A few moments earlier... "We’re going to be classmates, Luck!" Axel pumped his fists in the air in excitement as Ryatt walked over to him and Mikah. "A real school for power refiners. Even Mikey gets to study power refinement! This is awesome, awesome, awesome!" Axel repeated awesome three times in a row, feeling that this occasion was properly auspicious. "Haha, since when are you the excitable type?" Ryatt chuckled at his friend's antics. "And Mikey, you're so laid back today? Did you two switch bodies?" "Hehe," Mikah scratched his nose in embarrassment. "I'm excited, I guess." "You guess?" Axel finally noticed Mikah was acting strange. "What’s wrong with you, dude?" Mikah released a heavy sigh, thinking he truly couldn’t hide anything when Lucky was around. He hesitated a bit before saying, "I’m just thinking about Micayle and Haan. She didn’t come to the central square with us because my dad needed her to help with something. The strange thing is…that Luciano and the Black Tyrant Gang didn’t show up either. It's weird right? Luciano knew we would be there, so why wouldn't he show up for revenge? That's not like him. Haan came with us, but she ran off somewhere by herself right before we met my teacher. Almost every other group in the city was there except for our merchant group and the biggest gang, and then Haan disappears. I don’t know…something feels off." Ryatt’s eyes also narrowed as this new information swam through his heart. "Student Mikah," Flash Northson’s voice suddenly captured the boys’ attention. Flash had been paying attention to the conversation between his father and Kiya Prozen, but his new student's words drew his attention. "Teacher!" Mikah hurriedly cupped his hands to show respect. "Are you saying your sister has some connection to Black Tyrant Legion?" Flash asked with a frown.

Mikah realized his teacher had obviously been very attentive to the boys' conversation. "That…ah…" Mikah panicked when he saw the disgust in his teacher's eyes. He knew that his teacher was getting the wrong impression. "It’s like this, Mr. Flash," Ryatt was the one to speak out, narrating the events of the previous week’s incident with a level of detail that the other two boys had been unwilling to expose. "Something like this actually happened?" hearing Ryatt's tale, Flash Northson wasn’t too shocked as these humble gangs were always like this. In addition, he had already heard part of this story. Flash felt shocked at the innate ability of these brats, Axel and Ryatt. According to his new student, Ryatt was the main reason they escaped.

"I have some related information," Flash crossed his arms and thought carefully. It wasn't exactly protocol to discuss intel with students, but Flash had a special interest in Ryatt. Plus, this was directly related to his direct student, "Actually, the Black Tyrant Legion’s young master is said to have found a bride. That madwoman Killum Sebi Graves and her wacko husband Luther called all their disciples back to escort the bride and her maid to the base. I figured they were running some nefarious business while the major powers were distracted by my arrival. They even went to kidnap some poor girl from the outer city to be a maidservant for the bride, but ended up getting held up by some old lady. It's become a real fiasco, I hear. The army has three units in route to the slums to clear out the pirates and sort through the mess. If what you say is true…this Luciano Graves should be that young master of the Black Tyrant. It could be that your sister really is in danger." "That…" Mikah looked at his friends, who were looking just as stunned as he felt. Mikah thought for a moment, then shook his head, "My dad is with her, so I don’t think they could kidnap Micky so easily." "No," Riot suddenly spoke up, catching Mikah off-guard. Lines words about the grandma being captured and Haan disappearing ran parallel in Riot's mind, pointing him to deep suspicion. "Your foster-father is with her. When has that guy ever shown you two the love of a father? He only gives you gifts based on merit, you might as well be employees. I think Mr. Flash is right. Luciano went through all that effort to get me expelled, and he absolutely wouldn’t let Haan and Micky go. We all know too much; they definitely want to silence us! No offense Mikey, but think about this. If they can pay off the high profile Education Bureau, can it be they aren't able to pay off a smaller merchant group?" Mikah was temporarily stunned by his friend's intelligent rebuttal. Although Ryatt’s words could be considered slightly offensive…it made sense. Mikah had blind faith in the Giovonci Merchant group, and he treated them like family. However, weren’t they merchants? Did they ever treat him the way Ryatt and Axel had? Those were true familial connections, more so than what he experienced at home. This was the entire reason he was so dedicated to his best friends.

Information always had a price.

People had prices too.

This was something his foster-father had often said.

In fact, Mikah and his sister were purchased from a slaver. Their foster-father took pity on them, choosing to adopt them since his wife was infertile. Could those who were purchased not be re-sold? Mikah’s heart turned cold at the thought. Had he been too naive? When Mikah timidly asked for permission to go to the central square, his foster father almost seemed to dance from enthusiasm. It hadn’t felt strange at the time as Mikah was too excited…however, Ryatt’s words helped Mikah realize how strange things have been this whole time. "Good!" Flash Northson nodded in approval when he heard Ryatt’s words. The lad spoke as if he could see directly into Flash's own heart, which was more than impressive for a ten-year-old kid. "Disciple, learn from your friend. This world is far more brutal and ugly than you realize." Ryatt placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and added, "You can’t consider people who bought your freedom but never returned it, people who haven't even given you a name, as your family. Right or wrong?" Mikah’s eyes flashed with shock and indignation. This was his sore spot. "I think you're...right, Luck. Teacher…can…c-can you take us to check on my sister?" Mikah suddenly understood why he felt incredibly uneasy. It wasn't just in his head after all. Something must be wrong with Micayle! "Ahaha, of course! There’s a car waiting outside for us right now!" Flash Northson laughed heartily, clearly not taking the situation very seriously.

"Mom!" Riot ran over to his mother and Divine Creature Northson, anxiously pulling on her arm. He didn't want to be left out, but without his mother's permission, he didn't dare take a step out of her sight. "Lucky, can’t you see that mommy’s talking? What is it?" Kiya asked gently, still in a bad mood. Try as she might, she could rarely take a tough tone with this boy. After a quick thought, she remembered whatever Lucky had just been talking about with his friends. Kiya's brow furrowed as she asked, "Is it about your girlfriend, Micayle? The one you brought home the other day?" "Mom, you heard us?" Ryatt was surprised, but he quickly accepted that he didn't know how to classify his mother's strength or ability anymore. "I think they might be trying to target Micky somehow." "And why do you think that, Lucky?" Kiya asked calmly, not in a rush to give a reaction. She wouldn't let her son be bamboozled by others. "Iono," mumbled Ryatt, shrugging his shoulders innocently. "Mikah told me what happened. Now I just have a feeling. I feel like Micayle is in trouble and real big trouble if we stay here and don't find her. I feel like if we don't go find her now, I'll never see her again." Axel and Mikah face-palmed their heads. In their minds, Ms. Kiya would never let Ryatt come for such an unclear reason.

Kiya was quiet for a moment before showing a slightly concerned look. The brat's intuition was typically terrifying. She had accepted Riot’s response. Aware of the lad's heritage, Kiya had great trust in her son's intuition. Axel and Micah looked at each other at a loss for words. Kiya thought for a moment and was still about to forbid Ryatt from going. It was too dangerous, and she couldn't allow her strength to be exposed. However, Kiya's wonder-mirror lit up before she could disagree. She looked down, and then she seemed to have an idea. "Flash, can you represent the World Government in this matter?" Kiya turned to Flash Northson and asked. "If the Black Tyrant Legion is involved in trafficking, I definitely can," Flash nodded in ascent. "However, we have to be certain..." "Take my son and his friends to find their friends Micayle and Haan," Kiya said calmly. "In exchange, I’m giving you an anonymous tip that the Black Tyrant Legion has already failed to traffic two young ladies. They should have long been placed under your protective radar, and this is a failure on your part." "Y-yes…" replied Flash, glancing at his father with mixed feelings. This woman’s voice was so soothing and very pleasant, yet her words were so biting sometimes. He grabbed a few things from his desk saying, "Let’s go, boys." After Flash and his retainer left with the boys, only Susan, Northson, and Kiya remained in the room. "I’m surprised you let him go, senior," said Supervisor Darkchild to Kiya. She knew that this woman was highly protective of Ryatt. Kiya smiled slyly, pulling out her wonder mirror. She opened the interface, a screen popping up, projecting the image of a blue-eyed young lady with stunning looks. She looked 70% similar to Kiya. "Hey, mom! I’m in Acadia! Senior Brother Singapore has some business to take care of, and then I’ll come home," said an excited flowery voice full of vigor. "Miracle, do you remember your brother’s little friend, Micayle?" Kiya asked calmly. "Huh? You mean the girl with the twin brother?" the little girl asked, bemused. "What about her, mom?" "She’s being harassed by a gang of pirates. Do you want to earn yourself a retainer and maybe even some merit?" Kiya smiled brilliantly at her exceptional daughter. "Merit?" on the projection, Miracle’s eyes sparkled, her excitement obvious. She didn’t care about a retainer, but she definitely cared about earning merits. Her master had told her to focus on earning karmic merit whenever possible. Miracle felt eager to know more, "Sure, what should I do, mommy?" Northson and Susan exchanged a confused glance but wisely remained silent. A daughter? Kiya Prozen had more than one child? Who was this young lady?

Northson especially wondered why he didn't know about this young lady a long time ago.

-------

Universal Heart:

In the outer city, most homes were typical single-level stone buildings. Only two buildings in the outer city towered above the rest. There was a large and beautiful shine worshipping the Supreme Plato Emperor. The walls of the shrine were pure white with golden hieroglyphs flowing on the sides and the pillars. This shrine also served as a gateway to the inner city, and on the other side of it was Major Acadia Primary school. Other than the towering shrine, there was also the headquarters of the Giovonci Merchant Group. This glorious estate looked as if it belonged in the inner city, despite being twenty kilometers in the opposite direction. The walls were a near glowing white and gold. In front of the estate gates were two giant pillars covered in hieroglyphs and two black statues of a fiery death god. There were various stalls and attractions around the estates' perimeter.

Currently waiting outside of the Giovoncci Estate was a huge caravan shaped like a luxury ship. On the side of the caravan was an azure flag of a black skull tyrant wielding two blades. The crimson eyes of the tyrant seemed to emit an evil light. No one dared to come within 500 meters of this menacingly beautiful caravan. This was because dozens of those pirates were patrolling within that area. "I hear the young master of Black Tyrant Legion has chosen a bride…could it be someone from the merchant group?" "What 'choose,' this is clearly buying. These pirates think they can do what they want in the outer city!" "Giovonci has been pretty arrogant lately, as well. It seems they plan to make the Black Tyrant Legion their backer." As many of the citizens gossiped and observed from afar, a sleek black hovercar zoomed over and came to a stop near the observers. When doors flew up, five individuals exited from within. There were three youths and two men. "It seems we were right to be concerned," Flash Northson wore his khaki-colored military uniform, a gold snake-head scepter on his back. He looked at the soldier next to him and said, "Send word back to base, surround and close off this area. I’m escorting my disciple home, but I fear these fellows will definitely not let me pass." "Yessir! I’ll go right away," the soldier, Sergeant Willows, immediately returned to the vehicle to report. "Do we get to fight too, teacher?" Mikah asked excitedly. Even though he didn’t think he could beat those pirates alone, he felt it should be more than possible with his teacher here! "I can’t let you risk yourselves like that," Flash frowned. After all, these children were untrained. If something happened to them, who could he blame? "For now, follow behind Sergeant Willows when he returns." "Man, Luck, looks like we won’t get to have any fun. That sucks, right?" Axel nudged Ryatt, who stood next to him. However, the latter didn’t respond. Axel looked at his friend curiously but became shocked when he saw the fury in Ryatt’s eyes.

------- Lucky's Heart:

I was very irritated as I looked at all the pirates outside, Micayle’s fate unknown. Strength! Only with strength could one make a difference. Only with strength could one protect their friends! As the resolve to become strong grew in my heart, I noticed movement and focused my vision. What I saw left me enraged and startled. "Over there," I said, pointing in a specific direction. "What is it, buddy?" Axel narrowed his eyes, struggling to see anything but blurry figures in the distance. "I can’t see anything." Flash casually looked to where I was pointing, but he was immediately stupefied. In front of the Giovonci Estate, two guards were dragging out a little girl dressed in rags and chains who kicked and screamed. They hoisted her up and threw her into the caravan. "Not good!" Flash dashed forward as soon as he saw this, leaving after images in his wake.

In a mere breath, he was already 250 meters away. When the goons patrolling tried to stop him, they were knocked flying everywhere like bowling pins. "Woah!" "Holy…" Axel and Mikah were both unaware of the situation. They were simply in awe of Flash Northson’s movement speed and strength. This was power! However, shock and horror appeared on their faces they saw me over 80 meters away from them an instant later. "LUCKY!" the panicked shout came from behind.