Two days had passed since the capital exploration disaster.
Jax sat alone on a wooden bench in a small park, arms crossed, staring at nothing.
The day after his blowout with Seris, heâd been shipped off to Astryx Academy with her for the trial which will happen tomorrow. The entire carriage ride had been silent. Suffocatingly silent.
She didnât say a word. Neither did he.
âStubborn bitch,â Jax thought. âAll I wanted was a few coins to help those needy women. Is that so wrong?â
His ego refused to let it go.
When theyâd arrived at the academyâs underground baseâa massive cavern beneath the floating islandâSeris had handled everything with the patrol guards. They searched both of them thoroughly, weapons confiscated temporarily, then led them to a glowing magic circle etched into the stone floor.
Seris stepped in first.
Whoosh.
She vanished in a flash of light.
Jax grinned. âNice. Instant teleportation tech.â
He stepped into the circle.
Whoosh.
The world shifted, colors blurring, gravity twisting.
When his vision cleared, he was standing on solid ground. The sky looked normalâblue with drifting clouds. The air felt normal. Grass. Trees. Buildings in the distance.
If no one told him, heâd never know he was on a floating island thousands of feet in the sky.
Then Serisâs voice cut through.
"This is where we part."
Jax turned.
She stood with her arms crossed, her expression cold and victorious. "Everything has been arranged for you. Iâve done what my mother asked. The guards will escort you to a guest house. Youâre restricted to a specific areaâmeaning you
cannot
roam freely or interact with the general population. Your necessities will be provided by the staff."
She smiled. A cruel, satisfied smile. "Enjoy your isolation."
And then she was gone, walking away with her head held high like sheâd won some grand victory.
Jax glared at her back. âPetty bitch.â
[Back to Present]
Jax sat on the bench, bored out of his mind.
The park was small. Quiet. And filled with
children
.
He wasnât even supposed to be hereâhis "guest house" restrictions explicitly forbade wandering. But heâd seen people through the window and slipped out anyway.
âGreat. Just fucking great. I escaped confinement to look at these brats.â
He was about to leave when a voice cut through his thoughts.
"Mister. Youâre sitting in my spot."
Jax looked up.
A girl stood in front of him. Maybe six years old.
White
hair tied in a messy ponytailâunusual, almost ethereal. Sharp eyes that screamed trouble. Arms crossed like a tiny warlord demanding tribute.
Jax raised an eyebrow. "I sat here first. And thereâs plenty of space. Sit somewhere else."
"I donât care." Her voice was ice-cold. "I sit here every single day. That makes it
mine
."
Jax blinked. âIs this kid serious?â
"So what?" he said. "You own the bench now? You got a deed? Property taxes paid up?"
"Yes."
They stared at each other. A battle of wills between a battle-hardened transmigrator and a seven-year-old tyrant.
Then Jax smirked and shifted slightly, giving her space. "Fine. You win, princess."
She sat down as if sheâd conquered a kingdom.
"How old are you, kid?"
"Seven. And Iâm not a kid."
"Youâre literally seven."
Jax laughed despite himself. âThis girlâs got balls.â
He glanced at the other children playing nearbyâtag, ball games, typical kid shit. "Why arenât you playing with them? Do they bully you?"
The girl laughed. A sharp, dismissive laugh. "Bully
me
? Theyâre kids. I donât play with kids."
"They look your age. Some are even bigger than you."
No reply. Just a cold stare that said the conversation was over.
Before Jax could push further, a ball rolled toward them. A young boy maybe five ran over to grab it.
The girl stood up, snatched the ball mid-reach, and
hurled
it out of the park with surprising strength. It sailed over the fence and disappeared into the street beyond.
"Your ball entered Emilyâs territory," she said coldly, turning to the boy. "Donât let it happen again."
The boyâs face went pale. He turned and
ran
.
Jax stared at her, something like pride swelling in his chest. âHoly shit. I need a kid like her. Sheâs a goddamn sociopath. I love it.â
"Emily, huh?" He grinned. "Youâre a little terror."
She sat back down, ignoring him completely.
Minutes later, a bigger boy appeared. Maybe fourteen years old. The same kid from before trailed behind him, pointing at Emily with a shaking finger.
"Thatâs her, big brother! She threw my ball!"
The older boy cracked his knuckles, swaggering forward. "You got a problem, you little brat?"
Emily didnât flinch. But Jax saw the tension in her jaw, the way her small fists clenched. She knew she couldnât win a physical fight.
The older boy loomed over her. "You think youâre tough? Youâre just a runt. A nobody. Even your parents probably regret having you."
Emilyâs eyes flashed with rage, but she said nothing.
The older boy grabbed the ball from the pathway behind Emilyâs benchâthe one leading to the park exitâand walked away, laughing. "Stay in your place, freak."
His younger brother stuck his tongue out at Emily before scurrying after him.
Jax watched Emilyâs fists clench so hard her knuckles turned white. Rage burned in her eyes like a forest fire.
He leaned closer. "Want revenge?"
She didnât answer. But she didnât say no either.
"The boy brought his brother," Jax said. "Why donât you bring yours?"
"I donât have a brother," she muttered, voice tight.
Jax stood, grabbing his sword from where it rested against the bench. He spun it casually, letting the blade catch the sunlight.
"Then consider me recruited."
Emilyâs eyes went wide. "Are you
insane
?! You canât show weapons in public! Youâll be arrested!"
"Relax. Itâs just for intimidation." Jax grinned. "And Iâm not the one whoâs going to scare them.
You
are."
"What?"
"Listen carefully. Iâm going to teach you some lines. Memorize them. Repeat them
exactly
as I say."
Emily tilted her head, confused but intrigued.
Jax leaned in and whispered. Long, brutal sentences. Words she didnât fully understand but that sounded powerful. Dangerous.
Cool
.
Her eyes widened. A slow, wicked smile spread across her face.
"Ready to show them hell, little sister?" Jax held out his hand.
Emily grabbed it, her grin matching his perfectly. "Letâs go, big brother."
They found the older boy sitting alone on a swing, smugly watching his younger brother play.
As Jax and Emily approached, the boy stood, sneering. "What do you want now, you littleâ"
Jax stepped forward, unsheathing his sword with a slow, deliberate
shing
. He tilted his head, ran his tongue along the flat of the blade, eyes wild and manic like a lunatic escaped from an asylum.
The boy froze, face draining of color.
Other children noticed. A crowd began to form, sensing drama.
"Your turnâs over," Jax said softly, voice dripping with menace. "Now itâs my
sisterâs
turn."
He looked down at Emily and nodded. "Go ahead, little sister. Show him."
Emily stepped forward. Her small frame seemed to grow, presence expanding as she locked eyes with the older boy.
And then she spoke.
"You think youâre tough because youâre bigger?" Her voice was calm. Clinical. Terrifying. "Let me explain something to you, you walking abortion. Youâre not a person. Youâre a failed science experiment that somehow learned to walk."
The boyâs face went red.
Emily continued, her voice rising with each word. "If I see you here again, Iâll shove you so far back into your motherâs womb that sheâll have to give birth to you
twice
just to get rid of you properly. And the second time? Sheâll probably just flush you down the toilet where you belong."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Your parents looked at you and thought, âWe shouldâve swallowed.â Your existence is proof that even the gods make mistakes. Youâre the reason your father drinks himself unconscious every night and your mother cries into her pillow wishing sheâd been born sterile."
The boyâs lip trembled. Tears welled in his eyes.
"Youâre not just stupidâyouâre aggressively, offensively dumb. If brains were dynamite, you wouldnât have enough to blow your nose. "
The crowd was dead silent.
"Your life is so pointless that when you die, the only people at your funeral will be there to make
sure
youâre actually dead. Theyâll throw a party afterward. Your tombstone will say âFinally.â And even
hell
will reject you because Satan doesnât want to deal with your bullshit."
The boy was openly crying now, shoulders shaking.
Emily ran out of Jaxâs lines. So she added her own, voice shifting back to childish innocence.
"And your breath smells like farts! And your face looks like a butt! And your brotherâs stupid too! And... and youâre ugly!"
Jax bit his lip so hard he tasted blood, desperately trying not to laugh.
Emily was out of breath, panting, but absolutely
triumphant
.
Jax stepped forward, resting his sword casually on his shoulder. He leaned down, voice dropping to a whisper only the boy could hear.
"If I see you near her again, Iâll make her insults look like compliments. Iâll make you
beg
for the mercy of silence. Understand?"
The boy nodded frantically, tears streaming down his face, and
ran
. His younger brother scrambled after him, terrified.
The crowd scattered like leaves in the wind.
Emily stood there, chest heaving, eyes shining with pure, undiluted joy.
Jax patted her head, ruffling her white hair. "Youâre on the right track, kid. Keep that fire alive. Never let anyone make you small."
She looked up at him, grinning ear to ear. "Can you teach me more lines?"
"Absolutely." Jax smiledâa genuine one this time. "Stick with me, little sister. Youâre going places."
Emilyâs grin widened until her whole face lit up.