On the busiest streets of Lyrsium, self-driving vehicles ferried their passengers in a seamless, efficient manner to their respective destinations. In a rather luxurious such car, Celeste sat on a backseat facing a young man in a suit along with a woman around her age next to him. Celeste wore chic business-wear, as did the woman opposite her.

I always thought Dante might be exaggerating about Priscilla, Celeste thought, but that piercing glare would make anyone uneasy. She glanced between Priscilla and Dante. Poor boy can’t stop fidgeting, so out of his element. Meanwhile, her rather stunning beauty is ruined by that permanent scowl. No, Celeste. Don’t. Keep quiet. This is not the time to risk making waves. Control yourself.

Dante looked quite uncomfortable in more ways than one. He scratched at his freshly trimmed beard, poked his slicked neat hair and feigned ignorance of Priscilla’s oppressive gaze. Priscilla sat with impeccably straight posture while watching Dante’s every movement. A brief time later, the car stopped, and both doors opened onto a sidewalk.

“We have arrived at your destination. Please exit at your leisure. Traveling in comfort and luxury is always a quick call away. Stylin’ thanks you for your continued patronage, Mrs. Aurelius,” a woman’s voice said.

Dante hurried out, with Celeste and then Priscilla following. Dusk had set in. They stood in front of a sizable nondescript building, appearing to lack any clear indication of its purpose. Skyscrapers of various heights towered over them on the moderately bustling street. Dante exhaled, as if he’d been holding his breath.

Ahh, Dante thought. Suffocating in there. Damnit, this sucks so much. Fuck RL. The hell possessed me to do this again? Feeling nauseous. Can barely think…

Several days earlier, Dante entered his room in the Vyxora basement while shaking his head, mumbling. He started dismantling his ALTR as Yuna appeared in the doorway. She held Reina-cat by the belly at her chest with her one arm. She almost bumped into the frame nearest her missing eye, stopping herself just in time, and furthering the agitation on her face.

“Come fucking on Dante, why’re you being a little bitch about this?” Yuna asked. She noticed him dismantling the ALTR. “Wait, you’re seriously gonna leave?”

“No way I’m doing it,” Dante said. “You said I gotta go if no, so I’m going, alright?”

“I could just force you, you ungrateful—.”

“Shush up, Yuna,” Reina interrupted. “Dante, where would you even go?” Dante’s movements slowed. “You have no idea, right?”

“I’ll, uh, figure something out,” Dante said.

“Despite what Yuna said, Mama would never condone kicking you out for saying no. So, stop.”

“That’s…no. Doesn’t matter. Who knows what Yuna would do to me when you’re not looking?”

“She won’t, right, Yuna? Swear to him.”

“I can’t do that,” Yuna said. “I can see myself burning up just at the sight of the fucker, like I am right now. All he’s gotta do is play a bit of pretend, big fuckin’ deal. Who knows how long this could drag out?”

Dante stopped and stood, turning to them. “I’m sorry, really, I am. But don’t you get it? My mother’s a master manipulator. She must think I’m close with you all, which is why she’s even making this offer. She’s confident you’ll accept.”

“Well, no shit. Why wouldn’t we? Otherwise she’s going to drag out the whole thing as long as she can.”

“Please, Dante,” Reina said. “We can’t afford to be mired in the council’s bureaucracy.”

“You two just don’t get it, having Celeste for a mom,” Dante lamented. “My mother’s still my mother, you know? I’m not confident I’d be able to fend off all her whispers. Even if I can, I really can’t overstate her ability to manipulate others.”

“You’re just gonna be a figurehead, though, man,” Yuna said.

Maybe Dante’s worries are justified, but Priscilla’s threat is too valid, Reina thought. Without her approval, she can appeal the merger since we’re reforming into Abyss. I don’t want—. No. I can’t have us starting off on such unstable ground. How can I convince him?

“Yeah, and she’d use that to influence others, I guarantee,” Dante said.

“Like how?” Yuna asked. Dante explained imagined scenarios of his mother crafting a coup.

“Dante,” Reina interrupted them. “I’ll heal ‘The Ultimate Trials’ - as many hours as it takes.”

Dante’s mouth fell agape. “Fine, damn you, I’ll do it. Just remember, if she brainwashes me, and I betray you, it’s your fault.”

Oh right, Reina knows how to easily manipulate me, Dante thought. Celeste placed on a hand on his shoulder, snapping him back to the sidewalk.

“You gonna be alright, hun?” Celeste asked. “Remember, I’ll handle all the talkin’. Just put on a brave face.”

Dante willed himself to appear composed as he met Celeste’s gaze, to which she gave a slight nod and smile. Just get it over with, man. Reina’s heals are worth it. We’ll finally get a ‘Worldbreaker’. Celeste and Dante moved toward the building.

“Hold,” Priscilla said. Celeste and Dante turned to her. “You.” She looked at Dante with a piercing glare. “Do you even know the names of the council members?”

“Uhh…” Dante mumbled.

“I’ll not have you shame us, even if this woman will be speaking. They each sit in a gaudy throne-esque chair adorned with culturally relevant symbols to their respective syndicates. From left to right; Thanasius - Spartans, Erdem - The Horde, Jaromir - Templars of Lyrsium, Akane - Ronin, and Freya - Scions of Odin. Repeat.”

Dante recited back the council, albeit with a few awkward pauses. Priscilla gave a slight acknowledging nod, to which they entered the building. The interior appeared as plain and nondescript as the exterior, with a singular receptionist behind a desk.

Fuucckk, Dante thought. I thought I might be able to handle her death stares better after being away, but nope. Thank fuck I didn’t mess up. With how she can be, and how Celeste can be…yikes.

A brief time passed until after a security checkpoint, the trio found themselves in an immense warehouse-like room. Row upon row of ALTR chairs were setup. A few technicians hurried about between empty and occasionally filled chairs. A dozen security guards patrolled the area. The trio’s guide brought them to a mini waiting area on the edge of the ALTRs. Following the guide’s instructions, they took a seat and witnessed several people being escorted to the ALTRs. Soon, a disheveled man approached them, to which they stood. He gestured in the air, interacting with an interface in his IRIS.

If I knew we were meeting in ALTR, I wouldn’t have been so nervous, wew, Dante thought.

“Welcome, I’m Ted,” Ted said. “As two of you are new, I’ll have to go through the spiel.” He sighed. “The council members are busy individuals, so they like to do meetings in large batches, as you can see. Rule one. No. You can not meet the council in person. We are prioritizing security via our local ALTR Net and do not care for your reasons. You will be dealt with severely if you even ask.”

“What kind of fucking bullshit is this? Where are—,” a man yelled from somewhere in the warehouse.

“How fortunate, a rule breaker. Please observe as that idiot in the distance is dragged off.” Ted gestured toward the source. Two guards dragged an unconscious man away. “Getting blood off ALTRs is very troublesome. Do me a favor and don’t be an asshole. Rule two.” Ted explained several more rules.

Some time passed until Celeste, Dante and Priscilla stood in the ALTRscape of the council’s chambers. Each looked exactly as they did outside of ALTR. They glanced around the extravagant room. It looked as if it had been ripped out from a palace. They sat in low chairs provided by attendants, while a podium stood in front of them. The council sat along a curved desk facing the trio. They appeared preoccupied with one another or navigating HUDs. As Priscilla had told Dante, their throne-esque chairs had notable decoration relevant to their syndicate’s historical influences. Though in contrast, they wore varying levels of casual business ware.

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Thanasius had skin like leather on a sleek muscular frame, a thick beard, short brown hair and several scars across his face. Erdem had long black hair with gray streaks, thin facial hair and a bulky build. Joromir had a noticeably commanding presence, with a build similar to Leon’s, sporting gray feathered hair and goatee. Akane had jet black tied up hair, sharp features and a piercing gaze. Freya had an athletic build, long auburn-blond hair, and a permanent scowl. She appeared younger by several decades than the others, who were in their fifties or older. Joromir took notice of Celeste and gestured to her.

“Approach,” Joromir said. The other council members turned their attention as Celeste stood at the podium. “It’s been quite some time, but I’m not so old as to forget you, Celeste?”

“It has. Hello, Joromir, you’re looking well.” Celeste appeared unfazed by the council’s gaze. “I’m here today on behalf of Leon, and the Vyxora Syndicate.” She gave an acknowledging glance to each of the council. “Greetings as well to Thanasius, Erdem, Akane, and Freya. My name is Celeste Vyx. I hope to resolve the matter at hand in an expedient manner and request your understanding should I be lacking in any formalities I’m ignorant of.”

“Heh.” Joromir grinned. “You were always one to set the tone. I see that hasn’t changed. As I’m familiar with Celeste, I’ll take the lead. Any objections?” Joromir glanced to each side. The council members offered no reactions. “Before we begin, I must ask, of course, where is Leon for such an important matter?”

“I shall spare you the details, but unfortunately, a genetic disease has at last reared its ugly head, incapacitating Leon. This is a primary factor in our decision, as his recovery is an unknown.”

“My condolences, Celeste. I was unaware.”

“Think nothing of it. You know how Leon is. That aside, we’d like to prove one less headache for you all, as I’m sure you’ve had a long day. Through various circumstances, our family has become close to one Dante Aurelius.” Celeste turned and gestured to Dante for a moment. He had a surprisingly serious demeanor and expression, which caught her off guard for a moment.

God damn, Dante thought. This place is so detailed. Wonder if it’s a one-to-one recreation of a real room. Gotta be, right?

Meanwhile, with the sun now set, Yuna patrolled outside Vyxora in her Aegis suit. At the same time, Val approached Reina’s basement room in haste. She entered to see Reina’s screens bustling with indecipherable activity. Countless windows were open with various administrative interfaces, code being actively changed, monitoring and more. A short, fit young man sat in Dante’s usual spot, typing away in a flurry. He had a serious expression and fastidious demeanor. After Val’s brief pause, she continued inward.

“Reina!” Val said. “I just heard Yuna in her Aegis was spotted leaving? Of course, she’s not responding to my calls.” Reina gave no reaction. “Hello? Reina? What’s going on?” Once Val reached Reina-cat, she looked closer at the screens. She’s not ignoring me, bet she didn’t even hear me. She moved to the young man and tapped his shoulder. He flinched. “Lawrence, can you fill me in?”

“Val,” Lawrence said. He continued to type. “Apologies, didn’t hear you. We’re swamped with attackers trying to break into our network. Reina’s barely holding them off. Is this important? I’m coordinating with the Nezins to support her.”

This’ serious if even the twins are helping, Val thought as she glanced at the Aegis station. No Yuna and it’s gone, must have been her. What’s that pain in the ass doing at a time like this? Well, not that she could help, but she’s supposed to be fucking resting! Shit, whatever. Is there something I can do? Val dashed over to a terminal at the server wall. Let’s see, I’m nowhere near Reina’s level, but I wonder…yup. As usual, she’s way too nice for her own good. Time to go to sleep early, Vyxora. She tapped away for a bit. She continued to monitor the situation for around thirty minutes until Lawrence spoke.

“It…stopped?” Lawrence asked. “Ms. Reina, you’ve succeeded!”

“Of course she did.” Val approached.

“Wew, I’m drenched in sweat,” Reina said, followed by a deep sigh of relief. “Why’s it so hot?”

“I could bring you a towel and cold compress, Ms. Reina?” Lawrence moved to stand.

“Down, boy.” Val gestured with one hand to Lawrence, who sulked, while patting Reina-cat on the head with her other. “Great job, Reina.”

“Val?” Reina asked. Reina-cat turned to look up. “How long’ve you been here?”

“What’s the situation? Did the attackers give up?”

“Oh. I’ll have to review logs for a better picture, but after we managed to solidify our defensive measures, I launched a counterattack myself and they immediately stopped. They probably didn’t want to risk any chance of me finding out who they might be.”

“That’s a relief. You’re extra sweaty because of me, by the way. Did you even think about cutting everyone else off?”

“What do you mean?” Reina paused. “Oh! The AC is off?”

“Christ, Reina. You’ve really got to be more ruthless. I’m glad you’ll be able to hide behind ‘Abyss’ like you’ve been hiding behind Leon. Don’t even want to imagine how people would exploit that kindness.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah. I shut off everything but the absolute necessities. Do you understand what you should’ve done?”

“That’s enough, Val. I can’t tolerate this disrespect any—,” Lawrence declared as he stood.

“Shut the hell up, Lawrence.” Val glared, to which he sat back down. Val picked up Reina-cat by the underarms, bringing her to eye-line. “Well?”

“You’re right, Val,” Reina said. “It should’ve been the first thing I did after realizing the extent of the attack. I bet if I check the logs, the extra resources were critical. It didn’t even occur to me. I’m sor—.”

“Stop. Remember the new rule.”

Reina nodded. I can’t be the type of person who says sorry so freely anymore. Not with the path we’ve chosen. Remember that, damnit, Reina. Val lowered Reina-cat back down. Huh?

“Yuna’s Aegis is gone?” Reina asked.

“Oh, fuck. That’s why I was here in the first place. You wouldn’t answer me, then Lawrence told me what was happening and there it went out of my mind. But you didn’t know either? She was spotted leaving. She’s supposed to be recovering, goddamnit!”

“She went out? Where?” Reina exclaimed.

“If I may interject,” Lawrence said. The other two turned to him. “As usual, Yuna threatened me to not warn either of you until she’d exited the building. My apologies. My sincerest apologies, Ms. Reina.” Lawrence bowed as low as he could while seated.

“We know how she is, Lawrence. Do you at least know why?” Val asked.

“Yes. Because there were several probing attacks throughout the day, along with Mrs. Celeste and Dante away, in Ms. Reina’s predictive genius, she theorized of a grander intrusion attempt and possible physical incursions as well. To find Leon.”

“So, of course, once Reina was distracted, Yuna suited up and went patrolling.” Val sighed as she shook her head. “Reina?”

“Damnit, Yuna,” Reina said. She had turned back and plugged into her terminal.

“While we don’t get along,” Lawrence said, “even I tried to dissuade her in her condition.”

“Such a pain in the ass,” Val said. A map appeared on a screen, showing Yuna’s moving location. “The hell? Where is she? She can’t be moving through buildings that quick.”

Reina breathed a sigh of relief. “Accessing her visual shortly, thankfully she didn’t block me out.”

“Or just forgot.”

“Mm.” A visual feed of of rapid movement through a narrow underground tunnel displayed. Some shadowed figures appeared further ahead. “Yuna! What’s going on?”

The feed shook violently for a second. “Holy fuck, that you, Reina? Startled me,” Yuna said. “Found some rats, like you guessed. ‘Sup with you?”

“We can see that! You’re underground?”

“Ah. Yeah.”

“The fuck’re you thinking, Yuna?” Val yelled. “You just had surgery yesterday, you godsdamnned idiot!”

“Christ, my ears, Val! It seemed like a good chance to test it. I got one of them, musta missed their vitals, damnit. My depth perception’s def fucked. Gonna take some getting used to.”

Lawrence looked away in nausea as the feed moved through several twists and turns. “Watch out! There’s an alcove!” He yelled before cupping his mouth. The map switched to one displaying maintenance tunnels and sewer systems of the surrounding area.

“Yuna, care—!” Reina shouted.

The feed showed Yuna turning around a corner. A transarm katana wielded by her rose just in time to deflect a transarm tanto blade to her side. The tunnel had opened into a slightly larger area. One tall assailant carried another over their shoulder further down back into the tunnel proper in the feed’s peripheral. Yuna, meanwhile, had turned toward the assailant who had failed in their ambush and quickly retreated a short distance away. They wore a sleek combat suit designed for stealth. They peered past Yuna as they took a defensive stance.

“Nice try,” Yuna said as she lunged forward with the katana.

The assailant parried with ease, despite the length advantage of the katana. Yuna wasted no time following up with a further series of stabs. However, they were parried one after another. Grunts and growls emanated from Yuna as each deflection preceded a swifter follow-up attack. The assailant remained defensive all the while, offering no reprisals. Then, as they stepped into a parry, throwing Yuna slightly off-balance, a minor explosion preempted smoke filling the feed.

“Oh, come fucking on!” Yuna said. The feed showed Yuna bend forward some as her hand, still gripping the katana, came to her temple. “Déjà vu.”

“Yuna? Are you alright?” Reina asked.

“Yeah…” Yuna sighed as she glanced to her right side while smoke dissipated some. “Just annoyed I thought my trick was actually working.” The suit arm held a katana stationery at her side. “They were on the defensive the entire time, so…but I should’ve known better. Everyone knows the Shinobi are little bitches who only engage when winning is all but guaranteed. Arghhh. Of course ninja cosplayers would have smoke bombs, too.”

“But your eye, Yuna! How could you risk fighting like that?” Reina said.

“Getting pretty used to it already act—.”

“You reckless fucking idiot!” Val shouted. “Why didn’t you at least come get me?”

“My ears! Fuck, Val. You would’ve said no. Better to ask for forgiveness.”

Val sighed, then chuckled. “That arm is pretty clever for you, though.”

“Right? I was already looking forward to bragging. Such a drag.”

“Just get home! Now!” Reina said. Damnit, how could I be so careless? I let my guard down with how calm Yuna’s been.

A brief time later, Celeste, Dante and Priscilla sat in the back of their car. The door opened on Priscilla’s side. She slid to the edge of the seat and paused.

“You did well, Dante,” Priscilla said before exiting.

“Huh?” Dante glanced over as the door closed. The car started moving.

“What’s with that face, hun?” Celeste asked. “Lookin’ like you got hit upside the head.”

“Kinda feels like I did. I can’t remember my mother ever complimenting me…?”

“Really? The way you’ve talked about her, I’d prepared myself for a much more unpleasant person. Though, she’s a mite hard to read.”

Dante shook his head. “Don’t let how she’s been today fool you. My mother’s as calculating as they come. Her forcing today to happen is evidence enough.”

“I suppose I’ll have to take you word for it, hun. You were mighty impressive at the meeting, though. I’d starting fretting what to do at that point when Freya kept badgering for you to speak.”

“Heh, yeah. Surprised myself, too. Being in ALTR gave me plenty of bravado. I’ve fought gods and monsters named Freya, after all.”

Later that night, in Reina’s room within the Vyx home, Val sat. The door opened. A freshly showered Reina entered as she dried her hair with a towel.

“Val?”