*Click…! *Hiss…! *Thud…!
The sound of machination filled the air, clacks and hisses of steam echoing through the wide chamber.
The whole room was alive, not with voices, but with the rhythmic churning of engines and the sharp release of pressure from vents hidden in the walls.
Scattered throughout were strange machines, each one coursing with a thick black substance that slithered like oil through transparent pipes.
The liquid moved slowly but deliberately, flowing along the walls, crawling down to the floors, then merging with one massive device positioned in the dead center of the room.
The central machine thrummed with energy, its core glowing faintly under layers of reinforced glass.
Steam hissed from its sides like it breathed, and it gave off a low, steady hum that made the floor vibrate beneath it.
Hera stood close to the machine, her posture upright, gaze focused behind the thin lenses of her glasses.
With a press of her gloved finger, a small panel clicked.
*click!
The machine responded with a sharp hiss, vents releasing clouds of steam before a side compartment slid open with a smooth motion.
Out came a rack, holding several slim containers filled with the same black fluid.
It pulsed faintly inside the glass, not glowing, but somehow alive.
This was the same substance Hera had once shown Elyn, well... only now, it had been refined—cleansed from the sedative, almost narcotic traits it once carried.
The aphrodisiac effect, once part of its early unstable form, was completely removed.
What was left was something potent, pure, and ready.
"Mhm," Hera hummed to herself softly, reaching forward with careful precision.
She raised her arm as she brought the container closer to her face, tilting it slightly while observing the black fluid inside.
Her eyes narrowed, the soft gleam of her glasses catching the light as the liquid shimmered faintly, pulsing like something that was alive, almost breathing in rhythm with the machines around her.
Hera didn't speak, not yet.
She slowly straightened her posture, then walked across the room with quiet steps and placed the container onto a separate station.
The small device there was shaped perfectly to hold the glass tube—it was built for this exact purpose, meant to analyze the contents in detail.
Her fingers moved with practiced ease, pressing a single button on the side of the device.
*click!
A few quick mechanical clicks followed, then clamps extended and gently latched onto the container, holding it in place.
The machine began to turn the container slowly, rotating it several times, while a thin band of light moved up and down along the surface, scanning it carefully.
The light glowed faintly blue, illuminating the black liquid within as it shimmered again, reacting subtly to the change in pressure and motion.
The machine gave off soft hums and subtle clicks, each movement feeling deliberate, calculated.
Hera stood still, her arms now folded as she watched, the glow reflecting slightly off her lenses.
Minutes passed like seconds.
Eventually, the machine gave a sharp final click before slowing its movements, then came to a full stop.
*click!
The clamps released with a light hiss, and a side panel slid open, releasing a narrow strip of parchment with printed values running down its surface.
"Let's see…" Hera muttered, adjusting her glasses again as she reached forward to take the parchment between her fingers.
She raised it up, eyes scanning line by line.
A list of categories was printed on it, each paired with a numerical value—density, purity, stability, strength, reaction rate, and overall grading.
Her eyes moved slowly across the data, her lips pressing together as she read in silence, then let out a quiet hum.
"It needs more purity…" she said softly, almost to herself, her tone flat yet thoughtful.
"And it needs more density too."
She laid the parchment down beside the device, the edges curling slightly from the faint heat still in the machine.
Hera turned her head, gaze sweeping slowly across the rest of the laboratory.
Tubes snaked across the walls like tangled veins, black fluid still pulsing through them in steady motion, and devices of varying size flickered with faint lights, all working together like a single breathing system.
"Looks like I'll be needing more supplies…" she whispered, her voice barely louder than the hum of the machines, already calculating what she would need and how much.
She then sighed, crossing her arms while leaning back against a nearby table, her shoulders heavy from the long day of work.
The soft hum of machines continued to echo in the background, but her mind was no longer on the fluid or the results—it had drifted somewhere else entirely.
"The things I do just for you, Elyn…" she muttered under her breath, her gaze growing distant, fogged over with thoughts and memories she couldn't quite push away.
Her mind began to swim through fragments of their past—Elyn's lips, her voice, her touch, always cold but somehow still comforting.
The way she moved, the look in her eyes, and the rare moments when warmth would rise between them..
Hera bit down on her lower lip, her breath catching for just a second.
She shook her head with a frustrated grunt, trying to force the memories away.
"Urgh… focus, Hera," she whispered sharply.
"This is no time for lustful thoughts."
Just then, a knock echoed from the other side of the metal door, quick and deliberate.
*thud…! *thud…! *thud…!
A voice followed soon after, calm and familiar.
"My lady, it's me."
Hera recognized the voice at once.
"Come in, Jira," she called, turning her body slightly to face the entrance.
With a slow creak, the heavy metal door swung open.
A maid stepped in—Jira—her outfit simple yet crisp, her hair tied back neatly.
She approached Hera with quiet steps, then offered a polite bow before walking closer.
"What is it?" Hera asked flatly.
"A message," Jira replied, bowing again as she extended both arms forward.
In her hands was a sealed scroll, bound with a metallic crest shaped like golden carved wings.
Hera's expression tightened.
"A letter from Seraphim…" she muttered, her fingers hovering just above the seal.
"They didn't find out what I'm currently doing, right?"
Her brow furrowed deeply. "That shouldn't be possible. We've got plenty of protection, even connections deep inside the guild…"
Still, her voice lacked full confidence.
With a sharp flick of her finger, Hera tapped the seal.
It shimmered faintly, clicking once before a light pulsed through it.
The scroll untwined itself, slowly rolling open with a quiet hum.
Hera held it steady with one hand while her other adjusted her glasses.
She began to read, scanning each line with growing intensity.
Her mouth parted slightly, her expression going blank as her eyes reached the bottom of the page.
"W-What…?" she whispered.
Her voice hitched as her breath caught, and her pupils widened with a mixture of shock and disbelief. The paper trembled faintly in her hand.
Whatever was written there… it wasn't good.
"Where is Elyn now?" Hera asked quickly, her voice firm, the scroll still trembling slightly in her hand after reading its contents.
"Reports from the guild say that Elyn had already left the city," Jira replied, her voice steady.
"Her destination was unknown."
Hera released a slow breath from her mouth, her chest lowering with a faint sigh of relief.
She closed her eyes for a second, letting the tension drain out of her shoulders.
"Good," she said, nodding.
"Those Seraphim will be scouring this city a few weeks from now—we can't have Elyn anywhere near here when they arrive."
She paused, her gaze distant, then continued as she handed the scroll back to Jira.
"Knowing Elyn… she'd probably be gone longer than that."
Jira accepted the scroll with both hands and bowed slightly.
Hera didn't wait—she was already turning toward the door, her boots echoing faintly against the stone floor.
"Now then, let's stop wasting anymore time here," Hera muttered, more to herself than anyone else.
"We need to get out before mother and father grows suspicious."
"At once, my lady," Jira said respectfully, falling in step behind Hera.
As Hera stepped through the door, Jira followed closely, glancing back once at the hidden library—the machinery, the devices, and all the secrets it held.
With a soft sigh, she closed the door behind her, sealing away everything.
From her fingertips, a trail of purple eidra flowed, snaking toward the door as it shimmered and pulsed.
With a low hum, the seal activated, the door slowly fading away, replaced by a solid wall of stone.
In moments, it was as if the door had never existed.
Together, they walked in silence, their footsteps echoing through a hidden stairwell carved from the stone beneath the estate.
The air was cool and still.
They ascended slowly, step by step, until finally the dark path opened up into the moonlit courtyard of the grand mansion.
The trees swayed gently in the night wind, their shadows long and twisted under the pale silver moonlight.
The sky above them stretched clear and vast, dotted with stars.
Jira stepped forward, lifting her hand once again.
Behind them, the underground passage they came from responded to her motion, the hidden seal whirring quietly as the stone began to shift and pull itself together.
Within seconds, the stairwell disappeared beneath solid earth, the entrance closing fully as if it was never there to begin with.
Neither of them spoke as they began to move across the courtyard, heading straight for the mansion's grand entrance.
Their pace was steady, deliberate, each of them knowing that time was growing thin.
Above them, the moon stood high in the sky, casting its cold light upon the estate.