Anissa returned to her office, sitting heavily behind her large desk. Papers were piled everywhere, awaiting her review. Normally, grading these papers would be simple, even relaxing in its own strange way. But now, as she flipped absently through the test scripts, her mind was elsewhere entirely.
She felt restless and uncomfortable. Her fingers tapped the desk at super speed, creating an endless drumming noise. The fight with Selena replayed itself again and again inside her head. But was it even really a fight? Anissa could have easily killed Selena multiple times during their little scuffle.
Selena had allowed anger to overwhelm her completely. It was a beginner's mistake, a dangerous one. All Viltrumites learned early that anger led to rash decisions and usually defeat. Yet, what she sensed from Selena wasn't normal anger—it felt like pure, burning hatred directed straight at her.
This unsettled Anissa more than she cared to admit. Selena was weak, barely a threat physically, but the thought of someone close to her holding such intense hatred made her uneasy. It triggered instincts within her, instincts that could demand a real duel next time—one that Selena wouldn't survive.
She sighed heavily, leaning back into her chair, annoyed with herself. She had been pulled back from her previous mission, which she'd executed perfectly, conquering a planet several star systems away. Upon returning, she was genuinely surprised to find a newly established academy filled with new students. They were labelled the "children of traitors"—half-breeds or thin-bloods. Thragg himself had decided they would serve Viltrum, living out their lives to atone for their parents' betrayals. They were second-class citizens at best, openly mocked and discriminated against by many pureblooded Viltrumites.
But when Anissa used the cruellest slur she knew on Selena, calling her thin-blooded, it wasn't just casual cruelty. It was tactical—testing Selena's limits. It revealed a deep-rooted hatred hidden within the young girl, something dangerous that Anissa had overlooked entirely.
How could she have missed something so obvious? Of course, some half-bloods would hate Viltrum. Their parents were killed, and their lives were ripped away. But according to every report she'd read, these children were taken as infants, unable to remember their past. They were supposed to have been reprogrammed entirely into loyal Viltrumites.
That was the only reason Thragg had even considered allowing them to live. Their obedience would set an example: they could earn some measure of respect by serving faithfully, unlike their rebellious parents, earning themselves a place amongst the proud Viltrum elites.
Yet Selena clearly remembered. That fact alone troubled Anissa deeply.
"Not that it's really my problem," Anissa muttered to herself. Yet she knew letting Selena continue down this road would inevitably lead to disaster—probably Selena's death. There was simply no way a group of angry half-bloods could ever challenge fully-trained Viltrumites and survive.
Later that day.
"What's got you thinking so hard?" a voice broke through her thoughts. It was Maya, tinkering away in her workshop. Anissa hadn't realised she'd paid her closest friend a visit and just sat there absentmindedly.
Maya, one of the best engineers in Viltrum—alongside Nolan—barely looked up as she spoke, always absorbed by her gadgets.
"I don't know. What do you think about those half-bloods?" Anissa asked quietly, reclining on one of Maya's extra chairs.
"I hate them," Maya answered instantly, not missing a beat, still focused entirely on her project.
An awkward silence stretched out between them, heavy enough to press Anissa's lips into a thin line. She wasn't usually sensitive to comments like this—Viltrumites rarely were—but something in Maya's blunt answer bothered her unexpectedly.
"So that's how it is," Anissa mumbled under her breath, picking up a strange circular object from Maya's cluttered workbench, and turning it absent-mindedly in her hand.
Maya suddenly continued speaking, surprising Anissa slightly.
"I hate that Thragg decided to dump all of them into one sector without allowing any to join or apply elsewhere," Maya clarified slowly, pausing in between her words, a habit Anissa had learned to expect from her friend but forgotten today since she wasn't herself. Maya always spoke as if carefully choosing each word, like an old sage.
Anissa's head rose slightly, something hopeful in her chest. She waited quietly, patiently, knowing Maya wasn't finished yet.
"I don't know why," Maya continued thoughtfully, still not looking up, "but lately I've had this urge. An urge to take on apprentices. To teach them what I know and have them around me, ya know?"
A sudden flash of silver interrupted Anissa's vision. She blinked rapidly as a thin, shimmering silver thread appeared behind Maya's neck, clearly connected somehow. But just as suddenly, it was gone.
Anissa shook her head slightly, confused. Was she seeing things now?
"Addressing the Grand Regent casually in conversation? Do you want me to report you?" Anissa tried to tease, but soon found herself lost again in thought until she found something to distract her again. These feelings were very fresh to her after all.
"Are you working with silver rope or threads or something, Maya?" she asked cautiously, floating closer.
"No. And move away from me, I'm busy," Maya replied dryly, gently pushing Anissa away with one hand. Anissa floated back obediently, still troubled by her recent encounter clearly.
Maya finally stopped, turning to face Anissa directly.
"You haven't answered my question. Did one of those half-bloods piss you off enough to want to kill them without permission or something?" Maya asked bluntly, eyes studying Anissa closely.
"No," Anissa answered quickly, but hesitation lingered in her voice. She chose her next words carefully. "But...what if one of them remembers exactly how their parents died and still hates Viltrumites deeply?"
Maya's eyes narrowed curiously. "Then you'd have a solid reason to bring it before the council. Why? Has one of them actually been foolish enough to threaten you?"
"No. Under my watch? Who do you think you are talking to?" Anissa responded sharply, a fierce defensive tone surprising even herself. Internally, she froze, stunned by how instinctively protective she'd suddenly become of Selena, of all people.
"Hmm." Maya smirked knowingly, returning to her work. "Then what's got you so tense, Anissa? Surely it's not that problem you've got down there, right?"
Maya laughed openly, clearly teasing her. Anissa flushed slightly but laughed back despite herself. The sudden shift to friendly banter felt oddly comforting, lifting the tension she hadn't realized had built up.
"Oh, please, Maya. Jealous again?" Anissa shot back playfully. "Or are you just bitter because none of your machines can match me?"
"You are really off your game today huh? It won't be worthwhile defeating you in a bout of banter with your state of mind like this." Maya teased, she was one of the few Viltrumites so dedicated to their work that some might call her mad, being able to even laugh, an emotion most Viltrumites don't exhibit unless if it's something they really enjoy.
Maya laughed harder, wiping grease from her hands. "Please, machines are reliable—unlike your questionable anatomy. What, is your cock on its monthly cycle again? Should I expect a storm building up with a chance of ejaculate?"
"Shut it!" Anissa chuckled, shaking her head with a reluctant grin. But even as she laughed, her thoughts still lingered heavily on Selena. She couldn't escape that nagging feeling—Selena's hatred ran deeper than simple anger, dangerously close to outright rebellion.
Still, another part of her felt oddly protective. How had Selena, a half-breed she had openly mocked, stirred so many conflicting feelings within her?
Anissa sighed quietly to herself, feeling more confused than ever. She knew she'd need to confront Selena soon—clearly, carefully, and privately. Whether that meant guiding the girl back onto a safer path or crushing rebellion completely, she wasn't sure yet.
Either way, Selena's hidden hate represented danger—danger Anissa couldn't afford to ignore for long. Yet, deep down, another voice whispered quietly: maybe Selena was a chance. A chance to change Viltrum's rigid ways, a chance to understand herself better, or even something more. This was a subtle mission given to her by her newfound goddess. She wasn't fully into this but it was worth trying to see if she could meet that ominous figure again. The words the figure spoke of brought forth new thinking.
Anissa shook her head again, clearing her thoughts. No, that was ridiculous. Such change was impossible...wasn't it?
"Get out of your head, Anissa," Maya interrupted, grinning at her knowingly. "If you brood any harder, you'll ruin my perfectly peaceful workspace."
Anissa smirked back, grateful for Maya's blunt humor. "Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone, oh wise sage," she teased lightly, floating back toward the door.
"Sage? Are you calling me a virgin? Hey, Hey! COME BACK HERE!" Maya screamed as she desperately wanted to leave this banter the winner.
Yet even as Anissa left Maya's workshop, Anissa knew the strange thread she'd seen—the one that vanished without a trace—was real. Something significant was shifting around them all.
And whatever it was, Selena and those troublesome half-bloods were undoubtedly right at the centre of it.
Something came up last week hence the lack of chapters. Hope you are all doing fine, the Invinvible fic resumes today.
Read ahead with illustrations on patreon.com/futamommy