The room was bathed in red light.
A man sat behind an expensive desk spotting an immaculate crisp yellow suit, his white hair styled perfectly and those blue eyes bright with amusement.
He held a cigar between his fingers, studying it like a prop.
"The warehouse incident," he said to the empty room, "despite being tragic was rather informative and then there was the talking Titan."
"both those products were big succeses "
He brought the cigar to his lips.
"Now let's see what Mr violet can do"
And took a puff.
Immediately, he started coughing, face reddening and eyes watering.
The door opened, the red light quickly turning fluorescent to reveal a well organized coorporate office.
A man in his forties entered, wearing what looked like a butler's uniform, his expression caught between exasperation and fondness.
"Sir," he said, taking the cigar away, "you know you're terrible at smoking, why do you keep trying?"
"Atmosphere, Johnny boy." The younger man U wiped his eyes. "Villains smoke cigars, It's in the handbook."
"There is no handbook."
"Well there should be, Infact I already have plans to make one." U straightened his yellow suit jacket.
"How did I look though? Menacing? Mysterious?"
"You looked like you were dying."
"Perfect."
John set the cigar in an ashtray, shaking his head. "The preparations for the next phase are complete. Are you certain you want to proceed? Once we begin..."
"Oh, I'm certain." U stood up and clapped, the room turning red again.
walking toward the window, the red light made his white hair look pink.
"Everything's falling into place."
"Something big is about to happen Johnny boy, and it's gonna change everything."
"I know, sir and that's what worries me."
"I don't know what it does," Alessia said, sliding her phone back into her pocket. "But I do know People are going to get hurt."
Huey looked at her for a long moment.
"And there's little either of us can do about it."
"So you're just going to let it happen?"
"I didn't say that." Huey started walking toward the stairs.
Alessia blinked. "Wait, you're actually"
He was already gone, and she hurried behind him.
The Medical Legion's diagnostic center had been set up in one of the larger auxiliary halls.
White partitions divided the space into sections. General checkups, pneuma readings, respiratory and blood tests.
Medical students in their white-and-red cassocks moved between stations helping out Achusoi students.
But it was the crowd that caught Huey's attention.
A banner hung above the main desk,
FREE RIFT RADIATION RESISTANCE MEDICINE - COURTESY OF THE MEDICAL LEGION
Luna stood near the entrance with a clipboard, checking names, and directing students to different stations.
She spotted Huey and Alessia approaching but didn't acknowledge them beyond a brief glance.
"Special address from Vice Dean Martinez will begin shortly," a Medical student announced over the PA system. "We apologize that Department Head Dr. Cross couldn't be here personally, but she sends her regards and full support for this initiative."
An Achusoi student, tall, and lanky was arguing loudly with one of the Medical students at the injection station.
"I'm not here for a lecture," he said, voice echoeing across the hall. "I don't need fixing nor do any of us, we're just fine the way we are."
A female Medical student, short brown hair and kind eyes raised her hands placatingly. "Of course there isn't. It's just preventative care...."
"I'm only here for the Riftguard," he interrupted, using the street name for the Resistance medicine. "Give me the dose and I'll be on my way."
"Absolutely." Her smile never wavered.
"Please, have a seat. I'll prepare it."
The student sat reluctantly, arms crossed.
The Medical student disappeared behind a partition, returning moments later with a syringe.
The liquid inside had a faint purple tint.
"Wait." The student eyed the needle. "That's not..... Riftguard comes in tablets. Why's it in a shot?"
"it's much more effective administered intravenously plus the absorption rate is significantly higher, and the protective effects last longer." She tapped the syringe.
"I promise"
Her kind smile made the student relaxed slightly. "Fine, please just make it quick"
Outside, Alessia tried to push past Huey toward the entrance.
He grabbed her mozzetta and pulled her back.
"You can't just barge in," he said quietly.
"What? Why not? We need to—"
"On what basis would you tell them to stop? A hunch?"
Huey's tone was calm but firm.
"You have a photo of vials being transported that's not evidence of anything. For all they know, those are legitimate medical supplies."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Frustration crept into her voice. "Just stand here and watch?"
Huey looked at her, really looked at her. The desperation in her eyes, the way her hands clenched into fists.
"Why do you care so much?"
Alessia opened her mouth. Closed it. "That doesn't matter right now."
"People are going to get hurt, Huey. That's all that matters."
He studied her face for another moment, then sighed. "Give me a second to think."
Inside, the Medical student was preparing the injection site on the Achusoi student's arm.
She Swabbed with alcohol and Tapped to find the vein.
Huey's mind worked through the information, speaking aloud as much to himself as to Alessia.
"That purple substance was smuggled into campus," he said. "That much we know from your photo."
"Yes."
"And it's being distributed during this event, mixed with Riftguard injections."
"Yes."
"But why target Achusoi specifically?" Huey watched through the entrance as more students lined up for their shots.
"If this was about testing an experimental drug, there are easier targets. So why here, why now and why make it so visible?"
Inside, the needle pressed against skin.
"Unless..." Huey's eyes narrowed.
"What?" Alessia frowned.
"They're the test subjects, but not the intended recipients." His mind raced.
"Think about it. Riftguard is a pneuma booster and it's designed for Achusoi to increase their resistance to rift radiation by elevating pneuma output. But we Achusoi have minimal pneuma to begin with and the dosage we take is specifically calibrated for low baseline levels."
The plunger depressed, and purple liquid entered the Achusoi student's bloodstream.
"If you wanted to test something that affects pneuma," Huey continued, "you'd start with the lowest pneuma population because they're the safest control group which means minimal risk of interaction with existing Crest abilities or high pneuma levels."
He paused.
"All the signs point to this serum not being designed for Achusoi at all."
The student inside stood up, rolling his shoulder. "That's it? I feel... actually pretty good."
The Medical student smiled. "See? Perfectly safe."
Huey's expression darkened.
"It's for people who already have Crests."
Josephine was breathing hard.
The training hall was empty except for her. Marble floors, red carpet spread across the ground and equipment racks lining the walls. She'd been here for hours, pushing herself past exhaustion.
"Again," she muttered, raising her hands.
The constructs reformed, spears of solid light.
She launched them at the practice targets, Every single one hitting the center mass.
But her mind was elsewhere.
Three Golden Chalice operatives dead.
"Their deaths are not your burden to carry", Luna had said.
But they felt that way.
"I have to get stronger," she said to herself. "I need to be able to protect them."
Her eyes drifted toward the cathedral entrance, thinking about Huey.
"And until I am..." Her voice softened, eyes distant but warm. "I'll have to stay away so he won't get hurt."
Her phone rang.
She saw a familiar phone number and picked it up
Elsewhere, the party was in motion.
Students from various legions mixed together, music pounding and lights flashing.
The kind of event that happened every weekend when you had wealthy parents and minimal supervision.
Willy Cross stood near the refreshment table, attempting to talk to a girl with auburn hair and eyes that made his brain short-circuit.
"So yeah, you gotta be pretty smart to get into the logistics and support legion" he was saying.
The girl leaned in, clearly interested.
All of a sudden, a mysterious sound that sounded like a fart was heard.
The girl's expression shifted from interest to disgust in half a second. "Ew"
"That wasn't.....I didn't..." Willy stammered, but she was already walking away.
Wheeler emerged, his chittering laughter echoing in Willy's head.
"You absolute piece of shit," Willy muttered. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
Willy sighed. His eyes swept the room, and that's when he noticed it.
The pneuma in here felt... dense.
He walked toward the bar, flagging down one of the waiters.
"Hey, can I get something to drink? Literally anything to drown out my bad luck."
The waiter, wearing a professional smile handed him a bottle filled with transparent purple liquid.
Willy was about to gulp it down when he paused, looking around the room again.
He noticed some of the guests were acting weird, showing visible pneuma aura, and doing really disturbing stuff.
which shouldn't happen at a casual party.
All of them had glasses filled with that same purple drink.
Willy grabbed the waiter's arm. "What did you put in these drinks?"
"What? Nothing! I'm just a waiter!" The guy's professional mask cracked. "Look, I just serve what I'm given. I don't know what's in them!"
"Who gave you these bottles?"
"I don't know! They were already here when I arrived for my shift! Please man, I'm just trying to make rent!"
Something was very wrong here.
Josephine ran.
still in her cassock, a single gold Presbyter line marking her rank. Students moved out of her way instinctively as she sprinted through campus.
"A hard drug in circulation found its way into Virelia and all leads point to the Medical Legion's event today." She recalled what Sister Jewel had told her over the phone
She rounded the final corner and saw the auxiliary hall ahead.
And standing outside, deep in conversation.
Were Huey and Alessia.