Sigh.

It was a bright morning inside the dungeon space, just like always. The air was filled with the sounds of people bustling about, moving items into place as they prepared for the final stage. Everything felt alive, purposeful.

And yet—

Amidst all that activity, there was a very noticeable... heaviness.

Ollie sighed again.

This time, it came from his entire body.

It was dramatic enough that Luca finally leaned in, concern written all over his face.

"Brother, are you alright?" he asked gently. "You’ve been sighing since we started."

The blonde puffed his cheeks and slumped where he stood.

"I’m not so sure, brother," Ollie admitted. "I’m fine right now, but not knowing if I’m about to turn into mush is driving me crazy."

"...Huh?" Luca blinked, tilting his head. "Turn into mush? But brother, why would you turn into... mush?"

He looked genuinely worried.

After all, today was just about consuming the Queen of the Night’s fruit.

So why, of all things, did his brother think he’d turn into mush?

"Well..." Ollie began, already spiraling. "After the Elders told us to reference our ancestors, my family realized we don’t actually know what our bloodline abilities could be."

His voice rose, growing increasingly dramatic.

"My father’s side’s special skill is making money, but I don’t think that counts as an affinity! And then there’s my mother’s side, which is basically a giant bag labeled ’confidential’!"

He grabbed his head.

"What if I end up with something completely inexplicable? Like turning into dust?!"

Ollie visibly paled.

"Will my children also turn into dust?!"

The concerned golden-eyed brother opened his mouth to respond—

But the blackened lighthouse wasn’t done.

"Okay, fine, maybe turning into dust isn’t that bad," he continued, already halfway to collapsing. "But what if I panic and forget how to turn back?! As a piece of dust without a mouth, how am I supposed to swallow a revive pill?!"

The logic.

Somehow...

Made sense.

Disturbingly so.

But just as the blonde with a panicked hair antenna continued his very realistic disaster scenario, someone nearby let out his signature sigh.

"You won’t turn into dust."

Kyle.

He had arrived with the rest of the group, walking straight toward Ollie, like this was a situation he’d already accepted as part of his life.

"And look," he added calmly, "even Prince Elior can turn into a fly, and he’s fine."

The others—particularly Rahil, the Elven Prince’s aide—didn’t know how that could possibly be comforting to anyone, but rolled with it since it seemed effective enough.

Kyle reached out and ruffled his little star’s hair, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"And even if you did turn into dust," Kyle continued, voice softer now, "I’d collect every bit of you so you could turn back."

The blonde looked up at him, squinting suspiciously.

"Really?"

"Really."

Ollie crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. "You’re not just saying that so you can get rid of me and take a new wife, right?"

Kyle leaned down until they were face to face.

"Bud," he said flatly, "you do remember we’re bonded, not just married on paper, right? If I even tried that, I’d die. Then you’d die."

A pause.

"You know that."

Ollie blinked.

Then blinked again.

And just like that, clarity returned.

He straightened immediately, clearing his throat like nothing had happened.

"Yes! That’s right!" he declared, full of confidence again. "Even if I turn into a soggy sock, you still need to keep me!"

Kyle pressed his lips together, clearly amused.

"Yes," he said, nodding in surrender. "Even as a single piece of soggy sock, I’ll make sure to keep you."

He gave Ollie a gentle nudge.

"So, if the sock is ready, we should gather with the others."

A small smile.

"It’s time to harvest the fruit."

"Oh! Are the preparations complete already?" Luca finally asked, looking up with interest.

The adjutant nodded. "Yes. It took a while to set everything into their respective stations, but it’s all done now."

"Did the hilts make it on time?" the golden-eyed cadet followed up immediately.

"Yeah," Kyle replied. "The Captain brought them over, and the Elders confirmed they were exactly what they asked for."

"Wait." Ollie blinked, catching up. "Hilts? What hilts?"

The shorter brother turned to him, patient as ever. "As in a sword’s handle, brother. The reason I, and Auntie Cece, weren’t at the main testing site earlier was because the Elders requested several biomechanical weapon hilts, aside from the full weapons."

The blonde, momentarily confused, frowned. "Huh? Why?"

"Because," Luca explained, "it’s an easier way to coax an ability that doesn’t have a defined form yet. They said it might feel a bit crude—especially for shapeless affinities—but when applicable, it would help give them structure."

Now the curious star was invested as he leaned in, "Structure? How?"

"Well, we tried it earlier," Luca continued. "Normally, Xavier wouldn’t need something like that because of his affinity, but he said it was much easier to materialize an ice blade when using a hilt made from bio-components."

He smiled slightly. "So for those still figuring things out, they’ll be able to choose from different tools to help shape their ability into something tangible."

"Wah..." Ollie’s eyes lit up. "That’s actually really nice."

"Right?" Luca beamed. "So instead of worrying about turning into dust, why don’t you try the tools first, brother?"

The blonde puffed up again, clearly unconvinced.

"BAH! Brotheeeeer! But if I do turn into dust, you have to gather me, okay?!" he insisted, pointing dramatically.

Luca’s smile only grew brighter.

"Of course, brother! I’ll even put you in the prettiest jar!"

"..."

"..."

A quiet pause settled over the group.

Several people exchanged looks.

Because—

Was that even proper?

Then again, considering what they were about to walk into, worrying about becoming dust was probably the least of their concerns. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After all, they were about to step into something far more chaotic.

A brief moment of calm—

Before what would likely be momentary pandemonium.

Well, at least it would also be historic, right?