"I won't give i… ngh!" Adeline spun until her ankle twisted beneath her, sending her crashing flat onto the floor. "No! No! No—!" she sobbed. "I am your blood…" It felt as though needles were stabbing into her skull from the inside.
"Whee-ha-ha-ha~ My dear sweet child, you'll need ten—no, hundreds—more years of training before you're worthy," her grandmother's shadow sneered. "I am not impressed. Your wings haven't even spread yet—how could you ever become a swan? Grow up, child!" The shadow sat there laughing at her with cruel pity. "Until next time, Miss Callen. Heehee… what a pitiful little thing you are~ Come see me again whenever you're ready."
The moment her grandmother's voice faded, Adeline blinked—and everything around her vanished. The stage dissolved back into her Victorian bedroom, her shadow returning to normal upon the wall. Outside, the sun had already begun to set.
"Why-why's everyone leaving me?" she murmured to herself.
Before she could think further, Ms. Cille burst into the room without her noticing.
"Oh heavens! My poor child—Adeline, are you alright?" The older woman hurried over and helped her sit up on the bed. Sweat drenched Adeline's face.
"I'm okay. Just twisted my ankle a little." Adeline stretched her leg out across the mattress. Ms. Cille removed the glove from her left hand to help cool her down, while Adeline used her right gloved hand to grab hold of her ankle. "Please, hold my left hand for me."
"What are you trying to do, dear?"
As soon as she obeyed, she noticed Adeline forcefully twisting her own ankle back into place.
"Adeline, what are you doing?!" Ms. Cillicia cried in alarm.
Adeline shouted through gritted teeth as she jerked it—
"Hnnngh—! (Crack!) Ahhh… much better."
"Oh, sweetheart, you gave me a heart attack! Wouldn't it be better to let a doctor handle that?" Ms. Cille gently rubbed her ankle.
"I probably don't need one anymore. Wait… was I out until five o'clock?" Adeline frowned. "Ugh, I feel sticky all over. I really want a bath now… hup!"
She limped toward the bathroom.
Ms. Cille tried to support her, but Adeline lightly pushed her away with her right arm.
"It's okay. I can walk on my own."
She stubbornly waddled forward on both feet like a toddler learning to walk. But the moment she reached the bathroom door, her foot caught against the wooden floor.
Thunk!
She stumbled chest-first through the doorway and collapsed onto the bathroom floor.
"Owww… the floor's so cooool…"
A week passed.
It was an ordinary weekend afternoon, and Adeline sat on the living room sofa eating a sandwich while sipping hot tea and watching the news.
"Psycho Wolf[1]… protectors of the people's peace?" she read aloud from the headline.
The female reporter continued, "Witnesses and analysts have already come forward with information regarding the incident. Several employees from Taos Corporation have testified that the voice heard in the leaked clip was authentic. Chu Wen will now face further legal proceedings in court."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"In addition, public attention has shifted toward the mysterious man believed to be affiliated with Psycho Wolf. He is suspected to be the shadowy figure seen beneath the spotlight during the D\8/ boy band concert."
"The group known as Psycho Wolf—what exactly do they want, and who are they really? The entire world remains fixated on the mystery. At the same time, media outlets across the globe continue circulating footage of strange green lights spotted atop the stadium rooftop. Experts have already proposed countless theories regarding their identity. But how will all of this ultimately end…?"
Ding dong~
The mansion doorbell rang loudly.
Adeline tapped her watch, bringing up a hologram feed from the security camera at the front gate. Standing outside was a young man in a simple white button-up shirt and blue jeans.
Adeline rose from the sofa and opened the massive steel front door.
"Hellooo— oh! Hey! Brian? What's brought you round then?" She clearly hadn't expected him to actually show up.
"Mind if I ask a weird question?" Brian stared up at the mechanism of her front door. "How exactly do you even open this thing?"
"It scans the fingerprints of people living here, or you can enter a code," Adeline explained casually. "There are eighteen layers of titanium alloy inside. Tough enough to match two tank armors stacked together. Even the windows are bulletproof. Honestly, nothing's breaking in unless someone uses high-yield explosives like atomic or hydrogen bombs."
"Uh… your house seriously looks like it's hiding either millions of dollars or the president," Brian joked.
"Good thing is none' going to nick[2] me," she replied with a grin. "Please, come inside."
Adeline walked back to the living room sofa and sat down.
[1] After Our Decade Part 二 The Wandering Soul - Protagonists
[2] "to rob" in british slang