Darkness.

Yes, what spread before her was an endless, deep darkness.

After the mysterious fire that had burned down the orphanage, Liz had taken her sister Gina and settled in an abandoned house. With little food, the young Gina had slowly begun to grow weaker. She’d always been a frail child, but her deterioration had been alarmingly severe.

A desperate Liz had chanced upon Director Dalitz on the street. Though he’d lost his orphanage and assets and appeared destitute, a cold ambition still lingered in his eyes. Though her first instinct had been to flee, Liz had been quickly caught.

However, what Dalitz did was feed Liz and her sister, and get a healer to see to Gina’s condition. The cause of it was unclear, but they’d been told there was something malign in the girl’s chest, likely widespread and difficult to remove. While medicine was available, all it would do was delay the progression of her illness, and even that was far too expensive for the young girls to afford.

Dalitz was the one to suggest another way. “I have some influence in the underground guild,” he explained. “I hear someone who recently became a top executive there can cure any illness.”

A ray of hope illuminated Liz’s path, but despair soon followed.

“These top executives rarely show their faces, though. Only other top executives can meet with them.” Noticing the girl’s dejection, he continued, “So use your power to help elevate me to a top executive.”

“My power?” she echoed.

Dalitz scoffed. “So you’re unaware of it.”

He smiled coldly and explained to her that, during their time at the orphanage, when money had been stolen from his safe, a child from Liz’s group had been suspected. As the leader, Liz had intervened to calm things down. The adults had immediately ceased their quarrel and stopped hounding the child.

Seeing that unfold, and remembering the multiple similar incidents before, Dalitz had begun to suspect Liz of being a succubus mutant. Properly harnessing that power could’ve not only compensated for his lost fortune, but also helped him amass even greater wealth and influence. He’d been secretly planning on doing so, but before he could act, the orphanage fire had sent the children scattering.

To build himself back up, Dalitz needed Liz’s power at all costs. “I’ve been looking for you this whole time. I don’t care about being an orphanage director anymore. I will rise to glory in the Black Guild.” His narrow eyes smoldered darkly.

Liz had no choice. She moved into the darkness of the underground, refining her mutant abilities with a heavy heart. All for her sister.

After joining the guild, she was plagued by doubt, wondering if she was being deceived, and investigated whether there really was a powerful executive there who could cure any illness. And she discovered that there did, indeed, exist such an individual, though it was difficult to meet with him.

Thus, she had no choice but to act. Though her mutant powers were limited in that she could only control a certain number of people and for a certain period of time, Dalitz was cunning, and he used her strength to climb up the ranks in the Black Guild, becoming an executive in only a few years.

Now he was one step away from becoming a top executive and meeting with that mysterious healer. Dalitz had promised Liz to introduce her to the mystery figure and save her suffering sister, Gina.

“There’s no other way,” she whispered into the darkness.

***

The sun was about to reach its zenith as it showered the slums with blinding rays of light. The demi-human hostages’ release was scheduled for noon.

Dalitz scoffed as he led the way back to the site where the orphanage had once stood, with Liz following behind him. “I didn’t think I’d ever come back here,” he said.

From this location, in the middle of a mountain, they’d have a vantage point from which to watch the slums. It was secluded, and difficult for outsiders to spot, making it the perfect place to look down upon ground level. Liz remembered Dalitz had once told her he’d had the orphanage built here for that exact reason. The place had been the playground of a man consumed by his desire for domination.

“What’s that?” Liz asked about the tubular object Dalitz held in his right hand.

“Do you remember that oddball in the guild that went by the moniker ‘Conductor’? That’s who I bought this from,” he said coldly, bringing one end of the cylinder to his eye. “I’ve ordered my men to storm the demi-humans’ headquarters as soon as the explosions happen.” A faint smirk played upon his lips. “Today, the slums plunge into chaos once more. And I will rise above it all, promoted to top executive.”

Liz silently stared at Dalitz’s back.

Noon was just around the corner.

***

In the main street of the slums Zophia, Lynga, Loewe, and their respective underlings had gathered. Gaion sat next to Zophia, bound in chains.

“Once we know our men are safe, you’ll be free to go,” Zophia told him.

Gaion only scoffed in response.

Moments later, the voice of one of Zophia’s men rang out as the missing demi-humans emerged on the other side of the street. “Hey! Boss! We’re back!”

They seemed weakened, which was to be expected, but despite the slight stagger in their step as they approached, they seemed to have suffered no major injuries.

“Looks like you’re doing okay, all things considered,” Zophia remarked. “Honestly, though. This is why I told you not to act on your own. You’d best be ready for an earful later.”

At the lizardwoman’s words, the men suddenly lifted their heads and started running forward.

“Huh. Lively bunch, aren’t they?” she remarked.

The men broke into a full sprint before leaping at their leaders. “Booooss!”

“Ack! Hey! What are you—”

“I think that’s a little too much excitement,” Lynga said.

“Hey! Calm down, people!” Loewe snapped.

The men clung to Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe as though overwhelmed with emotion. A couple of smart smacks to their heads quickly knocked them flat on their asses.

“Big men like you shouldn’t be acting like this,” Zophia said.

“I’m your boss!” Lynga exclaimed. “Don’t just touch me like that!”

“Well, I get why they’d want to cling to me,” Loewe said. “I do cut an outstanding figure, after all.”

“What the hells are you going on about, Loewe?” Zophia asked, exasperated.

“S-Sorry,” one of the men hurriedly explained, clutching his head. “I was just so happy to see you, boss...”

Laughter erupted all around them.

***

While the casual scene unfolded in the slums, Dalitz, from his viewpoint halfway up the mountain, raised his voice in frustration. “Why...? Why? Where’s the explosion?”

Pulling away from the magical telescope, he turned his gaze to Liz, his anger seeping through. “Liz! Did you forget to feed them the stones?!”

“You saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you, Director?” Liz replied, pulling an object from her pocket that looked like a dark red stone. “I made sure each of them swallowed one of these.”