"So you two went on a date," Aria responded bluntly, tossing a piece of fruit in her mouth.
Sera shook her head. "It wasn't a date."
"You went around with Mr. Riven and visited different stores, got lunch, and even drank a bit. How is that not a date?"
"Definitely a date." Nyra chimed in, nodding.
"See, even Nyra agrees."
"Yes, alright, fine, it was technically a date." Sera relented, raising her hands in surrender. "But to us, it was just a moment to hang out as friends. Also, why are you both so adamant on it being a date? Didn't you both have a problem with him?"
Aria let out a dramatic sigh—propping herself up on the couch—she set the vibrant bowl of fruit down on the coffee table. "That's not it, Mom, it's more about the unspoken behavior between you two."
Nyra nodded in Agreement, "We've seen it. You'd take a step to get closer to Mr. Riven, only to put up a wall around yourself."
"What exactly happened between you two?" Aria finally asked.
Sera parted her lips, the words in her heart danced just beneath the surface, eager to break free. But she froze. She couldn't tell them that the man who just walked into their lives could be their father. He didn't even know they existed until two months ago.
Even if she believed they could handle the truth, she would still never tell them. He doesn't get the right to be their father after all this time; if he had just answered, maybe…
No, there was no maybe, he didn't, and that's all that's there. This was a truth she would take with her to the grave. Riven would just have to settle for a false title.
And so she spoke a vague truth. "When I needed him most, he wasn't there, and I can never forgive that."
"I understand, Mom, but it's clear as day to us that you have feelings for him, whether lingering or fresh, you should confront them head-on. " Aria said, placing her hands atop Sera's.
"I will. Now, shouldn't you girls be doing your homework?" She said, pulling her hands back.
"What, come on, we were just having a moment, why'd you have to go and bring school into it?" Aria huffed in frustration, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"We can have plenty of moments like this in the future, but if I don't see some A's in your report cards, the only moments you'll get will be a lecture from your Aunt."
"Alright, we'll go do our homework," Aria replied as she and Nyra picked up their bags before walking into their rooms.
***
Riven strolled into the building, a weary yawn escaping his lips. His eyes, heavy with boredom, scanned the surroundings as if searching for something—anything—to pique his interest.
'Why'd I have to choose to be the owner of a company? I could've chosen anything else, I said, normalcy, no divineness, no system or powers, just me. But really, a CEO — that's like screaming I want to deal with supernatural bullsh*t. I've read more than enough novels to know that.'
The rhythmic sound of his shoes against the floor filled the oddly silent lobby. 'Then why did I make such a decision? I hate dealing with pretentious pricks, isn't that why I slept a whole Stellar Epoch?'
As he approached the elevator, a soft ding resonated, signaling the doors gliding open before him. A young woman stepped out.
A black suit neatly wrapped around her figure, her eyes–an earthly hazel–gazed at him with a look that said, 'I have questions,' before they turned away to those in the lobby.
As her lips gently parted, the glimmer of pink lip gloss caught the light, as her voice, cold and commanding, filled the lobby. "You all can return to what you were doing."
The lobby returned to its normal bustling attitude as everyone busied themselves, even those on their break.
Riven smirked. "It's good to see you haven't lost your edge, Jess."
She looked back at him, her gaze still cold. "Sir, we are at work, please use my full name."
"Yeah, sure, if I remember," he said, walking past her, his hand raised in a friendly wave.
Jessica let out a frustrated sigh before following him into the elevator. The doors closed behind them as the elevator began to rise, accompanied by a soft jingle.
"I figure word's gotten around by now, so how many are here about opportunities related to education or schools?"
"Approximately seventy-eight different requests all mention those keywords, originating from businesses of medium and large size, none from small or any of the supposed industry giants."
Riven gritted his teeth. "Scoundrels"
"Sir, this might be a bit overstepping, but—"
"If you have to say you're overstepping, then maybe you shouldn't say it." He glanced at her from the edge of his vision, his voice laced with venom as he spoke.
"Yes, sir." Jessica cast her gaze downward, a delicate blush spreading across her pale skin.
"I suppose I'll hear you out."
Jessica turned to him, examining his face for any signs of emotion before speaking.
"Sir, are you sure that those girls are yours? I don't mean to doubt you, but why now and not when you first returned?"
"I don't have an answer for that." He said, shaking his head. "I'd like to think that they'll see me as such, even if only for a little. It's probably my only chance to experience something I can never have."
A moment of stillness enveloped them, the gravity of his words lingering in the air like a heavy fog between two unspoken truths.
"I hope your wishes come true, Uncle Riven," she said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Ah!" Riven pressed his hand dramatically against his chest, a look of feigned distress spreading across his face. "I'm hurt. How could you call me Uncle? What happened to Big Brother?"
"You're old enough to be the Milky Way's grandfather, don't you feel embarrassed to make a girl in her twenties call you big brother?"
"But in the grand scale of things, I'm only thirty-four."
"That's more of a white lie you tell yourself, despite coming into existence at the same time as all of creation."
"That was Doom."
"Aren't you Doom?"
"Ugh, fine, do whatever you want," Riven said, walking out of the elevator as the door opened. "Let's handle these morons already."
"Yes, sir."
They walked down the hall, passing many employees, who bowed briefly to greet them before returning to their tasks. The two soon reached the conference room, where several older men were seated and waiting.
Tightening his suit, Riven walked into the room, Jessica not a moment behind. Taking his seat at the head of the table, his chilling gaze swept over the men.
"Alright, gentlemen, you have three hours to make your case."
***
"Ugh, that took forever," Riven complained, seated behind his desk. "What's next in the schedule?"
"We'll be meeting Lady Sylvia at the food granary for the usual check-in, then we'll be joining the minister for lunch to address concerns about infrastructure," Jessica replied, reading back the schedule on her tablet.
"Is that all that's left for today?"
"Not even close, expect a late dinner tonight."
Riven let out a deep groan, his hands tangling in his hair as frustration bubbled up inside him.
While that was going on, opposite of his towering skyscraper, a few feet into the earth, Herta was busy in her lab.
"Miss Herta, that's not right." Astella pointed out, reading the document Herta was writing.
Herta deleted it before writing it out again. "Still wrong." Astella sounded once more. And once again, she erased the line before typing it out again, her fingers pressing down harder on the keys.
"Miss Herta…" she began again.
"Argh, enough!" Herta yelled, slamming her hand on the table. "Instead of saying it's wrong, why don't you explain how I should re-contextualize the theory if the main talking point is incorrect?"
"Oh, you're right, I should do that, but my lord said—"
"Screw what he said, if you're going to backseat my papers on the bio-matrix, you better have more than that's wrong as a response," Herta interjected, opening a notepad ready to write down whatever she says.
"Ahem, alright. The bio-matrix is the storage of the genetic blueprint for all life in the universe, from planet spirits to even living physical matter. Although it is a storage device, it doesn't mean you can retrieve the information from it."
"What do you mean?"
"It's only meant to store the information so that the universe itself can remember all lifeforms that appear. The universe begins with a chaotic balance that changes over time by remembering every lifeform the universe knows what would disrupt this balance."
"So essentially, the universe."
Astella nodded. "Ahmm"
"Needs to keep beings that are naturally too strong from destroying everything, and the best way to do that is to stop them from existing."
Astella shook her head."Not existing per se, more like preventing the events that lead up to their creation, like asking the mother goddess to mess with the weather or something."
"So it's like a body adapting to bacteria and viruses." She clarified, with a better example that made better sense.
"Yep."
"I understand the problem with my theory was that it argued the bio-matrix contained the secrets to all creation, but in reality, it contained the blueprint for how life changed and adapted in different environments."
"Yep, something so insignificant and minor in difference would have ruined your whole theory. Though it doesn't contain the secrets to all of creation, what you mentioned originally was the life codex, though I can't tell you much as I'm not a Paragon."
Herta nodded, though her focus remained on typing out her thesis, her fingers a blur of motion as words poured out of her brain, only halting upon Astella's next words. "If you apologize to my lord already, he'd be more than happy to answer your questions and even throw away this boring life to help you."
Herta's eyes narrowed. "You're overstepping your boundaries, Astella."
"Oh, is the mighty Herta afraid of her ambitions now?" She taunted, a mocking smirk playing on her lips.
Herta slammed her palms down onto the table, the force echoing in the tense silence. Rising to her full height, she slowly pivoted, each step deliberate as she closed the gap between them. Her gaze dimmed.
"Do you really think your authority of Doom really works on me?" She whispered, low but heavy. "I'm the sister of the man who gave you that authority — made you everything you are. Without him, you'd still be crawling on that backwater planet, hollow-eyed, on your knees for whichever king fancied you that day."
Astella's lips curled into an unsettling grin. "Now there's the sister of Doom I was expecting and not that wishy washy B*tch from earlier."
Herta pushed away, walking back to her desk. "Tch, I fell for your stupid provocation."
"Aw, are we done already?" Astella said, jumping around her with unending energy.
"I'm sending you back to Riven."
"Come on, don't be like that, it's so boring over there."
"Then go play with the spillborn, so it's properly trained for April's birthday in a month," Herta replied, waving her hand dismissively.
"Okey dokey," Astella playfully bounced away, her laughter echoing through the lab as she vanished into the maze of equipment and curiosity. Where she was off to next was anyone's guess.