her abandonment of her baby brother would be by choice, one she did not wish to make. She had lost him once in her old life—this time, she wanted to do better.

"Don't fret. Your grandfather isn't home," her babulya assured Gwen as she stepped from the sedan. Gwen had been quiet the whole while because her Divination senses had been grating her, agitating her with an inner itch she could not scratch.

Gwen scanned the courtyard.

"Percy's inside," her grandmother comforted her. "He should be training right about now. Leave your Familiar and pick up the package later."

Gwen nodded, then made her way through the familiar layout of the Song estate. There was no doubt that news of her faux-excommunication had spread, for the servants avoided her as she passed through the long corridor of the siheyuan.

When she arrived at the training hall, there were sounds of exertion audibly emanating from within.

Gwen knocked.

"Come in!" Her brother's voice reverberated. The sliding door pulled back to reveal Percy, son of Hai, heir apparent to the Clan of Song, Guan-er-dai in residence.

"Sis!" Percy appeared startled to see his sister strolling back into her old abode.

The boy—or more accurately the young man—was half-naked, bathing the bronze expression of his Indonesian inherited complexion in snail sheen. It was evident that Guo had been training and feeding Percy well, for her brother looked to have picked up ten kilograms in muscle mass, concentrated across his chest and arms. His face as well, which had always appeared juvenile to Gwen, was starting to take Hai's prominent jawline.

"Who's this handsome young man? Where did my baby brother go?" Gwen broke the ice with a genuine compliment.

Percy grinned, then greeted her formally. His voice sounded deeper as well, more resonant and powerful.

Watching her eyes, her baby brother must have grown conscious of his state of undress. The boy materialised a towel from thin air with a nonchalant gesture, then wrapped its length around his shoulders.

A Medium Storage Ring, Gwen noted. How quickly they grow up.

"How's training going?" Gwen stepped into the renovated training hall. The gym's present state barely resembled the spartan space she had called home for three weeks. All manners of equipment had been introduced to the once empty room, from body-building machines to magic-training equipment. From a glance, one would have thought Percy was training for the Mageocracies' Commonwealth Games.

"I've got a lot to catch up on," Percy explained, watching her eyes. "I am repeating a year in Xiao Ming, did you know that? There are three years of Middle School in China. I am supposed to be in second-year, but Grandfather made me start from the beginning."

"Are you much older than your peers?" Gwen asked, wondering if her brother would be bullied.

"I am not the oldest, no," Percy answered with a smirk. "Did you know the school is Co-ed? Thank God, I thought I was going to be stuck for another three years in an all-male campus."

That last comment made Gwen immediately think of their father.

"Percy, if you spend your time chasing skirts—"

"No! No way!" Her brother's face reddened. "As if I have the time!"

"Good. Let Dad be your anti role model," Gwen warned her brother with a crooked smile. "So, how's the magic coming along?"

"I'm officially an Evoker! They told me I am suited to Transmutation too—but I should focus on Evocation for now. Grandfather says Evocation-Transmutation is an excellent combination for Quasi-Elemental Salt. It's the same as Uncle Jun!"

"Wow! That's wonderful!" Gwen wanted to give her brother a congratulatory hug, but the young man was still steaming odiously. "Can I see? Are you able to use Salt safely now?"

"Yes," Percy boasted happily. "All thanks to..."

His gleeful mien froze mid-expression.

Gwen followed Percy's guilty gaze until her eyes rested on his chest.

There, a length of red string ended with a pale coloured pendant in milk-white jade.

The Kirin Amulet.

It was milky white.

Last she recalled, it was jade with strands of marbled scarlet.

"Percy—" Her words halted halfway, for the moment her thoughts grew to envelop the amulet, she felt the ground under her give way.

Fighting the indescribable sense of metaphysical vertigo, Gwen felt her Divination Sigil ignite as never before, petrifying her spine with a solid jolt of adrenaline.

Struggling to control herself, she forced her gaze to lift from the lamb's fat colouring of the Kirin Amulet, noting that the marbling strands of pinkish veins still existed, if faintly.

"C-congratulations." Gwen finally managed to say the words, even though her tongue felt as heavy as a slab of stone.

Watching her brother flinch, Gwen felt an immediate sense of regret. Christ, she thought to herself, how incredibly guilty she must seem—freaking out after seeing him making use of "her" Creature Core. But it wasn't as though she could explain the subtler points of passive Divination to her brother, not when it sounded like a piss-weak excuse even to herself.

"Master, I mean Grandfather, taught me how to use it," Percy said carefully, his body understandably tensing at his sister's queerness. "The Negative Energy feeds into the Amulet and becomes displaced by the Essence held within."

"It… does that?" Gwen circulated Almudj's Essence until she was fully restored and calm. "You can tap into its store of Essences now?"

Percy unconsciously took a step back, just out of her reach. Gwen smiled, hoping her eyes were too bloodshot with the effort she had exerted. Despite the stillness of the air outside, the interior of the training hall was beginning to feel rather hot.

"Yes. I can use the Kirin core." It was a statement, Gwen noticed. A show of determination. "It was painful at first, but I powered through it. I can use it now. Would you like a demonstration?"

"May I?"

"Here, let me show you." Percy moved away from her.

There was a churning of Evocation, a sudden drying of the air. Before Gwen's eyes, the accumulated sweat on Percy's brow instantly evaporated.

"Salt Bolt!"

A sliver of silvery Salt, formed into a razor-sharp crystal, appeared in the air, then shrieked toward the targeted platform. It struck the transmuted surface with a thud, then shattered into thousands of ice-like fragments.

"And I just learned this—Smite!"

The residual Salt scattered about the platform suddenly collated, then erupted once again, sending out a shockwave ringed with jagged salt shards.

After covering the intended area of effect, the Salt faded into the aether. The target, torn and blasted, began to restore itself through its inbuilt Transmutation Glyph.

"What do you think?" Percy turned to her with bright eyes.

It was only then that Gwen realised she hadn't paid attention at all to Percy. Instead, her eyes had remained locked onto the amulet, where the marbled vein of red embedded into the milk-white jade throbbed as though alive. Furthermore, she couldn't help but notice her chest rose and fell with the same cadence as Percy's, in sync with the ebb and flow of mana within the Kirin core.

"Wonderful," Gwen announced hurriedly. She even clapped a few times. "You're progressing so fast!"

"Thanks, Sis", Percy smirked. "Say, I gotta take a shower and finish up here. Do you want to stay for lunch or…?"

"I've got errands," Gwen declined Percy's offer, her mood miles from her usual hospitality thanks to her unintended rudeness.

The amulet, she thought.

The damned amulet.

It was all she could think about, driving her to distraction. Was it jealousy? Was she envious of the fact that he was using it? She knew it was silly to feel possessive over something she had willingly given up.

"Babulya is still waiting," Gwen added unconvincingly, too preoccupied to even continue her act.

"Alright, Sis." Percy paralleled his sister's aloofness.

"Take care of yourself, Percy. I'll come to visit now and then."

"Thanks."

"See you later, Percy."

"Laters, Sis."

Gwen left the room and walked stiffly from the training hall toward the central courtyard. In between her Divination-driven anxiety and self-loathing, she was reminded of another explanation for the amulet's altered state.

Was it possible that a bit of Almudj was still in the amulet? Was all of Al's Essence spent, or could there still exist a tiny sliver of the mythical beast within the Kirin Core?

Gwen paused by the tranquil water feature to gather her thoughts. She was out of the east wing now, away from the shadows of the white walls and into the light of the central garden.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, feeling the warmth of the sun on her hair and shoulders. The damned Divination was at peace now, acting as though it had known nothing.

Why had it freaked out?

Could she trust the untrained instinct of her Divination Sigil? What good could come from responding to such a vague and unreliable feeling? She thought of Mayuree and the advice the superior Diviner had given her.

"Don't look into self-premonitions, not if you want to have a life. Let it be. Be ready. If you're wrong, you've wasted your time. If you're right, you've wasted your time."

Likewise, from her old world, Hamlet had offered a similar warning.

We defy augury: there's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow.

Her problem, Gwen sighed, was that she wasn't Prince Hamlet, nor was she meant to be.

She was fortune's fool.

[https://i.imgur.com/BJhWXZ0.png]

Percy Song stumbled into the shower, his body shaking with nausea. He hadn't even bothered removing his pants as he stepped into the frigid stream of running water to cool his head.

Instantly, the coldness calmed him, drowning the fever in his brain.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

There was something in the amulet.

At first, he thought it was a part of the ritual. After all, Guo had stated that their predecessors killed thousands, if not tens of thousands, of magical creatures, including Demi-humans, in their Clan's history and that their "souls" were absorbed by the Kirin Core.

The Clan technique that grandfather had taught him was based on the Kirin Core's characteristic—allowed Percy to redirect the 'yin' energies of the Salt element into the amulet to be purified. That way, the Kirin Amulet both protected his body from corrosion and provided him with additional mana, passive empowerment, and enhanced constitution.

In truth, as a Prince-educated Mage, Percy only ever half-trusted the mumbling mysticism Guo fed into him. His "Yeye" was a master indoctrinator, but Percy had already experienced years of that sort of thing in Sydney. Regardless, he played along; it made Guo happy, which was what mattered.

Once his attunement was complete, and training began in earnest, the amulet changed. As he channelled more of himself into it, its jade-green exterior fell away, becoming something that resembled a bone-coloured stone.

Grandfather had become amazed and told him that this showed he was well-suited to the yin-stone. He had even patted Percy's head tenderly as his eyes grew moist with sentimentality.

Percy chose not to tell his Yeye that Guo was wrong and that he had sensed something alien in the stone.

How could he?

What would Guo say if he professed to fear the thing that may or may not be lurking in the family heirloom? What kind of heir would be stricken thalassophobia when the source of that fear was a dead Kirin Core?

Whatever the case, Percy was sure something prowled within the Kirin Stone.

And now he was positive it had something to do with his sister.

When she earlier entered the room, he had felt consumed by an indescribable agitation, overwhelmed by a shapeless, vague longing.

Thankfully, unlike his sister, Percy was far better at controlling his emotions. He knew how much she desired the Kirin Core when her exquisite face turned white, then pink.

He knew because when she left, the feeling subsided entirely.

"It's mine," he said to the running water.

Against his back, the cold shower felt heavenly.

[https://i.imgur.com/BJhWXZ0.png]

Gwen took luncheon with Klavdiya not far from the Song Estate. It was a good choice, for its signature Xiaoxiang stirfries were surprisingly tasty for a place of questionable decor and hygiene.

Distractedly, Gwen listened as Babulya explained that Percy was doing well in his new school, becoming popular enough to join the SRC.

"Percy's Salt training—Grandfather is alright with the whole fertility thing?" Gwen enquired. Wasn't the old man obsessed about an heir?

Her babulya explained things were well in hand.

"We're keeping a very close eye on Percy, not to mention his Affinity has a long way to go. The Kirin-stone will negate the negative effects as well, becoming more efficient at filtering the Negative Drain with time," her babulya explained.

Gwen couldn't help but recall the first time her father had handed her the Kirin Amulet; she had asked him if it was unique in any way.

"It brings fertility and fortune." Her father had said. Now, Gwen could only sign at her naivety and Hai's irresponsible indifference. How the hell was she to know her dad was dead serious.

"I see." Gwen accepted her grandmother's answer. Why didn't any of them fret about HER potential infertility? Was it because she possessed the druidic essence? Or that she could forsake the Void and choose her Lightning instead? Come to think of it, was she even expected to have children? That idea had consumed Helena, though not for any reasons a daughter should respect.

Children... Gwen sipped her tea absent-mindedly. Even across two lifetimes, the idea of bearing a child seemed entirely abstract. Gwen had no desire for children in her old life. As for her new life, Evee—

She quickly dismissed the thought.

Instead, she distractedly replied to her babulya's thoughtful questions about her lessons and her tests with Magister Wen. Still, the thought of children turned her mind once again to Evee. Christ, she missed Evee. How could anyone miss someone so much, and why was she thinking of Elvia now of all times?

"Jun!" Her babulya's voice almost sent her reeling. "Over here!"

After the pandemonium of her confused thought about Elvia lifted, Gwen turned from her waking daydream to see her uncle pass through the eatery entrance, hailing her and babulya with one hand raised.

"Captain Song!" the owner, a balding old man, saluted Jun as he passed.

"Good to see you, Corporal Chen. How're the kids?"

"Ah-Wong is doing well, the usual?"

"Please," Jun dismissed the owner politely before arriving at Gwen and babulya's table.

Gwen stood to greet her uncle, but Jun motioned her to sit.

"Ma'am." Jun pulled up a chair. "Gwen."

"Hi, Uncle Jun."

"Just made it?" babulya asked cryptically.

"I had a few minutes to spare," Jun laughed. "But yes, I made it in time."

Gwen's eyes darted between her two elders.

Each time Gwen regarded her stubbled uncle with his circular beard, she wondered how it was possible that two siblings raised under similar circumstances could be so different. Hai and Jun looked almost like twins, with the same envious jawline, the butt-chin, the lifted cheekbones from her babulya, and dark eyes from their grandfather. Yet for all their genetic similarity, one was the most frivolous, allergic to responsibility human being she had ever known—the other was the most responsible person in her immediate orbit.

All of a sudden, Gwen felt struck by a bizarre fancy.

Would nice was it be if Jun was her father? The hypothesis was absurd, of course. She could not possibly imagine Jun being attracted to Helena. On the other hand, being raised by a father who affirmed and cared would have worked wonders for both of her lost childhoods. Yue once joked that she had 'Daddy issues', Elvia found it funny as well, but Gwen's laughter never touched her eyes; she knew her herself too well. A lifetime ago, Dr Monroe had communicated that she was generally physically distant, often emotionally absent, and therefore highly insecure in a relationship. Despite her swaggering, independent, can-do attitude, Gwen truanted regularly, sought cheap thrills and often endangered herself. That was why in the experimental stage of her life, she preferenced older, much older men, and later, the company of the fairer sex.

So what now? Gwen had asked her psychologist.

"Let's start you off on Celexa and Buspar, and we'll go from there? Okay?" The drugs worked, but Freud knows what else was simmering underneath her submerged psyche.

"Gwen, you in there still?"

Gwen's glazed pupils refocused. Jun's worrisome face materialised close to her own.

"Sorry, Uncle Jun," she apologised for her disrespect. Ever since the episode with Percy, she'd felt mired in muck.

Jun exchanged a glance with babulya, who must have passed over a Silent Message of some kind, for when Jun faced her again, he reached out and covered her hand with his own.

"Gwen. You can tell me anything." Her uncle smiled awkwardly, but the gesture was genuine.

It was a simple thing, subconscious, but it was something her father had never done for her. There was always a distance, a pane, a degree of separation; to Gwen, Hai's kindness always seemed rare and unanticipated.

"I-I am alright." Gwen could think of no other reply. It wasn't as though she could complain that she felt peevish and upset that Morye hadn't taught her how to use the Kirin-Stone, or that she desired the amulet returned to her because she was waxing sentimental for a Mythic serpent capable of reducing Shanghai to rubble. Should she tell her uncle that her Divination Sigil was driving her to madness? Her Uncle Jun meant well, but not even he could—

Her mind went blank, for Jun had just pinched her nose.

It was such a puerile act that Gwen felt stunned.

"You don't have to be an adult all the time, Gwen. You're a child. Act like one." Jun held her gaze intact as he spoke. "We're family, right? No matter what father thinks. You're my niece, for Mao's sake. To me, there's only one of you in the world. I want to protect you as much as your Babulya and my brother."

Gwen's rapidly misting eyes met her uncle's immovable gaze.

"I don't care what Guo says - or what your father thinks - or what Percy wants to do with the House. You're a part of MY family. I like you, Gwen. Since I found you in the MSS Holding facility, I've known that to be a fact. I want you to know that I am very proud and happy for what you have done for Mina, Tao, and Petra. My mother thinks the world of you, and I do too. Can you believe that?"

Gwen felt her throat tickle.

Could she believe him?

She wasn't the trusting sort.

"I believe you." Gwen's voice assumed her usual, confident cadence. Her uncle's kindness was like a dose of positivity that she sorely needed after that amulet-induced anxiety attack. "Thank you, Uncle Jun. I am alright now."

Klavdiya exhaled relief.

"Sorry, babulya, I was distracted earlier," Gwen apologised to her grandmother as well. She must have made babulya feel awful.

"That's okay, dear," her babulya returned kindly.

Jun squeezed his niece's delicate hands, his calloused palm brushing her tender fingers. Before Jun could enclose his hand, Gwen retracted her palm from his sandpaper grasp.

Her uncle's hand did not move.

Behind the counter, Chef Chen continued his stirfry masterpiece, filling the room with a warm glow and the air with a delicious scent of caramelising onions.

Gwen touched her wayward hand to her nose.

"Sorry." Jun chuckled. "Did I bruise it?"

"I'll be fine. I've got my Druidic Essence, after all." Gwen wrinkled her celestial appendage cutely. That was the thing about Jun; he was so lovely, and she couldn't tell if the man was two steps ahead of her or if her uncle's benevolence was instinctual. Surely, someone with the 'Ash Bringer' moniker did not acquire such a chilling nickname by being Mr Rogers!

[https://i.imgur.com/BJhWXZ0.png]

Gwen returned late to the apartment.

Alesia's care package remained unmolested by Customs thanks to Jun's influence.

She had forgotten all about the damned thing because after assuring her of his support, her Uncle Jun had then listened to her worries and anxieties for an hour, going as far as to promise her that he would assist her growth in Spellcraft when the time was ripe.

"How about we go on a little trip," he had teased her. "A little adventure to train, just you and I. I know a place where you can work on boosting your elemental Affinity."

Gleefully, Gwen had told him she would like nothing else.

"That's a promise," her uncle had laughed. "Just you and me, alright?"

Smiling at the memory, Gwen tore at the cellophane tape on the box from Alesia.

"Gwen, what in God's name are you doing?" Petra watched with curiosity as Gwen tried to search for the seam.

"Open the box?"

"Use Knock."

"Oh yeah..." Gwen blushed. "Er... Knock!"

The arcane energies of the Knock spell ran along the edges and unsealed the cellophane ducting within the span of half a second.

Gwen took out the contents.

There was an assortment of goods within, each in individual packaging. Some were cellophane wrapped. Others were in boxes of plastic or cardboard. On top of the items was a letter.

Gwen opened the envelope. Inside was a Message from Alesia, Yue and Gunther. The card itself had a picture of a drunk Koala with a speech bubble.

"No worries, I am just old enough to get pissed."

"Have a happy Sweet-Seventeen!

"The very best from all of us who are rooting for you. Your siblings and friends."

The loftiest package was the first to be unwrapped, revealing an impressive pair of thigh-high, double-stitch, calf-skin boots, its brass heels inscribed with elaborate Transmutation glyphs.

"Use these until you learn how to cast the real deal-" read the attached note.

Petra ran a cubed Identify over the magical boots.

"How delightful, a pair of vintage Boots of Flight!" she cooed delightfully. "It's an older model. These feed off your mana rather than Crystals."

"Perfect for me then," Gwen thought of the savings she could engender.

"Until you OoM mid-flight," Petra warned her, immediately pointing out why the old models were retired.

"I'll be careful," Gwen chuckled. "There's inbuilt Feather Fall, right?"

"As long as you're not OoM," Petra reinforced the warning.

Gwen unfolded the next package.

It was a poncho made from what first appeared to be cashmere.

"Ah, civilian class Optic-Camo." Petra was proving a font of Magical Item knowledge. "Slip it overhead'. Let's see the build quality."

Gwen slipped the cape across her shoulders. The fabric loosely hung over her chest and back until it reached her thighs.

"Activation glyph should be on the right side, inside tag."

Gwen examined the Glyph key.

"Camouflage!" Gwen invoked the keywords.

The poncho shifted in colour until her torso blended into the living room so that it looked as though Gwen was split in half, becoming a disembodied pair of legs and a floating head. It came with a hoodie that covered her head.

"Full body Optic-Camo are military-issue only," Petra informed her roommate before Gwen could complain about the strangeness of having 'half' a chameleon-cloak. "The civilian model will keep you safe from prying predators and beasts from the sky, as well as giving you relative cover if you remain stationary."

The final few packages were foodstuffs from home like jerky and Tim-Tams, as well as dried mangos from Opa's crew down the ranch.

Collating her loot, she apportioned them for sharing with Petra and Richard, as well as their upstairs neighbours.

A pair of Boots of Flight and a Camo-cloak.

That was because she'd told them she wanted to "work" for HDMs. Gwen could guess from the strategic selection that Gunther and Alesia expected her to do more than waitressing.

She had several options where that was concerned.

She could take up a weekend occupation working with the local Adventuring Consortium. However, she doubted Magister Wen or her babulya were about to let her trapeze into the bush with a group of strangers.

Or, she could try the University Dungeoneering Club, which was safer.

Finally, she could make a party of her own—team Cousins, for example—and take up Questing on the weekends.

Of course, all of that would have to wait.

As it was the end of week three, in twenty-one days, she would have two mid-semester practicals and the excursion to the NoM hive city, the ominously named District 108 and 35. On the Metropolitan Map, 35 appeared to be located on the outer ring of the Second Orbital Highway and the Fourth-Intracity bypass. 108 was almost fifty kilometres toward the direction of Hangzhou.

The exams meant she had only three weeks to leash Caliban to her will, make her Conjure Elemental battle-ready, and learn at least another Evocation spell or two to use with Ariel.

As for her Familiars...

Gwen looked up to see Caliban attempting to swallow a mango whole, egged on by Ariel, who was munching on a kiwifruit. Realising that Gwen was watching, Caliban spat the mango back out, smothering the orange-red fruit in grey goo, looking as guilty as a thieving cat.