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Romance hated the sewers. He hated the reek of damp limestone, the stagnant sludge, and the suffocating dark. Most of all, he hated that this was where Sophia had chosen to hide from him, knowing it was the one realm on Earth he reviled.
He stood ankle-deep in cold sewer water, numb to the chill seeping into his boots. Around him, the voices of the team drifted like distant radio signals through heavy fog.
All Romance could truly register was the mummified body of a nun sitting inside the wrecked 1929 Ford Coupe, suspended in time. The world lost its meaning. He couldn’t breathe.
He barely paid attention as Minjo adjusted her tactical AR goggles. "Good, we have enough people to make this work," she said, her voice sharp and clinical despite the subterranean gloom. She dropped a heavy canvas duffel onto a dry ledge with a dull thud. "Courtesy of our new friend, Paine," she added flatly. Unzipping the bag, she began pulling out neatly bundled dark velvet and silk.
"Tomorrow’s Opening of the Mouth Ceremony has a VIP entrance. The sector uses biometric checkpoints." She held up a collection of polished silver serpent brooches. "Getting past the sensors is easy, but sewer rags won't pass visual inspection. We go in looking like we belong there. Clean up as best you can, and get dressed."
Romance could tell Echo was in pain. He watched her reach covertly into the duffel, grabbing an aerosol sterile seal and a roll of synthetic gauze.
Ghost grabbed her shoulder, pulling her into the faint light of the LED lantern. His eyes locked onto the angry, blistering brand burned across her chest. Raw panic flashed across his face as his hands shook, instinctively trying to comfort her.
"It's nothing," Echo muttered, wincing as she pulled away with quiet, stoic dignity. "It's handled."
Minjo nodded, trusting her assessment, and tossed bundles of high-end gothic attire toward the rest of the team. "Change."
Kyra caught the bundle Minjo threw her. "Disguises?"
"I plan for contingencies," Minjo replied smoothly.
Hwan looked down at the dark, heavy coat in his hands, surprised he and Romance were included. "Apparently." His broad face carried the specific, quiet patience of someone who had been waiting for acceptance for a very long time.
Kyra stepped out from the shadows, smoothing the heavy, dark silk over her hips. She paused in the dim light for a brief second, looking up to catch Romance's eyes.
Already changed in an elegant outfit, he didn't blink. His gaze wasn't on her face or the velvet draped over her shoulders. He was looking right through her, his pupils reflecting the dark silhouette of the car behind her.
Kyra’s hand hovered over her waist for a heartbeat. Slowly, she turned her head to trace his line of sight back to the mummified nun inside the glass.
When she turned back to Romance, her hand fell loosely to her side. A gentle, sorrowful understanding settled over her face. She smiled softly. "You clean up nice.”
Romance didn't answer. He didn’t even register her beautiful new outfit.
Minjo unrolled a tactical holographic map directly across the rusted trunk of the 1929 Ford Coupe. "We're short on time. If you learned something important, we'll discuss it after I give you the basic layout." She smoothed the map flat across the cold iron surface. "The ceremony is going to be swarming with Monstrum elites from all over the world, and Jihoon is the center of the storm. But none of that matters. We’re getting Jihoon out."
She glanced up at Romance, who remained rooted in the sludge, staring blankly through the Safe Zone barrier.
"Romance," Minjo called.
Nothing.
"Romance!" she repeated, her tone firmer.
He finally looked back at her.
"You're our distraction tomorrow. Like what you did at The Pen. I don't care how you do it. Make it spectacular if you have to. We need every eye enthralled and looking at you while we pull Jihoon from the altar."
An unexpected subterranean breeze swept down the channel. The tactical map fluttered off the trunk, slipping into the murky sewer water.
Minjo sighed, bending down to retrieve the damp paper.
In what felt like slow motion, Romance saw violet energy build across the iron shell of the car. The ambient air turned sharp with the reek of ozone and scorched copper. He opened his mouth to shout a warning.
Too late.
A burst of violet lightning erupted from the Ford's engine manifold. It arced through the dark like a coiled whip, striking Minjo across her arms.
She gasped as the impact threw her backward against the wet stone wall. The map burst into singed, black flakes that scattered across the surface of the water.
Sophia.
Romance’s eyes grew wide, his golden irises narrowing to slit pupils.
A poltergeist. A strong one. At least a Level 3.
Hwan stepped instantly between Minjo and the car, his massive frame shielding the rest of the team.
Romance’s mind raced through the horror of what he had just witnessed. Why attack Minjo? Because she was barking orders at him? No. It's bigger than that. The realization hit him like ice in his chest. Minjo had replaced her. She was another brilliant, hyper-pragmatic strategist, leader, and protector of Jihoon.
Possession. Envy. Territory. Typical poltergeist scrambles. Sophia was devolving.
"Minjo, that’s enough," Hwan said gently, his voice low and calm, yet laced with immediate urgency. His dark eyes locked onto Romance. "We need to clear out. There’s a dry cavern fifty yards ahead where we can organize the rest of Paine's gear."
An unspoken understanding passed between the Dokkaebi and the Jeoseung Saja. They had been a trinity once: Hwan was the Ratline's organizer, the sewers were Sophia's domain, and Romance navigated procurement and espionage.
Hwan knew better than to ask what Romance intended to do next. He turned, motioning for Minjo, Ghost, Kyra, and Echo to move up the dark corridor.
Ghost hoisted his pipe, ushering a stoic Echo ahead of him while Minjo rubbed her stinging, scorched fingers, analyzing the energy discharge with a pale, unsettled scowl.
Kyra didn't follow them immediately. She stepped toward Romance instead, her boots splashing softly in the cold water.
"Romance," she said gently.
He tore his eyes away from the vibrating car to look at her.
"I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said to me in the hovercar."
"Kyra..." he murmured, his voice sounding hollow, even to himself. "You’re leaving me too?"
"I'm repaired, thanks to you. Better, even," she whispered softly. "But this..." She rested a hand lightly against his chest. "This isn't mine to fix. I need to listen to my own heart now. Who I need to be beside. Who I need to protect. You need to listen to your heart too, even if it hurts."
She took his hand and pressed it gently over his chest before withdrawing her own. "Take care of this for me. It's bigger than you give it credit for."
Romance choked back a breath, unable to deny the truth in her words.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, the icy touch of her metal skin feeling strangely comforting against his burning face.
She turned and ran to catch up with Hwan and the others. Pausing briefly at the tunnel's edge without looking back, she called out into the dark. "I’ll visit you when this is over." Then she disappeared around the bend into the subterranean gloom.
Romance reached out a hand after her, the cyborg girl without a death-date. His fingers twitched in the dark before his arm sank back to his side.
He drew one long, shaky breath.
Then he turned back toward the 1929 Ford Coupe.
On Her, Ghost of Sophia:
"Minjo, that’s enough," Hwan said gently, his voice low and calm, yet laced with immediate urgency. His dark eyes locked onto Romance. "We need to clear out. There’s a dry cavern fifty yards ahead where we can organize the rest of Paine's gear."
An unspoken understanding passed between the Dokkaebi and the Jeoseung Saja. They had been a trinity once: Hwan was the Ratline's organizer, the sewers were Sophia's domain, and Romance navigated procurement and espionage.
Hwan knew better than to ask what Romance intended to do next. He turned, motioning for Minjo, Ghost, Kyra, and Echo to move up the dark corridor.
Ghost hoisted his pipe, ushering a stoic Echo ahead of him while Minjo rubbed her stinging, scorched fingers, analyzing the energy discharge with a pale, unsettled scowl.
Kyra didn't follow them immediately. She stepped toward Romance instead, her boots splashing softly in the cold water.
"Romance," she said gently.
He tore his eyes away from the vibrating car to look at her.
"I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said to me in the hovercar."
"Kyra..." he murmured, his voice sounding hollow, even to himself. "You’re leaving me too?"
"I'm repaired, thanks to you. Better, even," she whispered softly. "But this..." She rested a hand lightly against his chest. "This isn't mine to fix. I need to listen to my own heart now. Who I need to be beside. Who I need to protect. You need to listen to your heart too, even if it hurts."
She took his hand and pressed it gently over his chest before withdrawing her own. "Take care of this for me. It's bigger than you give it credit for."
Romance choked back a breath, unable to deny the truth in her words.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, the icy touch of her metal skin feeling strangely comforting against his burning face.
She turned and ran to catch up with Hwan and the others. Pausing briefly at the tunnel's edge without looking back, she called out into the dark. "I’ll visit you when this is over." Then she disappeared around the bend into the subterranean gloom.
Romance reached out a hand after her, the cyborg girl without a death-date. His fingers twitched in the dark before his arm sank back to his side.
He drew one long, shaky breath.
Then he turned back toward the 1929 Ford Coupe.
On Her, Ghost of Sophia:
Outfit: AZARAN - ROSE Outfit, white - Legacy.F [mesh](Midnight Order)(449L)
Snake and pose: piXit - Serpentine - Pose Stand, Snake 3 [mesh](Midnight Order)(300L)
Goblet: ISHIKU - Violetta Crystal Coupe [mesh](Midnight Order)(400L)
Halo: Quills & Curiosities - Aurelian Eclipse [mesh](Midnight Order)(250L)
Wings: She Said Destroy - SSD Elegy for an angel - Wings Back [mesh](Midnight Order)(550L)
Hand jewelry: Voluptas Virtualis - Exuvie-Arms, Legacy.F [mesh](Midnight Order)(450L)
Wimple, eyepatch: MDN - Dark Habit Eyepatch, Wimple Fatpack [mesh]
Skin, tattoo: TF - Orlok :: EvoX/BoM - Complete Set [BOM]
Claws: Subject Thirteen - Slay Plague Claws, PBR - Legacy Female [mesh]
Eyes: OUROBORUS - OBR - Belfegor Eye 1 [BOM]
Head, eyes: LeLUTKA - CEYLON Lite [mesh]
Body: TheShops - Meshbody Legacy (f) Special Edition (Basic) 1.2 [mesh]
Setting:
Skybox: LORE - Great Hall Skybox [mesh](Midnight Order)(600L)
Hanging Lantern: LORE - Sanctum Lantern [mesh](Midnight Order)(400L)
Chair: LORE - Gothic Throne, PG [mesh](Midnight Order)(750L)
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky:
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