​Raiden’s grin was blindingly cruel as he watched his father’s world literally begin to smoke. He leaned in toward the Chief, his nine tails swaying in a slow, triumphant rhythm.

​"She’s a bit of a perfectionist, Father," Raiden purred. "I suggest you start moving. I’d hate for your ’sacred’ tails to get burned."

​The Chief looked at the wall of power standing before him—the fire, the wings, and the woman who treated a genocide like a logistics problem.

Realizing that his illusions held no power over someone who had two power houses, he slowly lowered his head, his tails drooping into the dirt.

​"The Divide," he wheezed out, his pride finally snapping under the weight of her cold pragmatism. "It is behind the Great Divide waterfall. I will lead you." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

​Hana nodded once, the sharp light of a system notification flickering in her peripheral vision.

> ​[QUEST COMPLETED: PAINS OF THE PAST]

> Reward: +10,000 Karmic points.

> Current Balance: -947,880.

> Note: Sometimes the only way to build a new world is to let the old one think you’ll burn it down.

​"See?" Hana said, her grin returning to its usual, sharp efficiency. "That wasn’t so hard to do, was it? I knew we could reach an agreement."

She turned to Caspian. "Hey, keep the fire contained for now. He finally decided he couldn’t afford to play with fire."

"That’s too bad," he growled. "I was already getting fired up."

He let out a final, disappointed plume of smoke that burned the nearest white leaf, and pulled the heat back until the shimmering air settled.

Behind him, Kulu remained a silent, looming threat, his red wings half-unfurled as if waiting for the slightest excuse to resume the ’clearance.’

​The Chief turned, his nine tails dragging heavily in the dirt—a stark contrast to the vibrant, silver-pink fan Raiden displayed.

So, Raiden must get his good looks and pink radiance from his mother. Hana assumed.

The chief began to lead them deeper into the Whispering Ravine, toward the roar of falling water that grew louder with every step.

The fox-kin sentries watched from the bone-white branches, their eyes wide with a mixture of terror and confusion as they saw their leader bowing to a small female in a white dress.

​"You’re doing great, Father," Raiden whispered as he walked past the Chief, his hand-mirror out as he checked if the heat had ruined his hair. "Think of it as a guided tour of the family secrets you never wanted me to see."

​The Chief didn’t respond, but the muscles in his jaw tightened.

​They soon reached the Great Divide. It was a massive, jagged split in the mountain where a waterfall cascaded down like a curtain of liquid silver.

As they approached the base, the static distortion Hana had noticed earlier intensified, making the hair on her arms stand up.

​"Behind the water veil," the Chief muttered, gesturing toward the crashing water.

​Hana stepped forward, her tactical boots gripping the wet stone. She didn’t wait for an invitation. She walked through the mist, her mates flanking her closely.

Behind the curtain of water sat a ledge of rock that transitioned abruptly into something that didn’t belong in this world: a massive, seamless wall of reinforced gray alloy.

​In the center was a circular iris door, cold and indifferent to the sacred land outside.

> ​[BUNKER LOCATED: AEGIS SUB-STATION 02]

> Status: Locked.

> Security: Biometric/Voice Encryption Active.

​A small, glowing red terminal flickered to life as Hana approached.

​"The ’Ancient Sin’ does not open for our magic," the Chief said, standing at the edge of the mist. "Many have died trying to force it."

​"That’s because they didn’t have the right key. They were stupid." Hana said, her fingers flying across the holographic interface that projected from the terminal. To her, this was a goldmine.

The red terminal pulsed, its light scanning Hana’s retinas and assessing the heat signature of her body. A robotic, synthesized voice echoed through the damp cavern, sounding ghostly against the roar of the waterfall.

> ​[BIOMETRIC SCAN INITIATED]

The chief as well as the Elders who came along flinched, stepping back like they had just heard the voice of god.

Morons. Hana thought.

> [ERROR: UNAUTHORIZED BIO-SIGNATURE DETECTED]

> [WARNING: SYSTEM ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY HUMAN ORIGIN PERSONNEL]

​Hana’s grin sharpened. In a world of beasts and magic, her humanity—the very thing that made her appear weak to the others—was the ultimate administrative key.

The Chief stood frozen, his eyes widening as he watched the ’Ancient Sin’ acknowledge her presence.

It had never spoken, not even to their ancestors so how was this weak human able to make it speak?

Humans are what built it, so of course humans are the only ones it answers to. Hana thought as she noticed the bewilderment on their faces.

​"Raiden, stand back," she ordered, her eyes reflecting the red glow of the security screen. "I’m about to show your tribe what real ’demonry’ looks like."

​She didn’t hesitate. She slammed her palm onto the glass surface of the biometric scanner.

> ​[BIO-SIGNATURE RECOGNIZED: OVERRIDE PROTOCOL ALPHA]

> [IDENTITY: HUMAN]

> [ACCESS GRANTED. WELCOME BACK.]

​A sound like a long-suppressed sigh hissed from the wall. The heavy gray alloy began to retract.

Hana watched as the circular iris door spun with mechanical precision, the interlocking plates sliding into the rock with a series of heavy metallic clacks.

​A blast of cold, sterilized air—preserved for centuries—rushed out, smelling of ozone and stagnant electricity.

I’m in.

​The Fox Tribe Elders fell to their knees, some shielding their eyes as if expecting a curse to fly out and strike them dead. Even the Chief stumbled back, his nine tails trembling. He had spent his life guarding a ’sin’ that had just greeted this female like an old friend.

​"It... it opened," the Chief whispered, his voice cracking. "The Sin has bowed to her."

​Raiden let out a sharp, barking laugh, leaning against the cold metal frame of the door. "It’s not bowing, Father. It’s opening for its master. There’s a difference."