Night fell, and with it came the usual fear that had become a part of me. I went to Ikumi's office. I knocked on the door and entered.

  She was busy as usual lately, studying a long scroll bearing the seal of the Gu Clan. She didn't even raise her head. "Prepare the tools," she said coldly.

  I obeyed in silence. I took out the whip and the metal ruler from the cabinet and placed them carefully on the edge of her desk. As I was doing so, I felt a question that had been burning inside me for years insisting on coming out.

  I gathered all my courage and asked in a low voice, "Mother... why don't I have any power? Am I not a chosen one like everyone else?"

  For the first time in a long time, she put down what was in her hand. She turned to me and gave me her full attention. "You were born, so you are certainly a chosen one," she said calmly. "But why you were born, or why you have no power, that I do not know."

  She stood up and approached me. A strange smile that didn't reach her hazel eyes formed on her lips. "And the truth, Hong Min, is that what we do here is no longer an attempt to bring out your power."

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  She bent down until her face was close to mine. "Rather, it is love. True love."

  I froze. I didn't understand. "Leave the tools," she said. Then she reached out and touched my face. Her touch was cold, possessive. "You've really grown up."

  Her voice sounded strangely sad when she added, "I'm sorry, because. I do not know." Then she moved away. "Now, give me the tool."

  Today's ritual was different. The blows weren't angry, nor were they cold. They were... focused. Quiet. In a terrifying way. I could feel the pain, but it was surrounded by her whispers, and her touches that were telling me she was doing this because she "loved" me.

  I was in a state of absolute confusion. Trying to understand. Trying to believe. 'Love'... I thought to myself. 'She said this is love.'

  Suddenly, the office door flew open violently and slammed against the wall with a loud bang. Aline stood at the threshold, panting as if she had been searching for me. She froze in place, her blue eyes widening in horror as she took in the scene. Me, on the floor, my shirt torn. And Ikumi, standing over me, the whip in her hand.

  Aline's face changed. I saw the shock, then the disbelief, then the sadness, then the anger. And Ikumi's face changed. Her calm expression turned into a mask of icy hatred, not at me, but at the intruder who had dared to interrupt her private ritual.

  "Hongbin...?" Aline whispered in a broken voice, her voice lost in the horrifying silence that filled the room.