-woosh

-woosh

Two figures streaked through the fractured surface of a floating asteroid, stone and dust tearing apart beneath them. Gravity meant nothing. They pierced forward with terrifying precision, bodies angled just enough to cut through resistance like blades. The vacuum screamed around them, distorted by speed and intent.

"Minister Fin, before becoming a god, was a high stakes adventurer," the boss of the docking station said, eyes locked on the flickering screen. His voice was steady, but his fingers tightened against the console.

"The kind you send on world ending operations, government collapsing events, or missions where assassination was only the beginning."

Among the snow elves, there were few names that carried real fear. Fewer still that made his chest tighten just by being spoken. Minister Fin was one of them, a shadow from an era best left undisturbed.

"Hmmm, Black is reckless as well," Mister White murmured. There was no rebuke in his tone, only quiet recognition. He sounded almost fond, as if acknowledging a flaw he had long accepted.

Black twisted mid jump, coat snapping violently behind him. Two revolvers slid into his hands as if they had always been there. Without hesitation, he fired three times in clean succession.

Bang

Bang

Bang

The bullets tore through the gas clouds ahead, warping the vapor before punching deep and detonating. Fire blossomed outward, a violent ocean of flame swallowing the void in searing light.

Black did not slow. He did not flinch. Instead, he leaned forward and plunged straight into the inferno, teeth bared, eyes sharp, daring the fire to stop him.

In a planet diving session, the first enemy one ever faced was the world itself. Poisonous gas clawed at the lungs, corrosive clouds ate through armor, collapsing terrain waited beneath every step. Absolute darkness pressed in from all sides, heavy and disorienting.

All of it existed to break rhythm, to make hesitation fatal. The planet wanted you slow, wanted you lost, wanted you burning. So the rule was simple. Strike first.

Piercing through the flames, Black surged forward, guns roaring in controlled bursts. Each shot ripped apart the gas ahead of him, keeping it from knitting back together, keeping it from closing around his body and dragging him under. Fire and vapor scattered under sheer aggression.

His weavepod lay buried deep within the gas giant, hidden and untouched. The minister's was stationed on a distant asteroid, far removed, not connected in any way to this chaos.

He had the advantage.

And in games like this, advantage was often the sharpest blade aimed at your own throat.

"Catch."

The word barely existed. A whisper slid through the void as a spear of pure ice tore through the poisonous giant, cutting a frozen line straight toward him.

Black moved without thought. He twisted aside as the spear passed, ice screaming past his shoulder. In the same motion, he fired back toward its origin, shots snapping through the gas as he continued his charge. Retreat was never part of the equation.

This was expected. When facing an opponent burdened with too much advantage, the smartest move was always the same. Cripple them early. Break their legs before they could run the board.

Minister Fin was a master at this.

"Ehnn, Black isn't really slippery, so I'm also wondering how he'll get out of this one, Master White commented, his tone idle, almost bored. There was no real concern in his eyes. After all, this wasn't a death match, just a test of nerve and control.

As the barrage of ice spears thickened, Black's frustration mounted. Each shard screamed through the gas, tearing space open for only a heartbeat before the corrosive fog rushed back in. His breathing grew heavier, his focus splintering under the pressure.

The old man was doing it on purpose. Distracting him from the outside, forcing him to divide his attention while the spears kept coming. Black couldn't maintain the constant push needed to keep the gas at bay, not like this.

"Risky," Black muttered through clenched teeth. A bitter smirk crept across his face as he finally let go. The force holding the gas back vanished, and the corrosive mass swallowed him whole, erasing his silhouette in seconds.

"He's quitting?" Enzo asked from the outside, eyes narrowed as the smoke churned violently where Master Black had been.

"Black doesn't quit. I should know that," Master White replied, shaking his head. Confusion lingered in his gaze, but beneath it was certainty. His brother always had something prepared.

He just didn't know what it was yet.

The minister knew it too.

Without warning, he abandoned the asteroid beneath his feet, pushing off into open space and creating distance between himself and the roiling gas below. The sudden retreat spoke louder than any warning.

Seconds later.

Booooommm.

The gas ignited in a violent bloom of unquenchable fire, surging upward and devouring the asteroid the minister had occupied moments before. The explosion rippled through space, heat and debris scattering like a dying star.

"Suicidal," Minister Fin muttered, shaking his head as he watched a corroded, half-burned Master Black tear through the gas giant toward his weavepod. His body smoked, armor eaten away, yet his speed never faltered.

Truly, planet diving was a contest of madness. Victory belonged to whoever was willing to cross the line others feared. In that regard, Black had more than earned his commendation.

"Winner."

The system notification rang out as both parties awakened inside their weavepods, the echo of the battle still clinging to their senses.

"That was a great game, kid," the minister said, patting Black on the back before heading toward the main hall.

Truth be told, he hadn't liked what happened down there. Not because he lost, but because Black had gone too far. Too extreme.

After all, one could still die during a planet diving incident.

Heading back, the old man grabbed his wine bottle and took a long drink, eyes sweeping over the group with a trace of relief. The tension he carried finally eased, if only a little, as the burn slid down his throat.

"Well, he wasn't wrong to entrust this to you lot. If he's anything to go by, then I'll have to find time to congratulate that old sack of bones," Minister Fin said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, the kind reserved for people who had survived something worth remembering.

"Blade Glory will lead you to the area for the new school." He pointed lazily toward the boss of the docking bay, issuing the instruction without breaking stride. Then he turned away, already done with the matter.

"If anyone's interested in planet diving, you can find me when you're ready." He paused just long enough to glance back. "Except for that lunatic. I won't be responsible for any deaths."

His voice echoed faintly as he walked off, footsteps fading as he gave them no further attention.

"You can come with me," Blade Glory said, letting out a bitter laugh as he gestured for them to follow. He led them out of the sitting room, boots heavy against the floor as they moved toward the exit. "We'll get you settled in."

He shook his head as they walked. Never in his life had he thought someone could go further than the minister in a game like that. Turns out, there was always someone willing to push it one step further. You learned something new every day.

With the deed entow, they left the estate behind, pressing toward the outskirts of the city. The structures thinned, replaced by a forest of ice trees, their frozen branches creaking softly in the cold wind. Ahead of them, a descending mountain loomed, its slopes sharp and unforgiving.

At the very peak, a gated structure rose from the snow and stone. Metal, ice, and rock fused together as if grown from the mountain itself. It stood silent and immovable, blocking their path like a final judgment carved into the land.

""This is the place. The new name, as per the baron title, will be Dual Moon Manor. It'll be the place you operate from on Gaia," Blade Glory explained as the gates responded to their approach, mechanisms grinding softly before parting on their own. The path beyond led straight toward the main house, winding through snow packed stone.

A troop of servants stood waiting outside, having endured the blistering cold for hours. Frost clung to cloaks and lashes, breath rising in steady clouds, yet every back was straight, every gaze forward. None of them moved as the group arrived, as if afraid the moment might shatter.

"The deed has been transferred, so these are your new bosses," Blade Glory said, gesturing toward Master White and Master Black. Warmth softened his expression, pride slipping through before he caught himself.

He turned and led them inside the manor, the great doors closing behind them as the cold was shut out, leaving only quiet expectation in its wake, it was time for a new chapter.

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