Still racking about his brother’s requirements, Alexander followed Emilie into the lab.

It was a ginormous place covered by a white metallic sheen. Scattered across its floor were computers and machinery.

Yet everything was moving in tandem, a part of a big whole, a silent cog in a giant machine.

The eerie silence and foreign machinery made Alexander feel like he was walking in an alien spaceship.

Emilie led Alexander towards a pod at the far corner of the room. Its shape was similar to the one he saw in Cillian’s trophy room. However, it was grounded and a lot smaller.

She gestured for him to come closer to the pod.

“Why are we here?” Alexander questioned.

“Don’t be so suspicious now! If I want to kill you, I could just drag you into one of the empty rooms upstairs,” she eased his tension with a bad joke.

Alexander rolled his eyes at her joke.

“Jokes aside. If you want to know why Cillian decided to colonise Tatos.”

She pointed at the pod.

“It is in here.”

“It is in the pod?”

“Yeah!”

“I won’t get put into crypto sleep for hundreds of years, wouldn’t I?”

“If you don’t want to get into the pod. I won’t force you. It’s your choice, kiddo.”

“Do I need to change my clothes or get naked or something? Before entering the pod?”

“Do what you want. I won’t judge your kinks,” Emilie laughed.

“Urh,” Alexander rolled his eyes.

“Nah, you don’t.”

***

Alexander slowly climbed into the pod, checking its every crook and cranny. After not finding anything weird, he laid down.

As his body lay on the soft cushion, his muscles instantly relaxed. His mind gently drifted asleep.

“Have fun, kiddo,” Emilie said to the sleeping beauty. However, her words never reached him as the pod closed itself.

***

‘Where am I?’ ‘What is this place?’ Alexander woke and looked around.

He stood on top of a calm endless lake. There were no waves nor eddies, no beginning nor end, the eternity in tranquillity.

Under the empty white sky, its crystal clear surface reflected harmony: the harmony between the man and his reflection.

Not knowing what to do, Alexander moved to explore this strange place.

As he traversed the calm surface, his steps formed soft waves. They rippled out into the endless and beyond.

After moving for a few minutes, Alexander heard the soft sound of a piano playing in the distance.

The tune was unique. It was calming, yet it brought forth a sense of adventure. It never built up any tension but illustrated the grandeur of future exploits.

Alexander hastened his step towards its direction.

***

Finally, Alexander could see the orchestrator of the beautiful tunes.

A man and his grand piano, alone in this world, with only music as their company, eternally immersed in the rhythm of life above the tranquil water.

The master pianist dawned a bespoke dark suit with his long blonde hair tied into a man bun.

However, Alexander soon squinted his eyes as he arrived closer.

He thought that the distance made the gentleman appear small.

However, as Alexander was a few steps away from the pianist, he realised that the gentleman was only about the size of an adult hand.

“You are finally here!” The pianist turned his head and looked at Alexander.

Alexander stopped in his track at the sound of that familiar voice.

“Cillian?”

“Yes and no,” the pianist removed his hands and flew towards Alexander.

The piano slowly dissipated as the pianist moved away. Strangely, its beautiful tunes continued.

The pianist landed on Alexander’s palm and observed the young adult.

“You grew up well in Singapore,” he smiled.

Alexander glanced at the tiny human. His distinctive sharp look and amethyst eyes couldn’t be mistaken.

“Are you really Cillian?” He asked again.

“Of course not! You dumbass,” The small pianist joked.

Alexander received the same reply as what Cillian would have given him. He asked again.

“So, what are you?”

“Hmm! Well, in simple terms, I would be Cillian's will.”

“Could you explain a bit more?”

“Well, I was about to do it until some bastard kept interrupting me,” the gentleman stared Alexander in the eye and ranted. “The bastard didn’t even greet me back.”

Alexander looked away and scratched his cheeks with his other hand.

“Erm, hello. Erm, how should I address you?”

“Finally! Some proper decorum. You can call me Chibi Cillian. That’s what Lady Emilie and main body call me.”

“So, could you tell me now?”

“Kids nowadays are so impatient,” Chibi Cillian rolled his eyes and sighed.

Chibi Cillian immediately left Alexander’s palm and reached his eyes level.

“How much did Lady Emilie tell you?”

“She guided me towards a pod and told me this is where I can find answers regarding Cillian's decision.”

“Hmm, alright, I can still use my masterfully crafted plan,” Chibi Cillian stroked his chin with his tiny hand.

After a short moment, he snapped his finger.

Alexander’s footsteps across the gentle lake lit up iridescently. From their luminous wake birthed a stream of stars.

The tranquil water around Alexander rumbled. Eddies slowly formed. They coalesced water around into gigantic droplets. Unlike their crystal clear origin, these droplets were dark as void.

They gently dipped upwards, tainting the white canvas dark. Together with the escaped stars, they created a beautiful dark skyline.

From the remains of the eddies, islands and continents formed.

Alexander stood astonished by the beautiful transition. He felt as if he was witnessing the creation of the world.

“I am not going to blow my own trumpet or anything.”

“But this majestic transition is entirely my idea.”

Chibi Cillian boasted.

Before Alexander could reply, Chibi Cillian manifested a trumpet.

*Buuuuup*

“WELCOME TO NEW WORLD!”