Nicole Silverwind considered herself super lucky to be from the Silverwind Family. The wealth and opportunities aside, the Silverwinds paid particular attention to their children’s intellectual growth as free thinkers and realists. Other children of S-Ranked Families only associated with those they deemed elite. The children of the Silverwind Family knew that human value couldn’t be measured by positions and wealth, but by character and capability.


    Why this was significant for Nicole was because always free to be a normal child, make normal friends, and do normal things. It was how she became best friends with the ditsy Desi despite her commoner background.


    Desi was the perpetually happy, free spirit friend that made her life more colorful.


    Just because she was free to make her own friends, it didn’t mean it was easy to do.


    She didn’t have many friends.


    Nicole Silverwind was a bit awkward and 100% intimidating.


    The combination of her elite background and her disdain for those with that background and a heaping of pride - well - yeah.


    Desi never cared. So she never cared that her Besti came with a tag-along.


    That was all he ever was to Nicole. Desi’s Boyfriend. That was his name.


    She never bothered much with her best friend’s friendly boyfriend because he was weak and had no intentions to become strong. She loathed those who lacked ambition in an age where strength mattered so much.


    Sure he was in the Rune Studies Department, then he should strive to be the best there, but according to her friend, he was just breezing through and treating his studies like a side hobby.


    In her mind, the Boyfriend was a spineless background character to be acknowledged and then ignored.


    That was until two years ago.


    Unlike other scions of Ranker Families who cared more about maintaining their extravagant appearances and wouldn’t be caught dead in any part of the city deemed unworthy, Nicole had no qualms with running through the back alleys of the Outer Ring, hunting rare hostile spiritual manifestations. Sure, it was dirty and gross smelling, and for sure, don’t jump on puddles, but that’s what made it fun!


    Through the winding maze like turns of the back alleys where no one could see her run atop rooftops and across walls, she could completely let go of her image and the responsibilities of her name and just, run.


    Freedom.


    It was during one of those lone adventures that she heard a shout of pure bloodcurdling terror. And then another.


    A plea for help.


    The sounds were distant but desperate, and as someone who believed it was the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak, she ran.


    With her familiarity of the back allies, it didn’t take long for distant cries to be near cries, but the voice was also becoming more desperate, more terrified and for the first time she feared her speed inadequate, and from that, other doubts creeped in. Was she going to be too late? What was the danger that invoked such terror? Was she strong enough to handle it? Should she should wait for back-up? Was she running to her doom? Should she… stop?


    In that moment where fear threatened to conquer courage, a figure flashed past her with blinding speed.


    In the span of the moment it took her to process her shock, the screams changed. The desperate human cries were replaced with the screams of something inhuman. It was scraggly and harsh and sounded like the anthem to children’s fears. And it sounded scared.


    Then there was silence.


    Nicole didn’t know when fear planted her feet on the ground. The hand that wiped the cold sweat from her forehead was trembling. She laughed at herself bitterly.


    With nervous steps, she approached the silence.


    The scene she quietly intruded on was one of horror.


    Several bodies, gruesomely mangled by something with giant teeth, was surrounded by a dozen knocked out colorfully dressed street thugs. In the center stood a familiar back figure, gently draping his coat other a surviving child, shielding him from the view of the vengeance that had been dealt against the monster that had killed the his friends.


    The moment would be touching except the ‘something with giant teeth’ had been smeared out of bloody existence against the alley walls, bloody monster parts and organs painting an unspeakable mural as a backdrop.


    The sounds of sirens distracted Nicole for only a second. When she turned back, he was gone, the surviving boy having passed out from shock, carefully laid a ways from all the blood and unpleasant things.


    Nicole naturally took charge as law enforcement arrived. From the passed out gangsters, they found that their leader, a second cleansed criminal, had bought a black market monster and wanted to test it out on some passing kids. From the surviving child, she learned that he and his pals were just cutting through the alleys for fun when they were attacked by a monster. It attacked them one after the other and when he thought that his own life was over, someone showed up, grabbed the monster, used it to knock out the bad guys and then hurt it real real real bad.


    She wondered if what happened to the monster was disturbing the child as much as everything else.


    Nicole recognized the coat the boy had clenched around himself, unwilling to part with it.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    She also recognized that as a first cleansed warrior, she probably couldn’t have even handled the side characters that didn’t lack for first cleansed, let alone the leader who was a whole tier stronger. Then there was the monster, which was destroyed so completely that they couldn’t even determine its rank, but according to the gangsters, without the restraining collar, not even the boss could handle it. So what did that make him?


    She told no one about the incident, but from that day, Desi’s Boyfriend graduated and earned his own name. Jun Hopper. A man of many mysteries.


    Over the next two years, she quietly watched this boy that worked so hard to pretend to be ordinary and in doing so found that she had almost missed out on a great friendship.


    Jun Hopper was a sincere person who treasured his close relationships like they were his treasures. He wasn’t intimidated by her background, having no problem teasing her like he would any other friend and he never tried to gain anything from her besides respect. The last one was perhaps the greatest surprise when she realized that he was the first and only one in her life that expected nothing from her but friendship. Even Desi wasn’t shy about using her membership cards or even her influence on a couple occasions, but never Jun.


    The number of surprises she gleamed from her new friend weren’t insignificant.


    The ‘art’ that she had previously dismissed as a silly became her obsession.


    Learning that his genius extended to his studies, something Desi had always insisted he didn’t take seriously, from Tiana Firestorm, someone with far stricter standards than her own, was another.


    Seeing him awaken his Spirit Fire and step into the Fourth Cleansed and join the ranks of power that included her own father and grandfather was mind blowing.


    She was certain there was nothing else he could show her that could match the shock he’d already given her.


    So what the fuck was this?


    “Daddy! Daddy! Make that mountain into a Sophie!”


    “Haha alight. Like that? Maybe in fall colors? That’s not quite the same shade of red is it….leeeet’s yup!”


    “Giant Sophie!”


    “Wow, bro! What about creating doors to the different platforms? These Cloud Carpets are fast, but this place is getting so big it still takes a long time to get from one Super Hanger to the next.”


    “Oh yeah. That’s a good point. Hmm, how about this?”


    “That’s what I’m talking about! Ha! Haa! Haaa!”


    “Hey stop hopping back and forth through the portals like that. You’re gonna set a poor example for Ella! Geesh! Do you have to be so embarrassing in front of our seniors?”


    “Jun! Jun! Jun! The Library Tower! Can you make a search and organization system?”


    “I am way ahead of you, Tiana! You see those floating comfy chairs? Sit on one and you can register your own personal account and you can access copies of however many books you want. It’ll help you find and store everything you’re reading and want to read and comes with an unlimited tea and coffee dispenser!”


    “That’s amazing!!!”


    “I know right?!?!”


    “EVERYONE PAUSE!!! TOO! MANY! COFFEE?!”


    Everyone paused mid movement, scared of what would happen if they provoked a strained Nicole. Even Ella was eying her nervously mid skip.


    Mary gently wrapped the crazy eyed girl that was clearly having a hard time, into a comforting embrace before the poor thing started really hyperventilating.


    “It’s a lot. I know, sweetie. It’s a perfectly rational reaction. I almost lost myself at first, so I totally get it. What part of it was the most shocking for you? The island in the sky? Or maybe the scary space whale thingy beside it? That was what did it for me, personally.”


    Nicole slowly turned her head behind her to see what she was talking about. Her mouth dropped and brain short-circuited.


    Mary looked at her apologetically. “Oh, you didn’t see those yet?”


    Nicole could only weakly shake her head, defeated.


    She had just been working late into the night on tedious paperwork to prepare for her new guild when she had received a pleasant but bewildering surprise. A strange invitation through the Nexus that confused her sleep deprived mind.


    But the important bits came through clear. The person who had invaded all her spare thoughts for the past week had invited her. She didn’t understand what a Personal Domain was but what else was there to it? He had invited her.


    The bombardment of continual surprises that followed those casual feelings was a real test of one’s character.


    Nicole couldn’t help but bitterly compare herself with someone else that experienced the same emotional bombardment.


    Tiana looked totally fine, frolicking about with the other children, marveling at one thing or another with Jun’s daughter - like wha? - seeminly completely at ease with the reality crushing knowledge of multiverses and demigods that had just so casually been flung at their faces the moment they had stepped through.


    Now they were ‘brainstorming the world’ where Jun played god and organized his treasures around his world. It was a giant mess.


    “What about delegating things like libraries and research to the island? You know, make it like a scholarly place.” She weakly suggested. She lost all motivation to fight.


    “That’s a great idea!” Jun exclaimed and scooped up his little Ella that was running out of strength from standing ‘paused’ mid stride. He twirled her around and loved the giggles as he asked theatrically, “Didn’t Daddy’s friend have a good idea Sweetie?”


    “Hehehe, Daddy, my name is Ella, not Sweetie!”


    “It’s cause my Ella is so Sweet! Now I wanna take a big bite and see if you’re really sweet! Aaaaargh!”


    “Aahhahaha! Nooo don’t eat me! I don’t taste gooood!”


    Ella squirmed out of his grasp in a fit of panicked giggles and hopped on to the back of a giant red bunny and made a getaway.


    “You’re doing great Jun. You’re already a great dad,” Juan said as he rested his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Just don’t forget that now your job is protecting that smile.”


    “Thanks Dad, I won’t forget.” Jun said.


    After a moment of silence between the two as they watched Ella play with her new family and friends, Jun asked. “How did that feel?”


    “It was weird.” Juan stated without hesitation, and they both laughed. “But not bad,” He continued. “I just hope I’ve earned it.”


    “Oh, for sure. No doubt of that.” Jun reassured. “You’ve been so great, even when I was basically a stranger. You’ve always been there for me and I’ve always appreciated it. How could I call you any different when you raised me along with your sons as if I was one of them? Right? Dad?”


    “Of course. Son.” Juan looked away right then and Jun could swear he heard some sniffling from the bearded giant. Right as he was about to tease him relentlessly, he sensed it. One of them was ready.


    Jun quickly looked around to sense who it was. With new senses he was still in training to hone, he felt the surrounding energies and their ripples within the planes he could sense. Of the seven ripples that represented those he’d allowed access into his inner domain, one was showing signs of instability.


    With eyes that saw more than others, Jun called out, “Davie, come here. Everyone gather around.”


    Nicole and Mary were still commiserating when they felt chills go down their backs. Something ridiculous was going to happen. They weren’t the only ones that had the same premonition and the same conclusion, but with vastly different attitudes.


    “We’re coming!” Lily and Tiana, along with a happy Ella, were having a blast and were excited for the next surprise while the one who had been called had already sensed that something wasn’t quite right. He felt. Restless.


    “What’s up?” Juan asked.


    “Did you and mom finish picking out which cultivation techniques you want to go with?” Jun asked instead of answering.


    “Yeah, we went with our first picks. Why?” Juan was getting suspicious, too.


    “Oh, really? Are you sure? The second and third picks are almost just as good and not nearly as difficult.”


    Mary answered this time, “Jun, I feel like you’re looking down on us. In case you needed reminding young man, Juan and I were both active Hunters in our early years. It’s how we all met. We’ve seen plenty of action and aren’t afraid of a challenge.” She said with a fierceness that startled all her children.


    “Well, if that’s how you feel, that’s great, cause you’re all about to practice your new methods to break through, starting with lil Davie.”


    “What?!”