The room was filled with silence as Mira continued to glare at Joseph. She was showing him a powerful aura, one that was menacing and filled with killing intent.
The once happy-go-lucky Mira was now death glaring, but her attitude still did not seem to change for some. The aura she was showing was specifically for Joseph.
Cassiopeia, the Seated Queen. Not much has been known about the Souls that inhabit their bodies, but it was clear that the Soul Mira had was powerful. The aura that was roaming around her alone spoke of that power, it was almost like a lion was looking at a rabbit.
Joseph cleared his throat and looked away, letting Mira go back to her seat beside Kian. He was threatened by Mira, but the look in his eyes spoke something else. It was like he liked the challenge.
He wasn't going to let this go.
"Don't mind losers like him," Mira told Kian. Her mood suddenly changed. Kian tried to open his mouth and say something but the woman beat him to it.
"Oh! I can tell from your body that you are fit, but you're not a patron of the gym. Instead, your muscles and your body are a fruit of your hard labor. That is quite interesting."
It was almost innocent for Mira to speak those words randomly, but the way that Mira spoke was alarming for Kian. It raised flags for him because of how observant she was, much more than what she was showing. And right now, her character just broke.
The introduction continued with a huge cloud of awkwardness over them. Joseph was silent the rest of the introduction and he was the first one to leave when it was all over. He was pissed and everyone knew that.
"Say, why is your beam too…" Mira trailed off. "Transparent."
Kian looked up to see the light around his body. He just shrugged and continued to eat. They were now in the cafeteria, eating for the last several hours before entering the World Tower.
Brent was silent the whole time. Kian would occasionally look at him but the man would just look away, avoiding his brother's look.
"Do you want to say something, Brent?" Kian asked. "Why are you so silent all of a sudden?"
"Why did you take it?" Brent grit his teeth. "You know how dirty my mother plays and you just danced right into her palms."
"You know nothing," Kian spoke. When Brent scoffer, he couldn't help but add, "So let me tell you something. The world has so much money, right? Mira, how much is the government paying you just to be here?"
Mira was still chewing when she answered. "Two million dollars a month."
Brent's eyes widened, his lips agape and a scoff broke out from his mouth. "They only paid us fifty thousand. Where did those millions come from?"
"That government guy told me something about the status of my beam," Kian said. "They told me that since it wasn't clear if I was really part of the chosen Heroes, I can't get all the benefits. Your mother is saving me right now since I can't get another job while I'm inside the World Tower. Also, the government could not afford to spend more money on me because two million for a hero is already too much, they said and there are two of us."
"They're what?" Brent narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean that they're not able to afford it? The government is loaded with money."
"That's what they said," Kian said. "I don't need to argue with the government. I just have to enter the World Tower, protect you from any harm, and my parents will be secured."
Brent couldn't help but throw a punch on Kian's face. The latter was thrown away from the force, creating a mess in the dining hall by knocking down several tables.
"Why are you so selfish?" Brent yelled out of anger. "You don't know shit about the world because I was always protecting you. You're my younger brother, so don't act like you can do anything because you can't do shit! You've always been saved because I was always there, saving you."
When Brent was about to give Kian another blow, Mira pulled him back. "Brent, stop."
"I didn't ask for your mercy," Kian added as he sat up and wiped the blood from his cheek. "I never did. I wanted to show you that I can handle it, but life just fucks me up all over again and you're still there to save me. Why can't you let me do the same for you?"
Brent loosened his grip. Mira felt that the man's rage was slowly dying down, lowering his hands as he did. Brent took a heavy sigh before leaving the dining hall with everyone's eyes following him as he walked outside.
A hand was offered for him which Kian looked at. It was Mira. She was looking around as she offered her hand to him. "Dude, you made a huge mess here."
"We did," Kian chuckled bitterly as he took her hand and stood. "Let's clean this up."
"What a mess," Joseph scoffed as he walked towards Kian. "You're a huge troublemaker. I even heard that the government didn't pay you much because they weren't sure about you or the Soul that inhabits you."
"What a loser you really are," one of Joseph's lackeys said. His name was Albert and he was also a prince from a neighboring kingdom. "You're a huge failure already and we didn't even get to enter the World Tower yet."
With soup and other food all over his body, Kian glared at the two and left the room. Mira was following after him, trying to talk to him but Kian wouldn't listen.
When she had enough, the woman pulled Kian back. "Listen here, you dipshit. This fucked up shit is a game of politics, and you have to play it."
Kian wasn't surprised that the woman showed her true colors. She scoffed and pulled Kian to a room where she snuck out a box of cigarettes and lit one up with her gold lighter. "I was interested in you because of your pathetic state, so listen to me."
"Miranda Reed," Kian shook his head. "I've read about the famous CEO of the media giant, Grandiosa, who never shows her face. It turns out you were that person."
"No shit, Sherlock. Listen, I built my media outlet from being a reporter. Being a reporter, I learned a lot of moves from politicians. What you did just now wasn't the best for neither of our image," Mira said as she continued to drag her cigarette. "And no matter what you say, we need those fools outside. That World fucking Tower is a bitch that's fucked shit up. If we want to conquer it, you have to listen to what I have to say. No more unnecessary shit."
"I only need to protect my brother, everything else is irrelevant," Kian said.
This made Mira snort and throw a punch right on the other side of Kian's face. "Lesson number one, a network is important even when you have a goal only for yourself. You use them as your stepping stones and nothing more."
"That's what you did, didn't you?" Kian chuckled. He took one of Mira's cigarettes and dragged one himself. "And I am the biggest stepping stone right now."
Mira laughed and shook her head. "You use me, I use you. Let's use each other."
Mira offered her hand once again, she smirked and winked at him. "This is a deal of a lifetime. We don't have second chances in this World Tower shit. Take it or leave it, Ophiuchus."
Kian looked right outside the window which showed the clear view of the World Tower. He sighed and took the hand that was offered at him. "Okay. Let's use each other, Cassiopeia."