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As Arga finally left the room with a subtle nod, I thought to myself that this was the last time I would ever see this sight. It was as if all my respectability had dissolved in a single night. My family’s curse had descended upon me, just as I had feared for years. To make matters worse, everyone had discovered that I was a cyborg.

The entire planet, no less.

Mina… I wondered how she had reacted.

I knew I shouldn’t care. And yet the fear sat in me, gnawing. The same terror I had felt the day I first appeared on the news as the Loxton heir.

I grabbed a torch from the wall and crossed the corridor. It resembled the entrance to Yunna’s place, and as I descended the staircase resembling a bunker, the heavy smell of burnt rubber made my nose wrinkle. Finally, an iron door appeared at the end of the dark corridor. I lowered my mask, showing my face to the scanner. A thin arm extended from the door and pricked my finger with a needle, testing my blood until it was finally approved. When the doors opened, I covered my face again.

I wasn’t in Tempest anymore, where everyone knew me. This was another underground city, closer to the surface of Mars. The kind of people even the Buzz wouldn’t take—addicts, bottom-feeders, every variety of trouble—ended up here.

Rusted, busted, unrecyclable giant tanks, water panels… The planet’s metallic slag was dumped right into this city. Since recycling them cost millions, the government figured shoving them here was far more logical. Engine oil trickled down the walls, and the screech of metal grinding against metal echoed from every corner. It felt as if we’d dropped into a sealed industrial wasteland, except this was a hub for all kinds of entertainment.

Since everyone else wore masks like me, I melted into the crowd undetected. In fact, I was the least conspicuous of all. At least my mask was plain black. Still, keeping my guard up, I pressed toward the gathering spot.

It was a bout between two mutated addicts. While one had morphed almost entirely into a beast, much like the one I’d seen in the bar, the other merely had swollen, balloon-like blisters across his skin. As they began trading blows in the ring, my eyes drifted to the towering mutant. Between attacks, he kept slipping pills hidden inside his extra palm into his mouth. I sighed, then meandered over to join his supporters.

“Give him this,” I said, handing a small syringe to a decent-looking kid. Though initially stunned, he snatched the syringe instantly. “Otherwise his body ruptures right here. And the corpse is contagious. Fair warning.”

I glanced for the last time at the stage and pivoted. I used to swing by here occasionally, but ever since the sleeping pill mess surfaced, my visits had grown more frequent. Especially over the past few days, with my options running thin, this was the only place left to clear my head.

Leaving the arena behind, I passed through another wall.

Then something happened. So suddenly I didn’t even have time to react.

One moment, I was standing walking toward the corridor; the next, I was shoved hard against the wall, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. An arm pressed firmly beneath my chin, squeezing my throat and leaving me frozen in place.

“What did you give that child? A sedative?”

At the familiar voice, I opened my eyes, the tension in my furrowed brows disappeared.

I licked my lips.

The woman standing before me had fiery red curls, as scorching as the sun, glaring at me with burning anger.

She seemed just as shocked as I was. When our eyes met, the wrist around my throat trembled, and her strength vanished.

“Raymond?”

I tried to knit my brows at her whisper, but as she gazed at me with such pity, it was nearly impossible. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

I remained silent. Then eventually, I began slowly. “You’re mistaking…”

She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around me.

Her small arms reached up toward my shoulders, clinging tightly. She pulled me close, and I instinctively stooped so she could reach my neck. I only realized I was doing it after the fact, as if it weren’t even my own volition. It was pure reflex, my body automatically adjusting itself to her.

Wait a second… Mina was hugging me?

My arms bolted up, enveloping her. Though she flinched, she didn’t pull away; instead, she locked her arms around me even tighter. She was small—perhaps not as tiny as before, but still diminutive. That delicious feeling of her small body disappearing in my arms… Such a long time. In that moment, I felt a part of me that had died long ago being reborn.

My Mina had come to me of her own free will, cuddling me, her warm hands traveling down my throat, exploring me…

A moment later, she drew back, sniffing, and met my eyes. I was still masked, so she couldn’t read my expression, yet the glint in her amber eyes told me she was seeing right through me.

“So… you’re here. I finally found you.” She embraced me once more, as if trying to veil her trembling voice. It worked, too, it scattered my focus. I couldn’t think straight. My mind was completely consumed by the urge to stroke her hair and kiss her.

As my hands quivered with longing, she pulled back again. This time, she took a few steps backward.