Rai and Sin made it back to the Secret and met Mr. Guard outside, as per usual.

He guided them past the crowds into the VIP reception area. Today was a bit more rowdy than usual, but Rai and Sin were always glad to have his presence. Whenever the Secret got overwhelming, he was always there to keep the attention off of them.

They entered the empty reception area, to find literally no one but Naam. Who would’ve guessed. In fact, Rai questioned why he had expected any different.

Mr. Guard went into the lift.

Sin ran over and hugged Naam.

Rai walked over and tilted his head at them, “You two have gotten a lot closer lately.”

Sin turned around to face Rai with Naam, “That’s... well...” She turned to Naam and held her hand, “Is it okay? Can I tell him?”

Naam giggled at her, “Of course you can, don’t let me hold you back.”

Sin smiled and nodded at Naam. She walked over to Rai and whispered in his ear, “She’s my sister.”

Rai didn’t react at first, but it slowly started to hit him as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. “You’re... both... sisters?”

Sin and Naam nodded.

Rai’s eyes widened, then his expression quickly transitioned into excitement. He turned to Sin, “You always mentioned wanting a sister!” He turned to Naam, “Are you half-sisters somehow?” He turned to Sin, “When did you learn about this?” He turned to Naam, “Were you excited to tell her?”

Sin grabbed Rai’s shoulders and shook him. She laughed, “Rai, relax! We’re not going anywhere.”

Naam walked around the desk just so that she could reach up and pat his head, “Not half-sisters. Full sisters. She learned about it yesterday. I didn’t mean to tell her, it just slipped out.”

Rai held a look of surprise, "Woah. That's so cool!" He smiled softly at them, “Are you both happy?”

They spoke at the same time.

Sin nodded profusely, “Yes!”

Naam thoughtfully placed a finger on her chin, “Not yet.”

Sin whipped her head around to Naam, “Huh? Not yet? What’s that mean?” She had a worried look on her face.

Naam placed a hand on Sin’s shoulder, “There’s one more thing left to be said.” She grinned at Sin.

Sin tilted her head at Naam, “Huh?” Her expression was that of utter confusion.

A black spiral of mana formed. Out of it came Lilly.

Sin stared at her, “Lilly? I didn’t call for you... Are you okay?”

Lilly nodded. She looked at Naam. Naam softly nodded at her. Sin continued to stare at Lilly, awaiting an answer.

Lilly took a deep breath. She snapped her fingers.

The hair that was once black and straight quickly furled into dark red curls. The eyes that were once as pitch black as the void, quickly shifted into a bright crimson.

They were eyes that matched Sin’s own.

Lilly looked at Sin. She slightly tilted her head, and smiled a touch. “S... Surprise.”

Naam whispered to her in quite possibly the most obvious way one could communicate with someone else, “Actually look like you’re trying to surprise her, what kind of dumbass move was-” Sin gently pushed Naam’s arm down as she walked towards Lilly.

Rai decided that this was probably not the time to say anything.

Lilly couldn’t see Sin’s eyes beyond the harsh shadows caused by the bright lighting in the room. Lilly's whole body quivered. “My La-... Sin?”

Sin placed a hand on Lilly’s shoulder.

Lilly didn’t know what to do.

Sin pulled her in for the most heartfelt hug that Lilly had felt since... since their mother.

Lilly’s eyes welled up.

She sobbed as she shivered in Sin’s embrace.

Sin's tears flowed freely.

Rai had, by this point, sat on a chair in the waiting area. Right about now, he found playing with imaginary figures using his hands to be the most interesting thing in the entirety of Zenith.

Sin cried into Lilly’s shoulder, “You... t-took mum’s place. You k-kept this from me b-because of that r-right?”

Lilly nodded into Sin’s neck. She whispered in exasperation, “I’m sorry.”

Sin tightened her embrace, “Always... by my side... I love you both.”

Lilly started bawling.

Naam thumped them both upside the head. “Will you guys keep it down? We’re still at a literal workplace!”

Lilly and Sin giggled at Naam.

Sin wiped away her tears and looked deep into Naam’s eyes.

Naam stared at her, “What? Something on my face?” She patted down her cheeks. Naam whispered under her breath, “I don’t think I’ve kissed any of the girls today... Shouldn’t be lipstick anywhere.”

Sin slowly shook her head. She pointed right at Naam’s eyes.

Lilly gasped. She quickly let go of Sin and looked closely at Naam’s face. The eldest sister smiled warmly at Naam after checking, “I told you... you’d get your body back soon.”

Naam looked confused for a moment. Then shock began to take over. She stumblingly turned around and dashed towards the mirror behind the desk.

No longer was there the pair of shining amber eyes that Naam had become accustomed to... In their place was a pair of bright crimson eyes.

Just like the rest of her family.

Tears flowed down Naam’s face.

She turned to Lilly as her hands reached up at her eyes, “They’re... mine?”

Lilly nodded as she embraced her younger sister.

Naam didn’t know what to do.

Lilly whispered to her, “Time, my younger sister. Time is all it will take.”

Naam simply accepted the eldest's words and love.

Sin hugged them both. “I love you both. So much.”

Rai jumped in as he yelled, “GROUP HUG!”

They all turned to him with panicked faces as they exclaimed while he was mid-air, “NONONONO!”

Rai tackled all three of them to the ground.

After a few groans of soreness came from the mosh on the ground, giggles and laughter filled the room.

A sigh came from the waiting area chairs. “One, Rai. You can have one of my daughters, not all of them.”

Rai quickly stood back up and saluted Kallad, “Yes sir! I will only take one of them, not all of them!”

Kallad facepalmed, “That wasn’t something you needed to respond to.”

Rai tilted his head at Kallad, “Why does your name sound like ‘salad’?”

Kallad stared at him, bewildered.

The three sisters laughed so much at Rai’s question that they couldn’t stand back up.

Kallad frowned, “Was it really that funny?”

Rai stifled a laugh, “Pfft. Yes. Yes it was.” He couldn't hold it and ended up bursting out in laughter himself.

Kallad leaned back in the chair, “How did I end up getting called ‘salad’ and being laughed at by my daughters.” He looked up for dramatic effect, but he accidentally looked directly into one of the bright lights. Kallad immediately regretted his decision, “Milly, where did it all go wrong?”

After a few minutes of everyone calming down, and the occasional restarting of the giggle train for a small moment here or there, the girls stood back up.

Sin stretched and yawned, “Phew. I could use a shower. Laughing causes you to sweat so much.”

Naam held Lilly, “Go on go on!" She remembered something, "Oh! If you didn’t know... we’re in the floor below you. We’ve been there this whole time. You should come and, well, just hang out if you're free.”

Lilly tried to shoot Sin a goofy grin.

Sin placed a sympathetic hand on Lilly’s shoulder, “Since you’re the oldest, I’ll give you a pass for that. Please, practice more, because that was truly atrocious.”

They started laughing together again.

Kallad smiled as he listened to them. It seems I was worried about nothing. Maybe you were right Milly. Maybe... they just needed each other. Power wasn't the only thing that mattered.

Sin, Rai, and Lilly walked over towards the lift. Rai waved Kallad goodbye, while the other two ignored his presence.

Kallad did a double take, then frowned, “My daughters... please don’t ignore your poor old father.”

Naam huffed as she stood her ground, “For keeping us apart, you get a day of the silent treatment!”

Sin shouted back from the closed lift doors, “A week!”

Lilly spoke quietly, “A month.”

Kallad theatrically made a deflating defeated sound as he fell to his knees, “NOOOOOooooooo!”

Naam reassured him, “It’ll just be a day, don’t worry old fart. Starting now.”

Sin and Lilly giggled.

Ding.

They entered the lift.

Kallad implored them, “Come on, my daughters... We’re all together now! Let's be a family for once!”

The lift door closed.

Kallad frowned. He leapt over to Naam, “Naam? Naam. Come on.”

Nothing. Somehow, she’d completely zoned him out.

Kallad was truly defeated today.

He depressingly walked into the backroom. He heard Naam snicker to herself.

After ditching the theatrics, Kallad triumphantly fist pumped the air. Finally... I can actually amend my wrongs.

He was relieved.

They can be sisters. Hopefully a new chapter has opened in their books of life. For now... let's get to work.

He teleported out to further his plans. Already, he'd shifted from thinking about his family to thinking about the summit that was only a few weeks away.

Soon, I can talk to the Aspects and gather their thoughts. In the end, I can try to sway a number of their votes, but some will be hard to win over.

Salacia will help... I suppose I should also inform the Warden... How long has it been since Rai has seen Elira? The Sage of the Life clan... a dragon of the highest order. It could be very interesting to see how that reunion plays out.

He continued thinking about the possibilities as he set his plans in motion.

First, I’ll pay a visit to the Tinkerer. Let's see if my old friend is still as... psychopathic as he once was.