From beneath the clear, immemorial water, White Flame emerged without casting a ripple or reflection, standing midair as though on solid ground, his flaming face turned toward the white glowing stretch that is the ceiling of the ancient place.

  Beside him, a shimmering dome—like sparkling transparent glass—stretched over an island sitting at the center of the clear immemorial water. It was like a fishbowl turned on its head, fitted perfectly to the round edges of the island, becoming part of a perfect sphere, of which the smooth golden surface of the island base submerged in water formed a quarter of it.

  “Poooh…” White Flame exhaled deeply, letting a tiny white flame slip from his mouth, which grew slightly before returning to him.

  He paused briefly, after which he turned toward the shimmering dome beside him, gently flew upward, landed on it with flaming bare feet, and folded his arms.

  Below his feet, clear water was suspended right beneath the shimmering dome, and did not fall to the island surface far below; it was like water in a bowl, but the bowl is upside down and the water refuse to pour. The clear water upside down surface from the island surface below was halfway the height of the dome.

  His head tilted downward.

  “???”

  As the golden rings of his eyes rotated clockwise, his zooming gaze pierced through the suspended water, then through a couple layers of clouds before settling on the vast land of the island below.

  From an aerial view, he focused on what looked like a ring with rough top, glued to the earth—a ring mountain range. At its center, he could see tree canopies were scattered here and there, and close to each canopy stood groups of tents. Around most, creatures of a species lingered and moved about.

  He chose a target. His gaze narrowed on one of the creatures standing in front of another, with his back to a tent.

  As the golden rings of his eyes rotated anticlockwise, the earth chain connecting the creature’s physical center to the earth was revealed to him. Then several other chains became visible—one connected it to the creature standing in front of it, while the others branched outward as they extended from his spiritual center.

  “Hmm…?” White Flame paused. He focused on the bundles of chains that shared a common origin—the spiritual center—branching from the other creature just like his ex target.

  “Heart chain,” an ancient voice reached him like a whisper. “Together with the Earth chain and the Heaven chain, they are the three chains of origin. An Eternal Trinity.”

  “Eh…!” White Flame’s jaw dropped.

  Just as he was about to turn his head, he was suddenly yanked by the chain connected to him. At an incredible speed—so fast he could hardly react—he was pulled and dragged into the clear immemorial water, which left no splash or ripple.

  Just as it had always been, peace and quiet returned to the ancient site.

  At a corner, shimmering light illuminated Masa Ed lying unconscious on a plush bed designed like a sofa.

  His head, hands, and abdomen were bandaged, and he was dressed only in baggy pants made of very light fabric.

  First, his middle finger twitched. Then, a moment later, he groaned and slowly opened his eyes to the glowing spot above the water of the aqua ceiling. The shifting shimmering light that barely lit the room—except where he is, that is a bit brighter—made him blink before he winced from pain.

  “Fuck! My head is heavy,” he blurted.

  “Rayo, you are awake?”

  From beside him, Plum walked up with a sweet smile on her face. She knelt close to the bed, placed her elbow on its edge, and with her hands propping up her face, she directed it straight at him with that same sweet smile.

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  “Ouch!” Masa Ed cried, wincing as he tried to turn his head. “Why is my neck stiff?”

  “You fought the big guy. Have you forgotten?” Plum giggled. She leaned closer, her face almost hovering above his.

  He smiled faintly, his dark-brown eyes meeting her plum-colored ones.

  “Rasa, how are you feeling?” Lady Jasmine asked from where she stood beside Sugar, near Plum at the edge of the bed.

  “Except for my neck and wrists, I feel okay,” he replied. Keeping his head still, his eyes moved left and downward, trying to catch a glimpse of her.

  Lady Jasmine stepped forward. She gently held his hand and began to untie the bandage.

  “Where is Stray?” he asked.

  “Master, she is in the training ground,” Sugar replied.

  “Should I fetch her?”

  “No—ouch!” Masa Ed winced as he tried to shake his head.

  “Sorry,” Plum consoled.

  “Be patient. You will soon be able to move,” Lady Jasmine reassured him. In the next breath, she released his arm, now free of its bandage, bent slightly, and took his other arm, beginning to untie the bandage binding it.

  “So, do you remember your battle?” Lady Jasmine resumed.

  He paused.

  What actually happened?

  His sea of knowledge stirred, but no desired information surfaced. All he could remember was the terror-filled event up to the moment he stepped out to confront the monstrosity.

  Standing close to him, Plum broke the silence.

  “Rayo, you were very fast. It couldn’t land a clean hit on you,” she said with a smile. “If you had fought it a little longer, you might have put it down. It just so happened that, its when you got into rhythm that they ran away.”

  They ran away?

  Masa Ed narrowed his eyes in confusion.

  Yes… that guy.

  “Mother Jas, do you know those people who attacked us?” he asked Lady Jasmine, and his eyes welcomed her as she moved a step along the edge of the sofa-like bed, taking the space Plum yielded.

  “You know it was two different groups?” Lady Jasmine responded with a question as she focused on the bandage on his head. Gently, she lifted the back of his head from the pillow before starting to remove the bandage.

  “I had the feeling. It’s the cloaked guy, right?” he guessed, his unfocused eyes lingering on the saree draped across her shoulder.

  “Yes, you are right,” she replied. Gently, she helped his head back onto the pillow before resuming.

  “He belongs to a different faction from the others. That is the only thing I can tell you.”

  “I understand,” he said with a knowing smile, his eyes drifting to her swan-like neck as she apparently took out a small glass container from her saree.

  As she twisted the lid open, Masa Ed continued.

  “Mother Jas, do you know the guy who was in hiding?”

  “You mean the stealthed person?” Lady Jasmine asked for clarity.

  “Yes, stealthed,” he clarified. “No one could see him, probably.”

  Lady Jasmine bent slightly and began massaging his neck gently with the substance she had rubbed onto her hands from the container. After a moment, she replied,

  “It’s probably their prince. The ‘Prince of Darkness.'”

  She moved to his lower jaw.

  “As long as you don’t listen to them, you should be fine. They are a principled group…”

  “Yes, Grandma told me,” Plum chimed in. “She said the devil people operate on strict rules established by Sir Devil himself. What they do is tempt people—especially White Lantern prospects—and make them fall. They never attack people except when they are attacked.”

  “They don’t have to. They have Dark Lanterns for that,” Sugar chimed in from where she sat at the edge of the bed, close to Masa Ed’s knees.

  “Sugar, what do you mean?” Masa Ed asked.

  Sugar stood up, giving Lady Jasmine more space before replying.

  “Master, there is this group called the Black Lanterns. They are basically our primary target, and it’s the devil clan people who enable and empower them—”

  “Well within the law,” Lady Jasmine added.

  “Yes,” Sugar agreed. “They are the best at exploiting loopholes. It’s what they are known for, besides causing trouble and offering people tempting deals. It’s also the reason they are called imps.”

  “Grandma said they have an obsession with the mortal world.”

  “That’s true,” Lady Jasmine agreed with Plum. Her massaging hands moved from Masa Ed’s right arm to his left arm.

  After finishing with his left arm, she sat at the edge of the bed near his knee line, peeled away the bandage—which she cut by tracing her manicured slender finger across it—and then proceeded to massage his abdominal region.

  Shortly after, Masa Ed turned his head. As his gaze settled on Plum, who sat on a beanbag chair a couple of steps away, he spoke again.

  “For how long have I been out?”

  “Three days,” Plum answered curtly.

  “Three days, huh…” he repeated. His gaze drifted out of focus for a moment.

  “How did we leave that place?”

  “Master, through the portal,” Sugar replied him immediately. “It’s the only way out for Lanterns.”

  “Portal?” he blurted.

  “Yes, Rayo,” Plum chimed in. “The Director was the one who carried you on her back.”

  Beside him, as Lady Jasmine concluded her massage, she added,

  “The portal connects the Fog Plane to the real world. One step into it, and you are back in the real world.”

  As she stood up, Masa Ed slowly raised his back and sat up on the bed before turning to her.

  “Can one enter the Fog Plane through it?” he asked, his gaze lingering on her tall, captivating figure—elegant and slightly slender.

  “No,” she replied. “You can only enter with the help of the Mystery Fog. The portal does not even exist in the real world to begin with…”

  “It exist only in the Fog Plane,” Margaret chimed in as she approached.