“Big bro?” Jolyne asked, placing her fingers over Joseph’s broad shoulders as Joseph trotted into the dining room slowly, “What’s up? You got dumped or something?”

“Alina.” Joseph said, his usually calm low voice sounding worried, and a tortuous look filled his big fluffy face, “She’s…”

“You shall confess, Joseph Atlas.” The King’s rumbling voice came from the back of the room before an atmosphere of menace filled the air. Joseph slowly turned to face him, his hands down by his side and his eyes wide, “You fell in love outside and we are just hearing the gossip? How insolent!”

“No wonder you always treat the princesses as just your friends!” Jolyne squeezed Joseph in the shoulders and cut him off, “Cause you already had your heart stolen out there!”

“No…no! That’s…not true!” Joseph stubbornly shook his head, however, his mind inevitably traveled back to that night. That night that never should have happened, yet all at the same time, he wondered how life would have been if it never had.

It all started way back when. The political landscape of the Eastern continent was a different scene ten years ago, and the three dominant forces of the Kingdom of Varous, Kingdom of Talonia, and the Ethereal Realm stood on somewhat equal yet distant footings.

Diplomatic relations were not hostile by any means, but it was also not all sunshine and rainbows compared to what it is right now. Back then, the topic that dominated the conversation was a special kind of hallucinogenic herbs from the forest intersecting the three countries.

“Hahahah! These are the good stuff…” A group of young teenagers in extravagant clothing giggled obnoxiously as their chariots wobbled greatly from side to side, nearly crashing into the residential buildings on one side before rushing past the carriages of workers on the other.

“Hey! Watch it!” The other teenagers warned before trying to grab hold of the chariot control, “Let me drive!”

“Get off me!” The supposed driver protested, shoving the other one aside before they wrestled, utterly unaware that their chariot is flying straight towards one of the hottest new shops in the Sonne city, the Sonne city bakery.

During this time early in the morning, a long queue of morning workers had lined up outside the shop and waited for their turn at the hot steaming buns freshly baked since the crack of dawn. However, their peaceful morning was about to be turned into bloodshed by a group of reckless teenagers.

As the shadows of the chariot loomed over the bakery, the crowd underneath finally noticed it and they hurried to scatter in all directions when a towering man leaped into the air, his massive arms wrapped around the body of the chariot Cast before slamming it onto the ground like a wrestler dropping down his opponent.

The impact alone created a loud thud audible from streets away, and the shock wave sent a few of the teenagers flying out of the chariots until they hit the ground hard with their ankles and wrists broken upon impact. Though whether they could feel the pain was a whole other matter.

The integrity of the chariot Cast itself lingered for mere moments longer before it dissipated into Wave lines into thin air.

“Who the fuck are you…my chariot…my fucking wrists looks gross…” The teenager mumbled in the dirt before he was flipped around like a pancake by the man, and he placed his massive boot next to his face before lowering down, revealing his golden brown skin and long wavy red hair.

“I am Joseph Atlas.” Joseph said, his nose rising and falling as he sniffed the unmistakable aroma of the herb, the kind of plant colloquially referred to as Wave weed in the local area. He let out a grunt of annoyance before pinching his hands around the collar of the teenager and picking him off the ground, “You know full well the Wave weed was banned in Varous years ago. Where did you get it from?”

“LET GO OF ME!” The teenager swung his fists randomly around, though it didn’t even feel like love taps to Joseph’s thickened skin, “You know who my father is? You will pay for this!”

“You know who my father is?” Joseph leaned forward, his massive eyes filling in the field of vision of the teenager as he opened his mouth without any hints of sound coming out.

“MY KING! I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INSOLENCE OF MY SON!” The minister knelt on the ground with his forehead firmly planted on the ground and eyes closed in fear, “I was busy maintaining the kingdom’s order, so much so that I neglected on his education and care! It was as much my responsibility that he strayed to the wrong path as…”

“I understand…Morris.” The King of Varous waved his minister away, “As per Varous regulations, your punishment would be two months with no pay, so…take this time to care for your son.”

“Thank you, my king.” The minister raised his head and looked at the man sitting on the thrown with the Atlas twins by his side. Then, he grabbed onto the hands of the teenager who seemed to have been beaten to a pulp next to him and exited the main hall of the palace.

“So…the rumour was true then.” The King sighed, “Despite our best efforts at the borders, the Wave weed still found its way through regardless.”

“So long as there is a demand for it, the supply will rise to meet it.” Jolyne said, glancing towards her older brother, “There must have been a new farm set up recently, with how many more cases of piloting under influence we have been seeing recently.”

“As far as our intelligence goes, there should not have been any new farms nearby, but we cannot ignore the possibility that the operatives of the organizations had already infiltrated our ranks too.”

“The Wave weed would only grow in the forest between the three kingdoms.” Joseph said, putting himself forward, “I shall go and investigate.”

“We cannot ignore this as a potential interference from the other two kingdoms. So before we send one of our generals in there, I will clear it with the leaders of the other kingdoms first.”

The responses from the King of Talonia and leader of Ethereal realm were telling enough, with the Kingdom of Talonia also seeing a recent spike in the recreational use of Wave weed and Ethereal Realm taking a far more laxed stance towards the substance. Compared to the unified governments of the kingdoms, the Ethereal realm was more like an entity made from states united under a single banner.

“You may investigate as you wish, though we will guard the border as usual, in case some undesirable activities occur.” The head of the top family within Ethereal realm declared before exiting the communication Cast.

“Well, that at least means they won’t get in our way.” Joseph shrugged before the King pressed his fingers on his chin and shook his head.

“They won’t officially be in our way.” The King of Varous said, “On the other hand, Talonia say they will send their best to assist us.”

He wasn’t kidding when he said the best.

Joseph and his small squad of capital city guards were nothing compared to the grand squads of Valkyries from Talonia, lead by the country’s general and leader of Valkyrie’s herself, Alina Vuk.

A dazzling tall woman with white hair, a slim physique, and a pair of black eyes dark like the night sky. Though what captivated Joseph more was the subtle strength underneath her aura of beauty. She moved around nimbly as if she's floating above ground, and Joseph knew that she could exert enough power to level an entire city at the drop of a dime.

“You are Joseph Atlas, I presume?” Alina stepped forward before stopping just shy of Joseph and half bowing, “I am Alina Vuk, the leader of the Valkryies and the general of Talonia.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Joseph returned the gesture as the guards behind him scrambled to follow suit, more than a handful of them taken aback by Alina’s beauty.

“I thought Varous would have brought along more Wave users for this investigation.” Alina asked, looking past Joseph’s shoulders, “My crew is twenty Valkryie’s strong.”

“They may not look it, but they are…” Joseph glanced back at the Sonne city guards before rolling his eyes slightly, “At least, decent.”

“I see.” Alina smiled lightly, “Then let us proceed with our intended missions.”

The Wave weed are found exclusively within the swamp forest dead in the middle of the three countries and just to the northern tip of the Void lands, where the remnants of the Third War of the Millennium dominated the landscape. Their contact was a dwellers’ settlement just to the outer boundaries of the forest.

The dwellers clearly weren’t expecting the large groups of visitors, but the elder accepted the goods that were brought in exchange for their guidance in the forest, and allowed the two squads to camp just out of the Dweller’s living area, avoiding the bugs and beasts during the night thanks to a special potion blend that was used to ward off the swamp’s more hostile lifeforms.

As various tents and shields were set up, groups of curious and/or horny Varous soldiers tried to approach the ice-cold Valkyries, but their words of chatter turned out to be far less interesting than their experience living in warmer regions of the Eastern continent, as the Valkyrie’s were nowhere near being accustomed to this warmth and humidity.

“So…what did you think about this?” Alina asked, handing Joseph a standard scouting Eye piece as the two of them stood atop a towering tree and looked on far in the distance where they simply saw more trees. To find a potential weed farm amid all of this was literally like finding a needle in the haystack, yet it’s a trained habit for them to gather information on the high ground regardless of how pointless it may seem initially.

“This mission?” Joseph asked as Alina slowly nodded, her jawline slicing through the air even as she dripped with sweat, “I think it’s necessary.”

“You haven’t tried the weed before?” Alina giggled before pointing to Joseph’s chest, “during your times at the Academy?”

“How…did you know?” Joseph glanced at Alina, and she simply shrugged.

“All the boys that graduated from the Academy gives off a special…scent.” Alina winked, “I was trained to read people, and that’s my read on you.”

“Sounded like you graduated from there too.” Joseph said, “I was the class of 4000.”

“A year before you. A quick venture...between my Valkyrie duties.” Alina sat down over the branch of the tree as her feet dangled off the edge, “Guess I am your senior.”

“You don’t look…senior.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Alina teased, and Joseph’s face blushed a little before he turned away and pretended to search further in the forest.

“It’s…diplomatic courtesy.”

“I see how it is.” Alina giggled before leaping off the tree branch, freefalling onto the ground and landing on all fours nimbly. In comparison, Joseph smashed onto the ground like a solid rock, “Come, let’s share a meal with the squads and prepare ourselves for whatever’s to come.”