Location: House 002 – Zenith Vista
The evening air was calm.
The sun had already dipped behind the tall towers of Zenith Vista.
A soft breeze drifted through the open balcony of Ruby's room.
She sat on the floor near the window, her knees drawn close to her chest, staring quietly into the distance.
Minji, wrapped in a soft beige blanket, lay across the couch casually, sipping on lemon tea.
Suddenly, Ruby spoke—her voice barely above a whisper.
"Did you see the grip Moon used at the end today?" Ruby said.
Minji glanced sideways, curious. She raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Hmmm our princess ... Are you thinking about Moon's hands? That's serious, huh?" Minji said playfully.
But Ruby didn't smile. She didn't even blink.
Minji's smirk faded quickly.
She sat up straight, setting the tea down slowly.
"Wait... you're serious?" Minji asked.
Ruby nodded slightly.
"That grip… the angle of his fingers, the twist in the wrist, and the way he balanced his stance afterward... it's the exact same," Ruby whispered.
"Same as who?" Minji asked, her voice softer now.
"The only person who ever defeated me. The only one I could never beat... not even once," Ruby replied.
"Wait... him? The 'Ghost Hands' guy?" Minji said, surprised.
Ruby gave the smallest of nods.
"I lost that fight... and I never forgot his grip," Ruby said.
Minji went silent. There was no teasing in the air anymore. Just a strange chill of old memories resurfacing.
---
Next Morning — Table Gathering
A cool morning sun filled the house with gold.
In the main room, a long wooden table had five chairs around it.
Kai stood at the center, waiting.
One by one, the rest joined — Moon with a bar of chocolate in his hand, James stretching his arms from a long nap, Ruby tying her hair into a ponytail, and Minji brushing her jacket sleeve clean of imaginary dust.
"Good. You're all here," Kai said.
He held up five small metal bands — storage rings.
"These are yours. Don't lose them," Kai added as he passed them around.
Everyone stared at the rings with curiosity.
James turned his around, squinting.
"How much storage does this even have? Looks basic," James said.
"There's some kind of weight to it… subtle, but not heavy," Ruby said, tapping hers gently.
"Ugh, finally something that isn't ugly. I'll take it," Minji said as she slipped hers on.
Only Moon didn't seem curious. He was still chewing.
He slipped the ring onto his finger and went back to his chocolate.
"Moon... you're really just gonna ignore everything till I explain it, huh?" Kai asked with a half-smile.
Moon didn't answer. He just gave a slow thumbs-up without looking.
Kai sighed and began.
"Inside the ring, you'll find:
Panoply: It is a mixture of both cultivation and science, it works as armour but looks different and very easy to fight while rearing them , actually it put special incantations on user body which acts like armour , but as same as armour they can be broken out when get enough damage .
A guidebook — I wrote it myself, covering dangers, edible plants, terrain layouts…
A teleport fallback plan. If we get separated, regroup points are marked on the map.
Basic seasoning packets — we don't want to eat like cavemen.
Sleep kits.
Beast-repelling liquid. Don't spill it.
And large-capacity water containers," Kai explained.
"You really prepared all this yourself?" Ruby asked, surprised.
"I don't trust anyone else to plan our survival. Not even James," Kai said firmly.
"That's fair," James replied, raising a hand in mock surrender.
Kai clapped once.
"We leave tomorrow. Be ready at Human Base 12072009 by 12 PM sharp. No delays," Kai announced.
Everyone nodded. As they began to stand up, Moon suddenly spoke.
"One thing's still missing," Moon said quietly.
"What now?" Kai asked.
Moon looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers.
"A weapon. You have that katana you love. Me? I've got nothing. No gauntlets. No blade. No claws. Not even a rusted stick," Moon said.
"Claws? What are you, a tiger?" James laughed.
"I'm going to the mall," Moon said, ignoring James.
"Don't waste money. We already used up 290,000 universal coins," Kai said.
"How much is left?" Moon asked.
"Maybe... 160,000?" Kai answered after a pause.
"That's enough. And once we finish this mission — you said we could make ten million, right?" Moon asked with a smirk.
Kai nodded slowly.
"Then I'll return with something sharp," Moon said, walking out, still munching on his chocolate.
---
At the Mall — A Strange Encounter
Moon didn't waste time. He walked straight to the weapons section.
"Brother… show me some solid gauntlets. And Nichirin swords too. You know... the flashy kind. Like Tengen," Moon said.
"Tengen? Who?" the shopkeeper asked, confused.
"Nothing, just a fictional character of the old era ," Moon said with a shrug.
The shopkeeper brought out some shiny weapons.
Moon picked a pair of dark steel gauntlets and two curved Nichirin-style blades connected with a chain .
"These go in my ring," Moon said.
"Total comes to 90,000 coins," the shopkeeper informed.
Moon didn't hesitate. He paid instantly.
Just as he turned to leave, he saw something —
Two eggs.
One raven black.
One pure white.
"What are these?" Moon asked, walking closer.
"Eh... no clue. They look like eggs, but every scan says they're just... objects. No life. No reaction. Nothing," the shopkeeper said.
"Can I take them?" Moon asked, curious.
"You want those? Sure. They've been here for two years. Nobody touched them," the shopkeeper replied.
---
Back Home — A Curious Test
Moon returned, holding the two eggs carefully.
"What... the hell is that?" Kai asked, looking up.
"Found them next to the counter. They called me," Moon said.
"Called you? Bro, you went to buy weapons and came back with breakfast," Kai said, half-laughing.
"Just… look," Moon said as he explained the situation.
"Can you check if there's any life inside?" Moon asked James.
James pulled out a life force detector and scanned both eggs.
"No readings. These things are dead," James said, shaking his head.
"Wait... actually, there is one way to be sure," James added suddenly.
"The Xiao Clan… if someone with direct bloodline checks them… they might be able to detect something hidden," James explained.
"Minji," Moon said instantly, eyes lighting up.
---
House no 002- Zenith Vista
Minji opened the door wearing a black jacket, her hair still slightly damp.
"All three of you? What's going on?" Minji asked, surprised.
They entered. After some tea and explanations, Minji took the eggs in her hands and closed her eyes.
She let her essence energy flow into them.
"...They're alive. Barely. But yes — they're still holding on," Minji said softly after a while.
"The shell is special. It blocks detection. But my energy… it reached inside," Minji said afterwards.
"I can give them pure life force. But you have a choice now. Either put them in an incubation chamber. Or... form a bond," Minji continued.
"What kind of bond?" Kai asked.
"Real. Deep. Risky. They'll be living beasts. No echoes. They'll need love. Time. Attention, although they will have the same trait as echo , I mean here resurrection one , after they were killed in a fight and the owner is not dead they came back to life after 2-3 months," Minji said.
"And if we ignore them?" James asked.
"The bond breaks. They die, the only way they can die even when their master isn't dead yet . And you suffer backlash. In some cases... permanent damage," Minji said firmly.
There was silence.
Moon stood up.
He picked the black egg.
Cut his finger.
Let a drop of blood fall on the shell.
The egg glowed faintly.
"You're insane," Kai said, staring at him.
But after a moment, Kai sighed.
He picked up the white egg.
"...Tch. I hate you sometimes," Kai muttered as he placed his blood on it.
The white egg glowed too.
Two unknown beasts.
Two silent bonds.
And one uncertain future.
To be continued….