A Monday morning unfolds over Guarly with a gentle breeze. Thousands of citizens wear slightly warmer clothes than usual as they walk back and forth carrying shopping bags. In a large supermarket, a pair of employees finish hanging garlands, signaling that Christmas is approaching. Many customers are busy buying supplies for the upcoming celebrations.
Inside the store, on the first floor, Alexa is browsing the baking aisle, thinking, What should I bring to make the cookies? She grabs a package of chocolate chips, another of brown sugar, and some whipped cream. Smiling, she goes off to look for butter, where she unexpectedly runs into her red-haired friend, who greets her with a smile while standing next to a large, robust man wearing a black suit, tie, and dark sunglasses. Alexa greets him as well—he is her friend's bodyguard. Both girls ask each other at the same time, "What are you doing here?" and laugh at the coincidence of meeting while shopping.
They ask the bodyguard to take the groceries the redhead has already bought back to Leslie's house, and the two girls continue shopping together, filling Alexa's cart with various ingredients. Suddenly, the redhead remembers something and runs off, leaving Alexa smiling as she opens a fridge and takes two cartons of milk. She follows her friend upstairs.
The redhead rushes to the electronics section and stops in front of a large shelf, scanning it with her light-brown eyes. She's looking for a good pair of headphones as a gift for her cousin, who will be coming to her family's Christmas dinner. There, she bumps into her dark-brown-haired friend, who smiles in surprise at seeing her among a group of other girls. They greet each other and chat for a bit until Leslie remembers Alexa's presence and swallows nervously, hoping she hasn't made her angry.
Tamara laughs, says goodbye to the group she was shopping with, and takes the hand of one of her best friends as they go to look for the third. Meanwhile, Alexa finishes loading flour and baking powder into her cart. She sees the others coming down the escalator: one hugging a pair of headphones, the other holding a couple of cards.
After paying for their purchases—Tamara treating her friends to a few cereal bars—the redhead and Tamara help Alexa carry her heavy bags. As they walk, they talk about their holiday plans.
"Well, a bunch of relatives are coming," Leslie says. "Including my cousin—the one who loves listening to music at full volume to sleep. Since he usually stays in the room next to mine on Christmas Eve, I'm giving him these," she adds, pointing at the headphones.
That immediately makes her friends realize something. "If you give him that for Christmas, what's going to stop him from blasting music on Christmas Eve?" they ask. Leslie freezes as it sinks in that the gift will only help after Christmas, not that night. She lets out a dramatic groan while the other two laugh.
Then it's the blue-eyed girl's turn. She hands each of them a card. "My parents have a meeting with some government ministers, so I'm having a sleepover with a few friends. And for Christmas, I rented Kiryoku thanks to my dad—we're throwing an afternoon party. If you want to come, you can bring friends too."
She blushes slightly, imagining herself under the mistletoe with Tyron. Her friends notice immediately and tease her in unison, "You want Tyron to come, don't you?" Her face turns even redder as they all laugh and keep walking—unaware that a gray cat is watching them.
At the Elkin house, their mother finishes putting something in the oven and checks the clock. Seeing it's eleven in the morning, she shouts, "DAVID, SWEETIE, WAKE YOUR BROTHER! HE ASKED YESTERDAY TO GET UP BEFORE NOON!"
Annoyed, the younger boy walks to his brother's room and finds him sprawled across the bed: left arm hanging off, left leg bent, drooling on the pillow with a shameless grin. Tyron murmurs in his sleep, "Hehe… do you want me to keep going, Fran?"
Disgusted, David assumes his brother is having perverted dreams. With a mischievous smile, he goes to the kitchen, opens the freezer, and takes out two ice cubes. Their curly-haired mother watches with a raised eyebrow, completely confused. Chuckling, David quickly puts one ice cube in Tyron's mouth and the other down his back, then bolts as Tyron screams, "DAVID!"
Tyron jumps up to chase him, tangles in the sheets, and slams into the wall. Groaning, he mutters, "What a great way to start the day…" remembering his pleasant dream of training sword techniques with Francesca. He sighs, smiling contentedly.
An elderly couple feeds ducks by the lake in the central park. Nearby, a blonde girl finishes her third lap around the path, removes her wireless earbuds, and hums softly. She heads to a small playground filled with children and begins stretching—legs, arms, waist, then neck. Suddenly, she hears someone sipping a drink nearby. Turning, she sees an athletic black-haired boy raising a hand in greeting, looking a bit surprised.
"What are you doing here, Noah?" Francesca asks, eyebrow raised.
"Watching my little sister," he replies, sipping his shake. "You training as always?"
"Yes. Which one's your sister?"
He points toward the sandbox. "Her—the one with the two pigtails."
"She's very cute," Francesca says.
He smiles. "She is, though she's very shy. She hardly has any friends."
Francesca nods, then leaves. As she walks away, she notices other kids accidentally destroy the girl's sandcastle. Instead of crying, the girl simply looks sad, gathers her things, and walks back to her brother. Francesca realizes the child is using sign language—she must be mute.
At the Forcer house, the sisters decorate the Christmas tree. Camila strings red, silver, green, then gold garlands upward. She turns around to find her older sister tangled in the lights, laughing in embarrassment. They help each other finish decorating while their father watches from the kitchen with a warm smile—until he smells something burning.
"Oh no, the cookies!" he exclaims. Moments later, there's a yelp, a crash, and the sound of breaking ceramic.
"Dad, are you okay?" the girls shout.
"Yes," he replies sadly. "I burned the cookies, grabbed the tray without oven mitts, and dropped the mug you gave me for my birthday."
Sighing, the younger sister goes to the guest room, retrieves two boxes, and opens one to reveal several mugs reading You're the best dad ever. She sets a new one on the counter, leaving him staring in disbelief—this is the fifth replacement.
Emily hangs the last ornament while Camila climbs onto her shoulders to place the golden star on top. Emily checks her phone. "Uh, Dad, I have to go."
"After we pray," he says firmly.
She tries to protest, but he cuts her off. "Emily Forcer, you're not leaving until we pray at the nativity scene."
They kneel before the figurines. Just before finishing, Camila asks, "Dad, what do you think God is like?"
"Gentle and very kind," he answers.
Emily shivers, picturing her master's murderous grin. So scary… she thinks, then heads toward the forest.
Under the waterfall, Alexa opens the wooden chest, shivering at the thought of changing in the cold. With her training clothes in hand, she turns and finds Tyron eating a bowl of cereal. She stares in confusion as he casually asks her to pass his outfit. They change behind trees and return: Alexa trembling from the cold, Tyron still eating.
They spot Francesca approaching, waving briefly before grabbing her own uniform. Emily runs up cheerfully, shouting, "Hi!" Soon, they all head toward the master's cabin, unaware of a gray cat watching from a tree branch.
On the way, Tyron finishes his cereal and stows the bowl. Emily pulls out a sandwich, Alexa some apples, and they eat as they walk. Francesca, however, keeps her eyes forward, silent and not eating.
"Did you already have lunch, Fran?" Tyron asks.
"No," she answers curtly, without looking at him.
He freezes, confused. Alexa notices and whispers to Emily, "What do you think's going on between those two?"
"I think they get along," Emily whispers back. "Don't you?"
"Maybe… but it feels like someone's got feelings," Alexa replies quietly. "And knowing the blonde, she's probably mad at Ty for something."
They soon talk about Tamara's upcoming party at Kiryoku. Emily says she'll go if training ends early. Tyron hesitates, sneaking glances at Francesca, imagining mistletoe—until she says flatly, "I'm not interested. Have fun."
Seriously?! Tyron thinks, crushed.
Far away, under a sky lit by two blazing suns, a vast white city of marble terraces and domes bustles with millions of robed beings. In a colossal monastery, a blue-skinned, faceless creature approaches a desk where a woman in white robes operates a strange terminal. A golden number appears in the creature's hand: 284,363. It enters a massive hall filled with countless beings as ten hooded figures take their places.
"I hereby declare the Council of Masters in session," one of them announces.
Back in the forest, the girls balance atop a massive water-filled vessel, each with a heavy metal sphere on her head. Jayden watches and instructs them about controlling Fiu—about flow, restraint, and balance—then heats the water beneath them, forcing them to react.
Behind him, Tyron floats inside a massive iron dog-jaw contraption lined with heated spikes dripping purple liquid, desperately screaming for mercy as he struggles to aim at targets.
"Ah, music to my ears," Jayden says calmly, sipping tea.
When asked, he explains his anger: Tyron nearly killed himself by unleashing uncontrolled Dark Fiu during his fight with the Mercenary—pushing his body beyond its limits and nearly causing a fatal stroke.
The lesson ends with reflection, discipline, and resolve.
As night falls, the blue-skinned creature from the council storms through the city, furious at how little its people's plea for help was taken seriously. Remembering two youths who once saved its life, it clenches a document in its hand. Then I'll make this a mission, it thinks, vanishing in green smoke.
Back in the forest, Jayden wraps gifts and sneezes, staring into the sunset.
"Why do I feel like trouble is coming?" he mutters.