The atmosphere thickened as Kaiden and the girls moved deeper into the plaza. The crowd's reaction divided cleanly.

Some watched with wide-eyed curiosity.

Some buzzed with excitement, whispering, pointing, and nudging their friends.

Others glared with open disdain, arms crossed, jaws tight, offended that these newcomers dared walk in like they owned the place.

And through it all, cameras kept turning, locking onto a single target. What had started as a few glances snowballed into full-blown attention. Drones drifted in closer. Reporters who'd been interviewing guild leaders, celebs, and over-eager newbies straight-up abandoned them mid-sentence.

Chairs toppled. Tripods rattled.

Someone yelled, "Hold my boom! HOLD MY BOOM!"

Another nearly tripped over a cable in his rush.

They sprinted.

And the first one, by pure, miserable luck, was a messy-haired man in a slightly crooked tie, brandishing a microphone like it was a spear. His camera crew lagged behind, wheezing, trying to catch up.

He shoved the mic straight into Kaiden's face without caring for his personal space, breathless and overly eager.

"Kaiden! Kaiden Grey! I'm from AwaNews. Can we get a statement? How does it feel to-"

But Kaiden didn't get to answer.

Two shadows slid forward.

Luna and Nyx stepped in as one.

Their movement was smooth, unhurried, almost lazy, but carried the unmistakable weight of refusal.

Before Kaiden could open his mouth, both women reached out.

Luna pressed a finger lightly against his lips.

Nyx mirrored her from the opposite side.

Two fingers.

One from each.

Perfectly synchronized.

Kaiden blinked, unsure what was going on. Did they not want him to give a brief statement? Why?

The crowd froze.

Then Nyx's other hand snapped up and nudged the microphone away from his face, pushing it aside like it was an annoying fly.

Luna's eyes narrowed, calm but sharp.

Nyx's smile was thin and dangerous.

"Rupert from AwaNews… isn't it?" Nyx asked, her tone far too gentle to be harmless.

The man stiffened.

He hadn't introduced himself.

But those who remembered that old incident, the one he thought no one cared about - Kaiden certainly didn't - would have recognized him easily.

The girls did care.

Luna tilted her head, studying him the same way one might study a stranger who'd once kicked their dog.

"Funny running into you again," she added, voice smooth, but carrying an unmistakable bite.

Rupert's face drained of color.

His fingers trembled around the microphone.

His camera crew was still several meters back, struggling to reach him.

Nyx leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing further.

"So now we're worth interviewing?"

Rupert swallowed hard.

Despite the buzz and chaos of so many people being in one place, the plaza went almost silent.

Every camera zoomed in.

Every drone hovered lower.

Every person who recognized the tension leaned forward, hungry for the drama.

Kaiden simply stood there, confused, with Luna's and Nyx's fingers still on his lips, watching Rupert tremble.

Aria stepped forward with confusion flickering across her face, similarly to Kaiden.

But then she raised an eyebrow as recognition hit her.

"Oh."

Her lips parted in sheer disdain.

"Oh. It's him."

Kaiden blinked. "Who?"

Aria jabbed a thumb at Rupert, eyes narrowing.

"The guy who ignored you when you said you were likely an F-tier awakened. He told you you weren't worth his time."

Kaiden stared and stroked his chin, still unsure. "Hmm?" Kaiden was a very vindictive man, more than ready to hold deep grudges for an entire lifetime. The fact that he struggled to remember even after being told meant that he couldn't care one bit about whatever this loser did.

His girls did not agree.

With petty, feminine disdain, they glared daggers at him.

"Exactly…" Luna said.

Nyx nodded beside her.

Then both women grinned condescendingly, pinning Rupert in place.

In perfect, eerie sync, they finished:

"We promised we wouldn't forget…"

"Did you think we would? No chance~!"

Rupert's knees actually shook.

"Oh." It finally hit Kaiden. A faint memory resurfaced from the deepest depths of his brain's garbage bin.

Back then, when they arrived at the association building to register themselves as awakened citizens, dozens of paparazzi, well, "journalists," if we stretched the definition, waited outside like vultures. They were all hoping to catch footage of a newly awakened powerhouse. Anything above B-tier could make headlines. An A-tier was gold. An S-tier? Career-defining.

But an F-tier?

Trash.

Background noise.

Not even worth pointing a camera at.

F-tiers got weaker level-up rewards, weaker bottleneck bonuses, and spells so underwhelming that even unawakened people pitied them. Meanwhile:

E and D tiers filled entry-level guild squads.

C and B tiers were the dependable backbone of most guilds.

A-tiers were the pride of mid-tier guilds, the "standard peak."

S-tiers were unicorns, rare, wildly powerful, courted by every government around the globe.

And above S-tier?

Rumors, whispers. Hidden tiers like Vespera's or Scarlet's. Nothing official.

Into that chaos had walked Kaiden, unknown, nervous, hoping to complete a simple system mission: Spark of Interest. Something as small as a newspaper mention might have helped with it.

Rupert had approached him first.

Camera on a tripod.

Standard intro questions.

"How'd you awaken?"

"What tier do you expect?"

Kaiden had answered honestly.

Probably F-tier.

At the time, his system felt restricted, his abilities basic.

The moment Rupert heard "F-tier," his face dropped.

His interest died on the spot.

"Thanks for your time."

Cold.

Dismissive.

Didn't even bother with a handshake.

Kaiden, embarrassed, stepped back while Aria took his hand and comforted him.

Only as they turned away did Rupert notice the three otherworldly beauties walking with him, and suddenly care again.

"Wait! Can you tell me about your relationship with these women?"

No answer.

Just two furious glares from Luna and Nyx.

"Rupert from AwaNews, right?" Luna had said. "I'll make sure never to forget."

Nyx added, "Maybe look beyond what's visible on the surface next time."

Then they left him standing there, uneasy but clueless as to why.

He had thrown away the story of his life without even realizing it.

…

And now here he was again.

Same face.

Same voice.

Same mic.

Except this time, the cameras weren't ignoring Kaiden.

Every lens in the plaza was pointed directly at the Sinners.

Rupert trembled, caught in the worst déjà vu of his career.

Kaiden exhaled slowly, amused.

He finally understood why Luna and Nyx stepped in.

Petty revenge filled the soul with joy.

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