—East District, Dotun City; Lanima Region
Stacia and Alex left Ayer's office after Alex said that he declines Ayer's invitation to join Masters of Reigns, they headed to Stacia's house for the night.
"Is it okay for me to sleep here? I hope I don't cause you any trouble," Alex asked Stacia as they enter her house, worried for her.
"Yeah, I will know if you cause any trouble, my Reign will alert me. I have an extra room here that I don't use, it would definitely be weird for me to always include it in my cleaning weekend and not use it, whenever you want to visit, that will be your room temporarily," Stacia said, answering Alex's worry as she opens the guest room's door.
"I'm guessing he won't be leaving a lot of things there since he said he wanted to be free around the city, also, whether or not his house is still intact, if it isn't, he can stay here! It's not like I'm sharing this with someone else!" Stacia thought, worried about what Alex would think if he stays in her house.
"I'll try to not ruin the room, I'll rarely be around so I won't leave some things there so that you don't have to be bothered about it," Alex said, entering the guest room.
Even though things will get busy for Alex, they tried to not look into it and want to cherish the moment they have together.
Alex sat down on the bed.
"He's snugged already," Stacia thought.
"This bed feels nice," Alex thought.
He then saw Stacia looking at him. "Yeah?" Alex asked Stacia.
"Nothing, I'm cooking dinner, are you going somewhere tomorrow?" Stacia asked him.
"Hmm? I'll probably be going to Northwest of Dotun City to go home, if it's still intact, I still have some valuables there, I just wish they're still there," Alex said, answering her question.
"Okay, I'll call you once I'm done cooking," Stacia said.
"Oh! Try not to cook too much for me, I'm not that hungry but at the same time, it's because my hunger was reduced significantly after my evolution, really," Alex said, informing Stacia.
"Evolution…" Stacia thought, brooding about what Alex said.
"Okay," Stacia said.
She then headed to the kitchen to cook. Alex on the other hand opened the lights of the room.
"She has a very good house, I wonder how rich she is in this group, assuming since she's one of the 5 Unique Reigners of this group." Alex went to the other side of the room, where a sink is, to use it, "she even has running water, clean too," he said after washing his left hand and left face.
Alex removed his jacket and his T-shirt.
"I don't know if I can clean my right Scope body but at the same time, this is one of the most advanced technology in the world, if this is not water-proofed, I'm gonna be in trouble once Reigners found out it's not waterproofed," Alex thought.
He took out a towel from the hanger and wetted it, hen then gently cleaned his right Scope body.
When he was done, Alex used Arm Blades to see if it is still working.
"Well it's certainly still functional, I can still move it too," Alex said to himself.
After Stacia was done cooking dinner…
"Is he talking to himself? Haha…" Stacia thought, chuckling to herself.
"Alex?" Stacia called while knocking on the door.
"Yeah?" Alex asked, taking his shirt and wearing it.
"Dinner is ready," Stacia said, she then went back to the dining area.
Alex left his room afterward.
"Hey," Alex called after he went to the dining area.
"Hey, I made you some noodles, they're not a lot, both in quantity and nutrition but they're the right amount that you requested," Stacia said while preparing the food for the table.
"Sweet and spicy noodles, she also remembered I like these. But at the same time, I rarely eat these because I can't be eating noodles every night, that will kill my stomach," Alex thought.
Alex and Stacia ate dinner after the food is on the table.
Stacia did a praying hand. "Thank you for the food, God Almighty," she prayed, she then started eating.
"I kind of forgotten you're religious, Stacia," Alex said while munching on his food.
"I kind of forgotten that you can survive sweet and spicy noodles, I can't," Stacia thought.
"I'm always praying to the point that it became second nature for me to pray before eating, before sleeping, and before leaving the house, though I only do it in my mind whenever I leave the house," Stacia said as she eats her food.
"I guess I started to perceive things sharply after I became this, you know. I wonder if it will also affect other things in my life, apart from my body," Alex said.
"Hmm?" Stacia thought, she is about to be finished with her food.
"Can I ask, why did you not mention to Ayer and the other Unique Reigners that you're not that big before, you're not this buffed before, and it's because of those serums that you became like this?" Stacia asked after she was done eating.
Alex first drank his water. "Stacia, the city is in shambles, if Mr. Scope can't find a solution to all this, can I trust them? I can trust you but I don't want everyone to know everything I have, I can only show so much to expose myself fully, I'll definitely draw a lot of attention to myself. So that's why!
I'll be leaving tomorrow so that I don't cause too much chaos. In your house and in your group," he explained to her.
"I thought you'll be visiting every now and then? Is that also a lie?" Stacia asked.
"I will but I need to do something about this city's circumstances, at least, mediate it a little," Alex said.
"Heh? Are you a hero now, Alex?" Stacia asked, smirking at him.
"I…" Alex smiles "I don't know about that since I can only do so much with the skills and abilities I gained from this chaos. Anyway! I'll be sleeping now, thank you for the food, Stacia," he said, standing up from his chair and then headed back inside the guest room.
"Haha," Stacia chuckled.
After Alex entered the guest room…
"I can't believe I asked him whether or not he'll visit! What am I even expecting!?" Stacia thought, she was infuriated by her words earlier.
She then headed to her room after she was done washing the dishes and cleaning her dining area.
"There's a part in me that wanted him to join us desperately, I don't know why, or probably I just want to be close to him all the time," Stacia thought before sleeping.
The next day then arrived. Stacia woke up from her bed and immediately did 25 pushups before eating breakfast.
"Is Alex still here?" Stacia thought, heading to the guest room, where Alex was.
*knocks*
Stacia knocks once. "Alex?" She asked.
When she noticed the door isn't locked, she entered the guest room.
"He left, just like what he said last night," Stacia thought.
—West District, Dotun City; Lanima Region
Alex is already outside the headquarters of Masters of Reigns, sneaking out of their headquarters is the only way for him to be able to leave quietly and peacefully.
"If I just casually moved around their headquarters like what we did yesterday, I'll definitely be targeted, either to sparring or in actual combat, I'm not wasting time and energy, I need to know if my house is still up," Alex thought after leaving the headquarters.
All he wants to do right now is go home, whether there is a home to go to or not anymore.
Several minutes into Alex's journey to the Northwest District, he immediately encountered a giant monster—a giant lizard to be precise.
"I don't know how I'll deal with this since I don't have any Ice-type Reign," Alex thought.
He then used Earth Control to stop its movement, locking four of its legs, unabling it to move. Alex first cut them all off using Arm Blades, even though it's struggling hard Alex is able to keep them all in place before it attacked him.
Alex went to its head afterward, decapitating it.
"I'm lucky I can use two Reigns at once, one from my Scope body and one from my flesh body, though I wish I can use multiple Reigns at once from my Scope body," Alex said to himself after killing the giant lizard.
"Since I can absorb, copy, and store many Reigns in there," Alex thought, following up his words earlier.
Alex continued his journey to Northwest District.
He encountered a giant spider, killing it in just a few minutes on his own. Alex then encountered a giant grasshopper. He easily killed it with just Earth Control because its body is brittle even though it's big.
"These things are a lot on the way and I haven't encountered a single Reigner, I wonder where they are?" Alex thought, asking himself.
He then stopped running to check something.
"Hmm…" Alex is speculating as he looks around the destroyed area of the city.
"What if the Reigners in this area are all from the Masters of Reigns and they're secretly following me? I can't really be moving around aimlessly," Alex thought.
"I'm betting I can survive the Expanding Orb, I should use this as a smoke bomb, I need to be 100% sure that no one is following me," Alex said to himself.
He then activated Expanding Orb from his Scope body and blasted it underneath him.
*BOOM*
Alex immediately used his Earth Control from his left body to create a tunnel underground and hide.
After the Expanding Orb dispersed, the ones outside that are actually watching, spying, and following Alex came out.
"Crap! Did he notice us?"
"Who the fvck made a noise?!"
"I can't believe this jacket survived, it even survived the acid of the previous giant spider I fought with Stacia. What even is the quality of this thing?" Alex thought, asking himself as he was surprised by how strong Scope jackets are.
"Anyway, I'm not stopping my journey home, fighting is not an option yet, I have sneaking skills so I can use that," Alex said to himself.
Alex then dug a tunnel to the way he is supposed to go, on the way to the Northwest District, of course, he rebuilt the earth behind him so that he doesn't create a trail.
Back in the Masters of Reigns' headquarters…
—West District, Dotun City; Lanima Region
"Ayer called me for some reason, he didn't even send his officers since they're already out, said by the messenger that he sent—some random Reigner that is around his office at that time, I bet," Stacia thought, on her way to Ayer's office.
When she entered the office, Ayer is the only one in his office, Rea and Wey are gone.
"Ayer, why did you call me? Do you have a mission for me?" Stacia asked him.
"Something like that, I know you know Alex more than us because he's the only one that made you recruit him, tour him around our headquarters, and convinced him to visit our headquarters, I have a special mission for you, Stacia, but I can't guarantee you will accept this mission," Ayer said.
With slight disdain answering Stacia's question.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Stacia thought.
"What is it, Ayer?" She asked him.
"I want you to kill Alex," Ayer said.
"I knew it, after he said that he's welcome to go here often and whether his mind changes in joining us, this man…" Stacia thought.
Just as he said that. Stacia's stomach swiveled.
With contempt and also control. "Why do you want him dead, Ayer?" Stacia asked him first.
"I knew she will question it, I can also feel her disgust in her words, it's understandable, he's her friend," Ayer thought.
"Alex didn't accept joining us but decided if we need his help, he will help us. But that doesn't guarantee anything in the future, if anything, it will cause more danger in the future than the former, him having more types of Reign than any of us means he's a threat to our group," Ayer said, answering Stacia's question reasonably.
"How is he a threat? He's my friend, if he tried to do something that can tear us apart, do you think I'd let him? He can't hurt me… But at the same time, I can't hurt him." Stacia swallowed as she tries to not stumble her words, "But that is not what I meant, Rea is with us, Wey is with us, even if he did tear us apart, those two have 3 years of Reign experience, he just woke up from his 3-year coma and got his multiple Reign at that time, it will take a hundred soldiers or Reigners to stop them," she explained to Ayer, reasonably as well.
"She has her own reasons. But that's just it, if he tried to do something, I can't let that "if" come to fruition," Ayer thought.
"Do you decline this mission, Stacia?" Ayer asked her.
"I decline," Stacia said.
"I don't want to use this, Stacia, but you're not giving me any choice," Ayer thought, he then brought out something.
Something that turns Ayer's orders into absolute order, something even Wey fears—the one that has the most destructive Reign.
Even Stacia fears in the back of her head that he will bring this out if she declines this mission.
"That…"