“Want to go somewhere else?”

  Seer asked as they mounted their horses, that usual glint flashing in his eyes, mischief promising something interesting.

  “No. This is enough.” Jin Yu replied, calm and distant, as if savoring something only he could see.

  Seer’s smile faltered. The light in his eyes dimmed just a little, flickering with something unreadable.

  “Come on. We still have the rest of the day to mess around.”

  “No.” Jin Yu’s voice was flat, curt.

  The smile vanished from Seer’s face entirely, replaced by a blank expression.

  He looked at Jin Yu for a long moment, then turned away and nudged his horse forward.

  “I’ll be bored,” he muttered. “And I don’t like being bored.”

  Jin Yu sighed. He finally looked over. Seer wasn’t smiling, which is rare.

  “Fine.”

  Instantly, Seer’s grin bloomed back to life, the glint returning in full force.

  “I knew you were the best, friend.”

  “Don’t flatter me.”

  “Too late. Let’s go!”

  With a laugh, he jerked his reins, and the horse sprang forward, sprinting through the streets toward another corner of Sigil City.

  ---

  Far away, tucked into the outskirts of Sigil City, a small, tiled hut stood alone, separated from the denser settlements. It looked abandoned, dead and lifeless.

  A figure in Silver descended from the skies. He landed soundlessly, arms crossed behind his back. His movement was fluid and graceful. His face, though calm, was strikingly handsome, in a refined, dangerous sort of way. His presence… undeniable.

  He studied the hut in silence. Then, with a faint smile, he spoke.

  “So this is where my guests have been staying. I guessed right.”

  From within the hut, a voice replied, cold and unfriendly.

  “What do you want, City Lord?”

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  He gave an innocent, amiable smile.

  “Tea. Just a cup of tea with honored guests. I hope I’m not imposing?”

  Silence lingered, then—

  “City Lord is too hasty. We might visit you one day. Who knows.”

  A light chuckle.

  “You're right. I am too hasty. But since I'm already here, won’t you honor my request?”

  Hmph!

  A sharp snort.

  “Such hypocrisy. Your face is the opposite of your heart, City Lord.”

  The smile on the City lord's face deepened, but the warmth didn’t reach his eyes.

  “Don’t tell me you're just realizing that now… dogs of Poison Valley.”

  The voice dropped, laced with venom.

  “You’ll regret your arrogance.”

  The City Lord pointed at himself in mock surprise.

  “Me? Regret? No. I’ve never had one. I don’t plan to start now.”

  He lifted a hand lazily.

  “Now then… come out and die. Or shall I do the honors?”

  Silence....

  His expression dropped. The smile vanished, replaced by quiet cruelty.

  His hand clenched, then...

  CRACK!

  Space warped. A massive invisible force gripped the hut and compressed it into fragments.

  BOOM!

  Wood, blood, and flesh splintered and rained down like broken bone.

  Then, not far from the destruction, two black-robed figures emerged, holding hands. Smoke coiled around them like serpents. Their aura was heavy, oppressive and an oily blackness was billowing from their clasped palms.

  “So it was you rats… Twin Smoke. I wondered who it might be.”

  They didn’t answer. Instead, their forms blurred, then disappeared from sight.

  A blink later, they reappeared before the City Lord, hands extended toward his heart.

  “You overestimate yourselves.”

  The City Lord said and vanished.

  He reappeared behind them. With a sweep of his hand, a colossal blade of compressed air took form, cutting the pair in half.

  SWOOSH!

  But no blood. The figures bursted into smoke and reformed several meters away, bleeding, their aura flickering violently.

  The City Lord flicked his hair back and looked at them with mild amusement.

  “I admire your courage. You didn’t even try to run.”

  Still, the duo said nothing. They vanished again.

  A second later—

  They appeared right in front of him, their auras unstable, trembling with volatile energy, on the verge of detonation.

  “Trying to bring me down with you?”

  The City Lord’s voice was cold now.

  “As I said… you overestimate yourselves.”

  With a flick of his fingers, the air compressed again, forming a barrier that locked the twin in.

  And just as their energy reached its limit

  He clenched his fist.

  POOF!

  The barrier collapsed.

  And so did they. Gone.

  The City Lord slowly dusted his hands, crossed them behind his back once more, and smiled faintly.

  Then without another word, he turned and flew off into the distance.

  -----

  "Now, what's this?"

  Jin Yu raised an eyebrow as he stared at the peculiar plant in front of him. He could hardly call it a plant for it looked far too alive.

  Towering nearly twice his height, the creature swayed gently despite the still air.

  Its trunk was thin like a reed but shimmered faintly, as though threaded with glass veins. Sprouting where a head should be was a flower, no, not quite a flower as it was too sentient, too aware.

  Translucent petals spread wide, quivering slightly, while vines like fingers twitched with anticipation.

  Around them, more of these strange beings stood, rooted in a perfect grid across a lush garden enclosed by shimmering walls. Some people sat on stone benches nearby, speaking softly to the towering floral figures. One man wept as he confessed something, and the plant before him bloomed into a warm hue of soft pink and lavender. Another woman shouted her frustrations, her voice cracking with rage, and the plant she faced pulsed deep crimson, then curled slightly inward as though judging her honesty.

  Jin Yu narrowed his eyes. "These things... they read people?"

  "Trust me, friend, it's absolutely fun." Seer said with a grin, grabbing Jin Yu by the wrist and pulling him forward.

  "I don't like fun." Jin Yu muttered, but he didn’t resist.

  Seer brought them to a particularly tall Plant Demon with petals like layered silver and edges tipped in faint glowing blue. It regarded them with an eerie stillness.

  "This one’s special," Seer whispered. "They say it was grown during a thunderstorm and fed on lies for twenty years. It can spot deception like no other."

  Jin Yu folded his arms. "Sounds like a nosy weed."

  Seer turned to the plant and bowed theatrically. "Oh great Bloom of Sincerity, tell me, why does my companion here always act like he doesn't care?"

  The plant tilted its bloom toward Jin Yu, studying him. The petals trembled faintly, as if tasting the question. Then a rustling whisper emerged, slow and halting:

  "Lonely... but proud. Hiding."

  Seer blinked. "Hey! That’s... awfully accurate."

  Jin Yu turned his head slowly. "Say one more word and I'll uproot it."