Purple City

‘Good morning night city.’ said a voice softly, as if trying to lull back to sleep, rather then to wake him up. ‘Good morning you poor sleepy immortal’ moaning the words out. ‘Oh yes. It is morning already. So, Wake Up!’

The voice climbing into a shout. ‘It’s 9 am, and reports have started flooding in! Hahaha! How many! Can you guess?’ unparalleled excitement being sent out from the radio.

‘Oh, uuf, ooh, it rained immortal wine last night. Oh yees! TEN! Hahaha! Ten poor immortals left this world last night.’ humming could be ahead across the waves, the person continued in a sarcastically pious tone ‘Psion praise be! There must have been some apostol work being performed last night. Punishing those vicious cultivators. Hahaha! DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY DIED! Cuz I do. Oh yes, I DO!’ shuffling of papers could be heard coming from the radio ‘As the Sun Ri folks would start, Ichi! Two fellow cultivators, well, they died racing. They said the racing track last night was full, praise be saintes Akane! You know I love you, don’t punish me. Apparently, they splattered themselves all of the plating by, you try and guess it, TRIPPING OVER THEIR OWN FEET! HAHAHA! Oh, what a sight it must have been, to see those trash immortals fall to their deaths.’

Kira could now clearly sense that it was not just mockery, but in addition, vitriol, being transmitted over the air. He frowned heavily, reaching his limit.

‘By the way did you hear? Glitter deaths are on the rise. Apparently, some immortals are dealing. Tsk tsk tsk. Oh well. At least we get to see them kill themselves as payment! Hahaha! Imagine this, we go see them race for free, and kill themselves as payment, FOR ALL! THE TRASH! THE...’

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Kira turned off the radio, shaking his head lightly. The host was trying to force emotion trough to him. This was not something he accepted. Emotion was to be observed, not something to indulge in.

He laid on the bed, gazing at the ceiling trying to rap his mind around everything that had happened. He thought listening to the radio, to learn more about this world would help.

He gave up, once more going over what Miu had said.

Do not try and come into contact with it. You do not want any psionic deviation. Kira thought about these words that Miu had said. The tone she used was a cautionary one. As good as it felt to be filled with that kind of energy, to have it permeate his muscles, the elation of power, he knew, the fight he had with Miu was nothing more than a joke.

I felt she was strong, and yet I still tried to fight her, full well knowing I could get ripped in half. Cold sweat on his back, as Kira thought about how dangerous it would have been, had Miu been serious to him. He could forgive himself for doing it, since he remembered clearly how good it felt to have that kind of power. He thought if even he had a tough time controlling himself, then someone not from the core would be under even more strain to do it.

The room he was in had a pleasant view of the city. It was late afternoon, and as the tree ceiling caught most of the light of the setting sun.

The city was filled with an orange purple mix of light, dotted with early neon signs. He also enjoyed the fact that he could stay on a balcony without a forcefield having to protect him from the outside winds, unlike on Emerald.

From the balcony he was on, he could see far into the city, and most buildings as far as could be seen, were small. There were no skyscrapers.

His room was located on the last floor, of the supposedly famous -tough Kira thought from the description to be infamous- Silent Mirror.

From the short conversation he had with Miu, Night District was a cordoned off section of this planet's only city. All the people of this planet lived in it. And, they needed a place to play out their debauchery, so night city was born, this being its nickname.

It seems unlikely that the local government, would bother doing this simply for the reason of pleasing the populace, Kira thought. He shrugged it off soon after, thinking, he would know the reason sooner or later. It did not seem that it would be of too much importance to him.

For now, I need to learn to control this energy. He looked at his hands while thinking about it. He could sense that if he wallowed long enough in intense emotions, he could come into contact with it. But such a way came into conflict with the way he was as a person. It came into conflict with not only the ways he was taught on Emerald, but his very nature as well. I hope there is a better way of coming into contact with it.

He had decided that this was to be his priority for now, learning to control it. Anything more, he would think about later.

He went to Mira’s room to ask her a couple of questions. For some reason, he felt that asking her would be a good thing. I wonder why I feel like this. It was a strange feeling, as if he knew for a fact, asking her would be good.

He knocked on her door, and he felt a soft voice letting him in. Kira thought this was weird, as he did not hear it, but feel it. He entered the room.

Her room was wide, with the wall opposite to the door being made of only glass. Because of the purple orange glow the city emitted, that same glow, was being felt in the room.

Mira sat at a desk, with her back towards the city view. The armchair she sat on was large and made her look petite compared to it. With her feet on the desk, she was flipping her cards, just as he had seen her last time.

With a look of wholehearted concentration, she stopped flipping the cards, and sent three of them flying towards the desk, facedown.

Her face reverted to her usual calm, and she turned her attention to Kira.

“Ok. What do you want.” her tone was amiable, clearly her words were not meant to deter Kira from asking. “Wait!” abruptly saying, “I'm going to ask for payment for helping you. Now do not worry. Its payment easily returned. Do you agree?” an eager, expectant smile on her face.

Kira did not think much about it and agreed. “Ok.”

“Great!” with a childlike grin on her face, she turned the second card face up. Instantaneously, her joyous expression vanished like smoke in the wind. Kira could see, there was a man in a black rain coat on the card. There were also clear rain droplets depicted on it.

“Damn. The insurance agent.” a pout now hung on her face, and she gave Kira a hurt look. “Go on! Say it. What will happen if I play JahJong tonight?”

“Uhm...” Kira looked at her hurt face and felt as if he should say something negative and said with a flat tone "You'll lose.”

“Agh!”clutching at her chest while groaning. She then gave him an annoyed look and slumped back on her armchair looking defeated and lost.

He gave her a gentle smile and said “Are you ok? Is this JahJong this important?”

“It’s fine.” she waved it off “It’s a good thing you didn’t lie to a diviner.” looking extremely adamant, but smiling at the same time. “And I would have felt your first sensation anyway. Most diviners can feel the truth of others when it comes to a tied divination. In any case, you have already paid for my help, so forget about my famous luck.” she waved off her hand dismissing the three cards into the pack on the desk.

“Ok. Well, I don’t know much about psionic energy. Since I have it, I will try to master it. However, I don’t know where to start, and Miu said not to blindly come into contact with it, as it could lead to deviation? “

Her face turned grave as she said, “Miu is smart to tell you that. Although for a cultivator, this would not happen easily, there is still the risk of deviation. You shouldn't blindly contact psionic energy.”

Taking a few second to think her next words she then said “Tomorrow, you go and join the psionic ability course. Its free being sponsored by the council, so you do not have to worry about paying for it. You will learn all the basics there, and most importantly they will teach you elementary meditation. Once you learn to connect to psionic space, you can take things at your own pace, and do whatever you want.”

She waved him off “Go. Thats it, ask Miu where it is.”

He smiled at her square way of talking and made for the door.

“Wait.” she made a lazy wave with her fingers and a drawer from the desk opened and out came a slate of dark brown wood. It flew gently into Kira’s hand.

The slate was small, half a hand in size, and it had purple circuit lines crossing it in a mathematical manner. He looked at Mira in a quizzical manner.

“It's some cash for food in case you want eat out. Stay away from street vendors tough. You never know what they might spike their food with” making a disgusted face while saying this.

….......................................................................................................................................................

As night approached, Kira thought he should go eat something, and since Mira had given him some cash, he thought this might be a good idea to check out the city. But when he looked at his outfit, he realized he did not have anything fitting to go out with. He was still in his sleeping clothes on.

Just then a knock was heard at his door.

“Mira sent me. She said you would need clothes?” Miu’s voice came through.

Kira was a bit surprised. Just when he needed clothes, clothes appeared. “Yeah. Come in.”

Miu came in with a pile of clothes, and threw them on the bed. “Here pick some, and come with me. Mira said to take you out to eat. Get dressed, I'll wait outside”

Kira quickly picked some clothes from the pile. Black fitting pants, made of some type of fiber unlike any he had ever seen. The fibers were densely sewn together, and it seemed as if a knife could not slash through it. The next thing he picked was a dark brow jacket made of something resembling leather. It was rough to the touch, but it appeared soft. The leather was rigid, and as he tried to put it on, he found that it was resistant to molding according to his structure.

He liked it because it seemed extremely sturdy, but since it wouldn’t fit, he was about to put it down when Miu came in the room “Are you ready? What is taking you so long. Ah, I see.” She came close to him and placed a palm on his chest. Kira then felt the jacket tighten around his torso, almost like a second skin. It turned from unpliable piece of leather to soft fiber.

“It’s made from beast skin. I cannot tell which one tough, in any case you need to inject energy into it so that it may fit you, otherwise it stays like before. “She then looked at the remaining pile of clothes and pulled a pair of shoes from within. “Here. These are the only ones I could find”

The shoes were low, made of black leather just like the jacket. Same texture to, except they had a line of something that seemed like smooth crystal going along the exterior side of the shoes. The line was inserted inside the wall of the shoe to not protrude.

“Are these special to?” Kira looked at her. “Nah. These are actually for kids. You know the kind that go out at night and try to stand out. The opposite of what someone like us should do.” Miu saw Kira’s confused expression and realized he did not know what she was talking about. “Right. Well, you will see when we go out. Mira actually gave me this thing specifically for you” saying this she pulled out a hair bracelet from her jacket pocket. A similar one, to the one used back at home to tie his hair.

Kira frowned at the weight of it. It was made from a heavy white metal, and he wondered if it would even stay on his head when he put it on. Since this is given by Mira, perhaps it is special like the jacket he Kira.

He tied his hair with it, and as he thought it was too heavy to stay high. He then thought to insert energy just like the jacket. Mira said the risk of deviation for me is low, so one try should be fine.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel the energy without forcing it out with emotions. He could sense the energy, it seemed around him and yet he knew that it was not physically around him. It felt separate from the physical world. He tried to tug on it and have it enter his body.

Litle purple sparks of energy appeared flickering around the room. Miu sensing this, looked at Kira trying to figure out if he was in any danger.

As the energy filled his body, he could perceive his muscles be filled with it, his tendons being reinforced, his bones become stronger. Kira wondered if this was just a feeling, or actually what was happening.

He tried to guide this strength which imbued his body, into the hand that held up the hair tie. He could perceive how energy was gathering in his hand, so he attempted to send it inside the object. The hair tie became lighter and squeezed harder on his hair, allowing it to not fall.

He stopped pulling more energy in his body and opened his eyes. He looked at his body and he could still sense energy charging him up, giving him strength.

He sent a bit of energy into his foot. He lifted the foot up and prepared to send it crashing down. He looked up at Miu with an expecting smile on his face “Can I try something?”

Miu smiled lightly, surprised “Sure. But not too hard because it might damage the floor.”

Turning his head back to his leg, he tried to charge the muscles just a little bit, and when he thought he had the amount just right, he sent it crashing down.

‘boom’

A dull booming sound echoed throughout the building, accompanied by a slight tremor.

“Hehehe, ok Odin. Let us go eat” smiling jokingly, Miu went out the door.

Kira looked under his foot, and saw the concrete there had crumbled. He had just ruined his rooms floor, yet his face was all a smile.

He quickly followed after Miu. Staying close behind her, he finally got a good look at her. She was a bit taller than him, and wore a small black jacket, and a white shirt just as small, showing off her strong looking abdominal muscles.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She had a brisk walk, something Kira was not used to with his calm demeanor.

“You have a sense for controlling psionic energy. You will probably have no problem tomorrow in class. You should be able to learn to meditate pretty quickly.”

“Do I? Is it hard controlling it?”

“At first. Usually, once you get the hang of it, it's like tensing your muscles. Its instinct. For example, you don’t think about contracting your muscles. You just do it. It is the same with psionic energy. It's just that many weak users, are not that good at controlling it. Let's just say they do not have it in them for some reason. Practice helps tough”

As Kira followed her out of the building, he wondered how hard it would be for him to master it.

As they reached the ground floor, Miu turned towards Kira and asked “You said you know nothing about Jangala?” asked Miu smiling.

Kira smiled back saying curiously “Yeah. Why?”

Miu smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see now” turning around and heading for the entrance.

Kira wanted to look around at the reception area, but followed Miu outside. He could see purple light coming through the wide glass wall. Is it not night outside, thought Kira perplexed.

As he came out, he saw that outside was not as dark as he expected. It was harder to see now then in daylight, but for some reason the visibility was surprisingly good.

Miu looked at him and saw his confusion, she then pointed up and smiled.

As he looked up, he eyes went wide with surprise “What is this? Why is the sky on fire?

The sky shimmered with motes of purple light filling the sky. It looked like an ocean of small lights all together, making one think the sky was filled with hot embers.

“Hahaha, it's not on fire, its glowing with light. The leaves collect sunlight during the day and transmit it during the night down below.”

“Down below to what?”

“Well usually there would be some type of flora on the forest ground to catch the light and send it further, but you are in the city now, and all that’s left of the forest are the nuwa trees.”

Miu smiled at him “Pretty cool right?”

“Yes. This is beautiful. How high up are the leaves” Kira kept looking up and turning in circles trying to take all the sky in. As the building obstructed most of his view, he could only see a street of purple ember, lighting up the night sky.

“About 400 meters. Cmon! Let's go eat! HAHAHA!” her laughter filling up the street.

Cars and motorcycles were on the road, only now their sounds entered Kira ears. The street seemed more alive than he remembered it during the day.

He saw Miu headed towards a bike in front of the brothel. She patted the bike giving it a couple small taps.

“Made out of the strongest wood on Jangala. The engine is powered by the most powerful crystal I could find.” the bike looked red to Kira. He thought it looked so since the purple light was messing with what he saw. It was low and long, and had big wide wheels.

She got on it, and inserted a wooden card into a slot in the dashboard. The motorcycle lit up with purple neon lines.

As he looked at his shoes, he saw his shoes lit up as well. He looked around and saw that every building had a neon sign.

“What kind of material are these signs made of?” pointing to the purple lines on the bike.

“It's neon. A type of mineral mined here on Jangala. Get used to it. Since its cheap and it cost nothing to light up, everyone uses it.” she pointed to his shoes “See that? Yes, told you it's for kids.” he then looked at her bike and wondered what she meant, she had it to.

Miu pressed a button near the clock on the bike.

‘VVVVvvvvv’

The engine made a low roar as it came to life. Miu then pulled on the handle. A roar so loud it made his ears hurt. The sound was so deafening; it had forced Kira to cover his ears.

“STOP! Stop its too loud. What if someone says anything.”

“Who is that? To me?” she then pointed towards the sign on the building. Kira looked back towards it.

Silent Mirror. In bright flowing neon letters, big as trees. A woman and a man’s silhouettes, stood on both sides of the sign leaning on the letters seductively.

“This street belongs to big sis. No one in the city dares say anything here, especially to one of her people.” her tone was heavy and she had a proud look as she said it.

Kira wondered, exactly how powerful was this so-called empress. How powerful were the people in this city. How strong would their leaders be to make someone strong like Miu work under them. Do they rule trough physical strength or some other means. On Emerald nothing was the same. He had decided to forget everything about his home system and take everything he sees at face value.

Miu grinned from ear to ear at Kira. She then turned around towards the street “NOW CMON! LET'S GO EAT!” roared Miu while looking all over the street at all the people and the cars passing by. Her voice so loud and penetrating it seemed akin to thunder claps. Kira’s blood started churning and psionic energy flooded his body due to the forced agitation.

‘VIIIIIIIII’

Revving the engine, she roared again. “MIU IS STARVING NIGHT CITY!”

‘BOOM!’

A shockwave spread put from Miu, as she screamed at the city. Dust flying in a wave. Kira instinctively sent psionic energy into his legs, sending a foot backwards to steady himself. He saw the leaves up above move as if a storm had started. The light for miles around was disturbed, causing many people to look at the sky. As he looked up, he saw millions of embers falling onto the city. Myriad of tiny lights, a deluge of them, descending down from the heavens.

He looked at her in awe and smiled, joining her laughter alongside her.

“HAHAHAHA”

‘Why are children disturbing me?’

A cold feeling swept over Kira, making him feel as if his soul had been submerged in snow. Miu also stopped laughing, and looked like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

“I'm sorry big sis. I got a bit too excited.” Miu said as she bowed towards the Silent Mirror. Kira could see though that she was barely containing a smile.

“MIU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!” Kira heard Mira’s attempt at a scream from high up.

“Hahaha, sorry big sis, but why are you so upset, did I scare you?”

“I WAS DOING MY MAKEUP AND YOU MADE ME MISS WITH THE BRUSH! YOU CHILD!” Kira could hear the huffing and puffing from ten floors away.

“Cmon lets get out here, she won't stop screaming for a while” saying this she got on the bike. Kira got behind here, and the bike quickly accelerated to high speed down the street.

Miu did not speed up excessively “Since this is your first time, ill drive slow so you can enjoy the view.”

As he looked around at all the neon signs and all the people wearing neon clothes, he said “They should call this neon city.”

“Hahaha yeah, your right, that is its second nickname.”

The bike kept maneuvering trough the city, seeking larger and larger roads. After about 30 minutes “In a second we will reach the most famous boulevard on the planet.”

“What is it famous for?” asked Kira.

She turned her head a little bit just for Kira to see her smile.

As she made another turn, the bike got on a wide road, and the view opened to them. Kira could finally see the number of the trees that seemed to hold up the sky. He could see in the distance, hundreds of dark pillars, rising up into the night light.

In between the two lanes, plants that glowed purple stood and illuminated the street. There was no artificial light on the boulevard. The small plants had jutting out of them trees dozens of meters tall, but compared to the nuwa trees, and the width of the road, it did not matter. The buildings on both sides, had climbing pants that glowed in the night, intricate and mesmerizing patters of light, forming on the walls.

“Wow, this really is beautiful. I can see now why it is famous.”

“Yeah. I was surprised the first time as well. “Miu smiled while also looking at everything around her.

The boulevard was not that long actually, traveling at low speed, and with plenty of traffic, they still crossed it in 5 minutes. Miu then turned and said “Ok. I will take you to eat now. I heard big sis gave you some lines. You buy me food as payment for showing you this”

“Hahaha, very well, but I don’t know how much she gave me. She only gave me a slate of wood with some psionic circuitry on it. I don’t even know how to use it”

“What did you guys use on your planet?” asked Miu in curiosity.

“Well, we didn’t use cash on my planet.” said Kira, hoping she would not press any further.

“A backwards place? Ok doesn’t matter. I will show you when we get there”

Yes. A very backwards place, thought Kira while laughing inside.

Kira admired the city, and all it had to offer visually. About ten minutes away from the boulevard, he saw in the distance, three enormous nuwa trees close together, with something hung in-between them, high up in the sky.

The dark pillars seemed to coil and weave around each other, as they grew towards the heavens. In the middle of the structure, suspended high up into the air, a bowl spewing out light of all kinds and shapes could be seen.

Pointing towards it, Kira asked what it was “Thats the Sky Arena, also the only arena in the district. It's not bright outside and far away, so you cannot see it properly. But seeing as you have some ability towards fighting, you might perform there at some point. Everyone who is good at fighting tries it.” She spoke with excitement in her voice.

Noticing her agitation, he asked “How many times did you fight in it?” somewhat feeling that this was the case.

With a smirk in her voice, she said “A couple of times. People say I’m fairly good.” a bit of pride leaking out.

Kira wondered what fighting in the arena entailed. Would it be extreme? What rules were there? But before he could ask Miu said. “Don't worry too much about it. You are a cultivator who doesn’t even know how to meditate yet. Mira is a diviner, and her intuition is probably telling her you're not weak in some way, shape or form. So just go to do the basic course, and the rest? think afterwards.”

Kira thought about what she was saying about Mira. So, Mira saw something in me?

As the bike kept running on the streets of the city, the buildings started getting shorter and shorter, with more and more small trees covering the buildings. The trees were glowing a dull purple light.

“Everything is purple in this city isn't it.” said Kira rhetorically.

“Yeah. The neon mineral gets charged with the tree light emitted from up above, and reacts when darkness sets in. It is a cheap way to advertise, so everyone uses it. You see these smaller trees over here? Yes, they are one of those flora that absorb the light coming from the nuwa trees.”

At some point, the city around them became a small jungle intertwined with buildings and neon. The trees covering the buildings had a wide crown of leaves, and made a second ceiling that stood just barely above the small buildings. The trees were everywhere. On the side of the road, near buildings, making it hard to see more than a hundred meters even if there were no buildings

The constructions there were barely four stories high, easily covered by the trees around them.

“When you will go in the jungle outside the city, you will see much more diversity in the plants. Here inside the city, the number of trees allowed to grow are few. Most of the ones left are fruit bearing ones. No one wants to cut them since they are free food.”

As they kept going, the buildings grew fewer and fewer, and the trees raised in number. The bike sending out echoes into the night. Kira did not know if they were still inside the city.

“We are on the outskirts of the city segment here. We are getting close to the place where you will do the course. The place I like to eat at is close by as well.”

Miu took a couple more turns on the street that had begun resembling an alley at this point. She stopped the bike near a small lake, surrounded by trees. The lake was enclosed by the joint crowns of the trees, making it covered entirely from above. The water reflected the dull purple glow of the flora around it. Kira was mesmerized by this sight. Looking at Miu she seemed used to it, tough he noticed her glancing at it from time to time.

They started walking towards the compound of buildings near the lake. The road actually stopped before reaching the compound. A fifty-meter dirt road connecting the buildings to the city road.

Outside of the sky bridge, Kira had never actually stepped on dirt before. He moved his toes in his shoes, instinctively trying to feel the earth. The foreign feeling making him smile.

“This small distance from the road to here, I like to walk it.” Said Miu. “Anyway, we are here.”

‘BOOM’

A loud boom came from above, and a rustling of leaves entered his ears. Kira looked towards the sound, and saw a man descending from the ceiling near the building in front.

A bit taken a back, Kira did not know what to think. Was that man flying, what kind of tool did he use? All kinds of questions filled his mind.

Miu looked at Kira and saw his surprise, realizing once again he did not know anything about abilities.

“Don't bother about it” said Miu smiling. “You will learn tomorrow.”

As they entered one of the buildings closest to the lake, Kira’s mind kept spinning. Realizing he had underestimated how surprising everything would be. What other kind of powers can psionic energy give? And there seem to be plenty of people with it in this place. Kira wondered why in his trillion people civilization, he had not heard once about these abilities.

Putting his thoughts aside, Kira finally looked around, as they sat down at a table. They were in a pavilion near the lake.

The restaurant had other customers aside from themselves, who were either eating drinking or talking with each other.

Miu waived for a waiter, and a young woman with long blonde hair came to their table.

Kira looked at the woman, and saw something that attracted his attention. She wore a necklace with a rather thick golden cross. He thought that for some reason. it looked interesting, forcing him to gaze upon it. He knew crosses were symbols of religion in the sector. That much he had been taught. He did not judge these people, but what made him curious was that he was interested in the necklace. There seemed to be something to it.

The waitress asked them what they wanted, and Miu made a couple of orders.

As the waitress left Miu asked Kira “You keep looking at her neck like you want to snap it.” Kira was pulled out of his revery and said in a soft voice “It was her necklace. That golden cross seemed, fascinating. I don’t know.”

Miu shrugged saying “Yeah I don’t know. Do try not to scare the waiters. Most of them are pretty weak. This is a place frequented by allot of strong people, since it's close to the ability course, many people who take the course frequent this place to eat, and some come back even after they finish it. The menu in this place is diverse with allot of diverse foods in ingredients. And the owner is powerful himself, so do try not get us kicked out by acting out of instinct.” smiled Miu.

Kira understood what she was trying to say, thinking to himself this is not Emerald. People here have urges they tend to satisfy, unlike on his home world, where the goal was to transcend such instincts.

As the food came, Kira stopped ogling at the waitress and ate in peace. The foods were as Miu said, diverse. There were alge, meat, fruits, all mixed in a type of stew; three bottles of wine of different hues of blue, which made Kira dizzy after a couple of mouthfuls, rich in color. And an enormous chunk of fried meat all in the middle of the dishes.

Kira ate slowly and tried to feel the taste of every dish on the table, tasting a bit of everything, while Miu ate with abandon, looking as if the world was ending. The fast way of eating coupled with a whole bottle in her hand made her look somewhat barbaric.

As he finished eating, Kira poured himself a single coup of wine, and sipped slowly from it, forming a stark contrast to Miu and her bottle.

“You should have eaten some more.” saying it nonchalantly after having finished half the table. “That was imported food. Well, the meat was. The wine is made right here on Jangala tough” gulping down from the bottle itself.

“AGH! This here?” she pointed to the bottle in her hand “Is the only thing that gets me tingling anymore. If you ever reach my level, you'll see not much affects you anymore, but this stuff still gets me dizzy, hahaha.” she then continued eating and drinking.

Kira ate a little bit, and found that he felt full after a couple of bites out of everything. The food in his stomach also felt warm and as his perception kept focusing on his stomach, he saw that there was energy being absorbed by his body, coming from the food.

In a dozen minutes, Miu finished everything on the table, including the big chunk of meat in the middle. She then leaned back on her chair and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the inside of her small jacket.

She put in her mouth and let herself lean backwards on the chair. She then touched the cigarette lightly with her index finger. Smoke started coming out of the cigarette, a puff of smoke shortly following.

As she laid her head back on the chair, she lifted an arm and pointed towards the lit cigarette in her mouth “This to, right here... this still gives me a buzz to.” a content voice conveying these words.

Kira smiled thinking of the contrast between the Miu that was shaking the sky, and the one in front of him. He then began wondering where life would take him, but soon after sending that thought away, since he would live and see. Thinking about it instead of living it, was not something he did anymore.

Miu finished her cigarette and abandoned her relaxed position, she then gave Kira a look and thrust her hand forward.

“Creds.” she had a serious look on her face. Kira smiled and gave her the wooden slate. He had no hesitation as he did so. It was a gift, and Miu had shown him a huge chunk of the city. Material things should not be treasured, so he had no hesitation as he gave her the slate.

Miu called the waitress for a payment, and the young woman came carrying a small box with a hole in it, just fitting the wooden slate. The box had an analog indicator on it which started moving as the slate was inserted into it.

“There are not enough credits on it to pay for the whole meal.” she then looked at Kira and Miu and at the food on the table, which had disappeared in the brief time she had been away. The waitress spoke in a deadpan manner “If I were to judge the amount you guys ate comparatively, I'd say you only have enough to pay for what he ate.” pointing towards Kira and smiling lightly.

Miu had a lost look on her face. She began sweating profusely and she fished out a wooden slate from her jacket pocket trembling as she handed it over. She appeared ready to change her mind at any point “Then, then use this one.” succumbing to reality, her heroic manner having disappeared.

She then looked at Kira speaking in an angry tone “You see? Do not try even once to mess with big sis. Even away from you, she can put you on your knees. She actually made me use my credit account” a small sigh escaping her mouth.

The waitress gave back both slates and left.

Kira smiled laughingly at Miu saying “I'm sorry, I should have asked you to test the amount on it”

Miu waved him off saying “Its ok. I tried to gain an inch from big sis. It is a game a play from time to time. Anyway. Come now, I will take you to see where the course will take place, after that well head home”

They left the pavilion and Miu showed him where he should come back tomorrow morning. It wasn’t far from the restaurant, a distance that could be walked. They then headed back to the Silent Mirror. Miu drove faster returning. She slalomed in-between vehicles controlling the bike like a part of her own body. If he had not seen her crush street into dust and jump a hundred meters, he might have been fearful, but knowing how strong she was, he figured she could grab him and jump of the bike in case of an accident.

“Miu that place is pretty far, how will I remember getting back?”

“I'll give you a map of the Night District. Ill also mark down the areas you should avoid. The really lawless ones. Plus, you are a cultivator. You are not that weak anymore. That swing you took at me this morning? It was pretty good. As long as you mind your own business, you should be fine going alone tomorrow. I would have taken you but big sis said you should go alone.”

“It's pretty far tough. How will I get there?”

“You shall run young immortal! Hahaha!”