Without having even havied herself against many in the way of monsters or heroes, Sonya was aware that she was one of the most powerful light-touched oh. It wasn’t her own arroga was simply a fact. She possessed a wider suite of abilities than most, though there were some who had more versatility than even she possessed. It was one of the reasons that she had started colleg and iing abilities into her body so selectively in order to create the versatile powerset she had. She had taken inspiration from her past life, sidering the abilities of others as a frame of refereo build upon.

  Otis was her target, Qilin was her tempte.

  Qilin was not a fight she could wio head. For all of her powers, Qilin’s regeion was better, her speed was greater, her attack power was superior, and her ability to manipute fortuurned any situation into a disadvantage from the get-go. There were ways to teract it, of course, Sonya was aware that Qilin’s ability to create disadvantages had limits, but that required preparation aing the stage. One had to stack the deck to beat someone who wielded luck like a blunt instrument.

  That was why Sonya had made it a point to avoid any iions or frontations with Qilin up until this point. Her focus was oher heralds and she wao keep it that way. Each herald she took down was another improvement to Broker which she could eventually leverage against the monstrously powerful woman. All of that avoidance had been thrown out the window now. By iing with who was depending on Sonya to get him out of his current situation, Qilin’s limited range luck manipution was extending across the po affect her. This had led to an improbable of events that brought Crusader to the door of the room she had hidden in.

  Her only recourse was to take a ce, tug a bit on hope and fate and pray for the least terrible oute. The mysterious slip of paper given to her had provided a hint that hadn’t made se first until Qilin herself had practically recited over the call. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was her only option with Crusader banging even harder at the door. The young hero knew someone was inside and Sonya didn’t possess the ability to ceal her mana or trol it like the young hero or her teacher. Mind trol using the amethyst sorceress ability she’d acquired from Feng Hyunh required physical tact as she hadn’t spent enough time developing it given how uled by it she was. What’s more, many of her more visible abilities were known to quite a few people. That meant that if she tried to use barriers to protect herself it would alert anyone in the know to exactly who was hiding ihe room.

  She only had one d that meant fronting Qilin directly, even if it was over the phone. While Qilin couldn’t affect her fortuhrough the phone, having more focus on Sonya could amplify the problem through influeng ’s luck. It was a gamble and the kind of situation she had been trying so hard to avoid.

  The call clicked over as she ordered to switch to speaker. She heard the sound of the air rushing over the microphone and took a deep breath. Teopath was moduting her voice through the call in her mind so she had no worries about her identity as far as Qilin was ed, but it still didn’t shake off the nerves.

  Calm down. I believe your instincts are right. Ishtar said at the back of her mind. They didn’t have time to make the switch as much as she wanted Ishtar to take over and hahe versation. There just wasn’t enough time.

  The door shook under Crusader’s attention and the light fshed on the lock panel. Sonya ahe lock to refuse ah teopathy, it was as overt a power use as she was willing to make with the girl so attentive.

  She let out a breath and ched her jaw, speaking through her ability; <”Hello, Hero.”>

  –

  Mephisto was holding the phone in his hand so tightly he was starting to worry he would break it. His fingers were shaking regardless. Drastic had been a straightforward fight, all power and no fi had still been a life-or-death situation but he khat he could ha. Qilin’s appearance had shaken him to his core. Her speed was parable to Kera’s, she could whip her hand and decapitate someoh seemingly no effort, she had no qualms about killing. It was her aura, however, that made him quake. It was like standing before a walking force of nature, the living embodiment of some fual truth.

  As soon as his boss spoke, though, that feeling faded like a gust of wind.

  ”Hello, Hero.”

  He blinked, shuddering with the sensation of being liberated from the oppressive prese was s that it took him a sed to look up at the woman who had been l over him. When he did, his mind couldn’t quite prehend what he was seeing. Qilin’s eyes had gone wide, her expression a mixture of excitement and fear. She reached up to touch at her face before pulling her hand down, fidgeting and taking quick breaths. Mephisto squinted slightly, What the hell?

  “Hero? Are you there?” the raspy voi the phone came through, cold and anding though with a small hint of unease, “You are causing me quite a bit of trouble. I do not appreciate it. Do you want to make a deal, or not?”

  The words seemed to startle Qilin, that tingling feeling that was suffusing Mephisto’s body easing before ging into something else. It felt like a warmth that spread through his limbs and up into his chest before being a bubbly sensation. It was like a drunk giddiness had raced through his body in an instant. Qilin’s eyes flicked left and right before she fixed her gaze on Mephisto. Her expressio stony once more, the strange rea evaporating into her usual pcid expression; “I wasn’t expeg to speak to you,” Qilin said, sounding slightly annoyed, “I wao deal with your subordinate. You do not o waste your time.”

  There was a long pause oher end of the line. Mephisto had no idea what was going on. A momehough, that cold voice came back through. “On the trary, Miss Qilin,” the voice said, sounding signifitly more fident, “Someone of your station deserves it.”

  Qilin’s only rea was a faint twitch of her eye and lip. Did she just smile?

  “Tell me, Miss Qilin, how I alleviate your tedium?”

  Qilin g Mephisto again and her eyes fshed with something along the lines of frustration. She doesn’t want to talk to her? Why? I don’t get it. Qilin tio keep her mouth shut, her lips f a thin line as she flexed her fingers, popping them o a time with her thumb. Nerves? Mephisto observed. She’s ag like like she’s meeting her favorite celeb- oh you have got to be kidding!

  “Hero Qilin,” the cold voice said with a twinge of anger as a pink light blossomed ienext to Mephisto’s head. He turo see one of Ishtar’s madans, the glowing eyes, e into being and open wide, fixed oernational hero as Ishtar’s voice rumbled out of the phoh warning, “You have my attention.”

  –

  Sonya’s heart ounding. She gnced again at the door, wide-eyed. She couldn’t believe what just happened. Luck was a truly terrifying thing to manipute. The moment she had said that Qilin was causirouble a man had e running down the hall to expin to Crusader that a VIP was in the room temporarily and they were not to be disturbed. Her entire body rexed as Crusader walked away after apologizing profusely to the door. Sweat dripped down Sonya’s fad her hands shook as she rested them on the bed before balling into fists.

  That was too close, she thought.

  You seem to have an effe Qilin, I wonder why, Ishtar ented.

  I think you’re the one who has an effe her, Sonya said, Let’s get out of there.

  Agreed.

  A text came through from Kera with a dozen angry emojis as Sonya caught her breath.

  ‘SHE FU’ THREW ME! ME! I’MMA KICK HER ASS!’

  Sonya frow the text and quickly responded, ‘Remain at a distance. Do not engage. I’ll get Mephisto home. You e back your own way.’

  More angry emojis followed before a simple ‘Yes Mistress’ arrived in response.

  She turned her attention back to Qilin and , taking another breath and steeling her nerves. She set her jaw. You wanna take over? She asked Ishtar.

  You’re doing just fine, Ishtar said befoing quiet.

  Sonya clicked her tongue, she had a feeling that Ishtar would say that. She knew she was leaning oher half too much but this felt too important to leave to herself. It seemed that Ishtar didn’t share her opinion oter. She knew Ishtar wanted her to hauations like this more and more but she really didn’t want to. She sighed and shook her head. Fine. She focused on her e to ’s phone and his location. She willed her Astral Eye ability to proje and this time felt ao her ability. I defihrew her off so far, she thought as Qilin appeared in her mind's eye, the destroyed forest and remains of Mephisto and Drastics battle all around her. <”Hero Qilin. You have my attention.”>

  Qilin’s eyes turned sharply towards the madan that Sonya had created and through it their eyes met. Qilin’s expression was as ft and pcid as she remembered but there were some minor differences, microexpressions that she wouldn’t have noticed in her previous life. There was a faint twitch of her eyes, a stri of her pupils, her lips curved a fra of a timeter upwards. She was excited, delighted, though perhaps a bit nervous. Those faint shifts were as loud as a schoolgirl meeting a boy band singer on Qilin’s normally unmoving face.

  Sonya narrowed her own eyes on tration. Something about meeting Ishtar had set the woman off and she was beginning to suspect it had a great deal to do with her supposed ‘wish’.

  <”If you have nothing to say,”> Sonya said through the e, <”Then I have nothing to give to you, I will be withdrawing my subordinate. He is very important to me and you appear to have your own problems.”>

  Sonya trated on the area near where her madan had opened and attempted to push a portal through again. That act seemed to get a response from Qilin as she shifted a bit, her eyes refog and her expression going a little hard. The pressure that had resisted Sonya’s first attempt returned and she ushed back, preventing her from opening a portal to ’s personal space. Qilin gnced over her shoulder at the two men dead on the ground outside the portal before turning back to her madan and .

  <“Not yet.”> Qilin’s voice came through the e. There was a slight dey between her mouth movements and her words as it went through ’s phoo Sonya’s cyberic brain. <”I do have a wish. Ishtar. Do you really grant them?”>

  Sonya sighed inwardly, <”I do. To a degree. As long as it is within my power to give. Normally I reserve my services for Vilins, but I am always happy to do business. There is no such thing as a free meal, though, Hero. Everything es at a price.”>

  Qilin frowned, <”Your man suggested as such.”>

  <”What is it that you want, Hero?”> Sonya asked, <”I do not have infiience. You said that you want to alleviate your tedium but that mean a great many things,”> she said, shiftione a bit towards something a bit closer to friendly, <”I’m happy to provide, but you o be more specific.”>

  Qilin cmmed up again, her lips f a thin line as she looked away, she closed her eyes and shook her head, <”That is the problem. I do not know what I want. The world is so… b. I had hoped that with the fsh life would have taken on some new fvors, but my powers have only made things worse.”>

  <”Shall I take them from you?”> Sonya asked bluntly.

  Qilin turowards her and narrowed her eyes, <”I think that might be a bit far,”> Qilin said with aare, <”I wao enjoy my powers. I figured being a hero would allow me to do that, but it has been just as tedious as an ordinary life. I want to revel in it.”>

  Sonya’s lip twitched. She figured it wouldn’t be that easy but she had to at least try. She gowards the door and sidered it for a moment before fog again on the versation. She had an idea but it required w the proposal very carefully. There was no way she would be able to eliminate Qilin as a threat with a deal, not as she was. It would be a windfall to be sure, but it was uhat Qilin would ply. She o soften her up, ease her into making a future agreement that would cripple her and put her into a position where Sonya could finish her. That would take time.

  I o get her addicted, Sonya thought.

  ing. That’s good, Ishtar ented.

  Sonya’s lips curled and she leaned forward on the bed. Yes, giving her what she wanted right off the bat would be too easy. <”A promise, then,”> Sonya began, <”I have a way to sure a portion of your abilities temporarily. I think you knoart of your abilities I am talking about.”>

  Qilin paused, <”So you know,”> she said thoughtfully, <“Is that possible?”>

  <”Yes, it is. I make it happen, though the effects will be temporary. One month of thrills. What is that worth to you?”> She asked.

  Qilin shifted on her feet and crossed her arms, <”Your subordinates life is not good enough in exge?”>

  <”I think allowing my rade to return safely to my side is the least you do to ence me to even sider this transa. You are not one of my beloved vilins. I have no desire to i with you otherwise, hero. Don’t be greedy, it’s unseemly.”> Sonya reprimanded her, <”I’m giving you your hearts desire. Surely that is worth something to you.”>

  <”My family has assets and es in a,”> Qilin said after a long pause, <”I provide you with access to them, some of which are less thaable. Your kind of people, I imagine,”> Qilin suggested.

  An inroad to a to expand the club. This. This will do nicely for now. You want thrills so badly? Fine. I’ll give them to you. While I do, I’ll squeeze you dry for everything you’re worth. Sonya snarled inwardly before letting her shoulders finally rex. As long as you are chasing the high, I don’t have to worry about you interfering and I focus on Liberty and the others. You’re smart enough to know that if you cause me trouble, I might be unwilling to top you up month.

  <”It’s a deal.”>