Kelly blinked. Once. Twice. Then again.
"Hold on—you don't actually mean a real ghost, right?"
Kelly swallowed, trying not to let her voice shake. Ghosts were already every Earth girl's nightmare, and even after everything she'd been through, her hands still trembled.
"And this 'weeping ghost'… is it one of those powerful ones, or just a normal ghost?"
"Shut up." Kelly swatted at the floating screen, but of course her hand went right through it. She glared at the smug system.
"Fine. Whatever. Just tell me—what the hell is a 'celestial egg'?"
Kelly squinted. "Celestial world?"
In ascending order (I'll note the ones you've visited):
Mortal Worlds – your home world.
Elemental Worlds.
Astral Worlds – Zathron.
Divine Worlds – Gervia.
Chaos Worlds.
Celestial Worlds.
Origin Worlds.>
Kelly just stared at the screen, then let out a long sigh. She pushed herself off the floor and flopped face-first onto the bed.
"Great. Love that. Totally not overwhelming at all…"
***
A scalding hot shower later, Kelly stepped out feeling human again—dressed in a black fitted top and high-waisted jeans. She didn't bother snooping around this time. She headed straight for the sitting room.
The Titan woman was already there, seated at the table, wearing the same permanent expression of disgust and barely-contained rage. She didn't look shocked to see Kelly—didn't even look at her. Her fists were clenched so tight it looked like she was trying not to explode.
Kelly dropped into the seat across from her, legs crossed, picking up a peach-shaped pink fruit from the tray.
"You should smile more," she said casually, biting into it and sighing. "If you keep that face on, you're just gonna evolve into a walking ball of depression. Not that I care, but your emo aura is starting to rub off on me. Very uncomfortable."
Yulvaris slowly turned to her, fury flashing in her eyes.
"How far I've fallen," she said with a bitter laugh. "To the point where even little children dare bark like—"
Something soft and sticky hit her forehead. The half-eaten fruit bounced off and landed on the table.
"You're annoying to talk to," Kelly said, folding her arms. "We're never going to get along if you stay like this. You're supposed to be my maid, but that mountain-sized ego is clogging your equally oversized, empty skull. You've been captured. You have no will. You're not a god anymore. You're a slave. Reality. Accept it."
Kelly sighed, grabbed another fruit, and bit into it. "Honestly, I might've gone easier on you if you didn't look like someone who's committed a catalogue of crimes. Someone needs to keep that head of yours from getting too big."
Yulvaris's glare sharpened; her hands trembled like she was seconds from snapping. "I will kill you, disgusting human! I will destroy you!"
"Try making it sound more convincing," Kelly said around another bite. "Stuff like—'I'll tear you limb from limb, crush the sound from your throat, consign you to oblivion.' Now that's scary. Works way better."
Kelly watched the Titan tense. Muscles quivered under her skin; her eyes were a raw, furious red—hungry for blood.
What a lunatic, Kelly thought, lifting the fruit toward her mouth. Then Jayden stepped into the sitting room.
He looked oddly put together: black trousers, a blue top, and a leather jacket—an actual jacket, which was basically a crime for a man who lived in unbuttoned shirts.
"Looks like bonding time," he said, sliding onto the bench and ruffling Yulvaris's head with a strange, fond pat.
Kelly turned her face away. She couldn't stand the grin that spread across his face.
"Get ready, my star performer," Jayden called, and Kelly felt a cold pit open in her stomach at that grin. "In two weeks you leave for Imperial Island. You'll take the entrance exam for Zathron Academy. That should be entertaining."
Kelly didn't answer right away. She lifted her head slowly, eyes cold as ice. "And if I say no?"
Jayden's smile stretched wider, like he'd expected defiance. He leaned back, waving a hand as if her question was a joke. "You don't have to worry about paying for your choice. Not you. Your family and friends will—"
Kelly's jaw tightened.
"—come first," he went on, voice syrup-smooth. "But killing them? Too messy. I have something better. Crueler."
His grin sharpened. "I'll leave them alive. I'll make them hurt so badly they pray for death. They'll suffer, scream, beg—everything you love will be punished, but not ended. That way they live with the pain. Sounds fair, no?"
Hate burned in Kelly's eyes. She stared at him like she wanted to tear him apart.
Jayden sat back, casual as if discussing the weather. "So—yes or no?"
***
Kelly moved through the buzzing streets, hood pulled low over her head, eyes taking in everything.
People were everywhere—haggling over goods at roadside stalls, shouting prices, arguing, laughing. On an open obsidian arena, two massive draconian aliens were locked in a brutal fight, their crowd roaring with every hit.
Strange cars—long, sharp-edged, and way too fast—shot down the wide road, metal wheels scraping against black stone with a teeth-grinding screech.
Passing rows of unfenced houses, Kelly spotted kids playing on their lawns. Little draconian girls clustered together, giggling as they shaped colorful streams of Cosmic Dust into glowing symbols in the air.
Overhead, airships ripped across the sky, some so huge they blocked the sun for seconds at a time. A street festival was in full swing—teenagers her age with painted faces, dancing, yelling, hyped on pure chaos. The energy was wild, almost fun… except for the guys who kept grabbing the draconian girls like it was a sport, turning the whole scene into something a little too sleazy.
Kelly sucked in a breath and kept walking, the sidewalk humming around her. The streets were so alive it almost felt like too much.
She took a sharp turn and got bumped by a squad of little girls — their faces so cute and wide-eyed it almost made her smile.
"Sorry!" the girl who'd run into her said, rubbing her forehead.
"Watch where you're going!" one of her friends snapped, wagging a finger with puffed cheeks and tugging the apologizer by the hand. Her eyes were bright. "Come on, hurry — we don't get another chance to paint his face before he falls asleep."
The others were already half-running toward whatever prank they'd planned.
Kelly shook her head and glanced up at a towering building — black and domineering, like something carved straight from obsidian and basalt.
"Is this it?" she asked, pulling back her hood to get a better look.