Chapter 1: The Useless Twin

Lumi Pei did not remember how she had arrived at the abandoned building.

She remembered leaving the Pei residence and remembered the loud sound of the front door closing behind her.

After that, everything became strangely unclear.

Perhaps she had walked for several minutes. Perhaps it had been an hour. She had crossed streets and passed unfamiliar buildings without paying attention to where she was going, her mind too exhausted to care. At some point, she must have wandered into one of the older districts near the edge of the city, where half-empty buildings stood waiting to be demolished and replaced with something newer.

Eventually she found the abandoned ten-story building and went inside.

Why? Lumi did not know. She had simply kept walking. One flight of stairs after another. Until, without realizing it, she had reached the rooftop.

Now, she sat at its edge, her legs swinging lazily over the side as she stared at the city stretching endlessly beneath her.

From this height, the city beyond the demolition district looked almost peaceful.

Below her, the streets between the abandoned buildings were dark and nearly empty. Several structures had already been torn down, leaving behind patches of uneven ground surrounded by temporary fences, while others stood silent and waiting for their turn.

But beyond the boundary of the district, the city remained brightly lit.

Cars moved through the distant streets in thin streams of red and white. Countless windows glowed beneath the night sky, and somewhere far away, people were probably having dinner, arguing with their families, worrying about work, falling asleep, or doing a hundred ordinary things that suddenly felt very far away from her.

Lumi watched them without really seeing anything.

Her mind had been blank for so long that she was beginning to wonder whether this was what people meant when they said they were simply too tired to think.

After a while, she raised her hand and touched her right cheek.

It still hurts.

The skin beneath her fingertips remained warm, although the sting had faded enough that she could almost convince herself that it had never happened.

A small laugh suddenly escaped her.

Felix Pei, her father had slapped her.

Even now, the thought sounded ridiculous in her head.

For nineteen years, Lumi had tried not to become a problem for anyone. She had learned when to remain silent, when to smile, and when it was better to pretend that certain words had not hurt her. She had spent so long doing her best to be the obedient daughter of the Pei family that, by now, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to want something badly enough to refuse when others told her to give it up.

Yet today, for the first time, she had finally said no. Apparently, that one time had been enough.

Her gaze slowly lowered to the dark streets below as the wind moved through her hair.

Closing her eyes, the image of the Fated Guide Transfer application lying on the table appeared in her mind. Her name had been printed at the top.

Below it was another: Celestine Pei, her twin sister.

Lumi slowly let out a breath.

Perhaps her father had expected her to agree, and probably everyone in that room had as well.

After all, from their perspective, it was only logical. Celestine was a top-ranked Guide.

While Lumi was a mere citizen, not even an F-Rank.

The Sentinel needed a Guide, and Celestine could fulfill that role. There was nothing particularly complicated about it.

The Pei family had spent years trying to understand how someone like Lumi could have become the Fated Guide of an SSS-rank Sentinel when she possessed none of the abilities required to fulfill that role. At eighteen, when the connection had first been confirmed, everyone had been shocked.

A year later, they had finally found a solution, or perhaps, Lumi thought bitterly, they had simply found someone better suited to take her place, their favourite daughter.

So when the transfer application had been placed before her, everyone had expected her to sign it.

The only problem was that Lumi had said no. And like almost every time in her life, everybody seemed to find her being ridiculous.

Honestly, she had never really cared. Becoming the Fated Guide of an SSS-rank Sentinel had never meant much to her, especially after the doctors examined her at eighteen and declared that she possessed no Guiding energy whatsoever.

The title had become little more than something people whispered about whenever they saw her. She could not Guide him, could not help him, and had never expected anything from the connection in the first place.

So why had she refused?

Lumi herself was not entirely sure.

Perhaps, for the first time in her life, she simply did not want to give Celestine something that was supposed to be hers.

And that SSS-rank Sentinel? She didn’t even know what he looked like.

She had only seen his name on official documents and heard enough rumours to know that he was apparently one of the most dangerous people in the Empire. Considering the circumstances of her birth and the fact that the bond had only been discovered a year ago, Lumi had never actually met him.

Which made the whole situation even more ridiculous.

But when she was already deep in her thoughts, suddenly, a low, thunderous roar tore through the night.

Lumi froze.

The sound was so violent that, for a moment, she could not even tell where it had come from. The abandoned building beneath her trembled faintly, dust falling from somewhere above the rooftop entrance as another roar followed.

This time, it was closer. Then the city erupted.

Sirens blared in the distance. Lights flashed between the buildings beyond the demolition district, followed by the sharp sound of brakes and several panicked screams.

Then, without warning, the emergency broadcast system came to life.

A sharp burst of static echoed through the surrounding streets before a cold, mechanical voice replaced it.

"Emergency warning. All civilians currently within the Eastern Demolition District are ordered to evacuate immediately. Repeat, all civilians within the Eastern Demolition District must leave the area immediately and proceed to the nearest designated evacuation point."

Lumi stared toward the dark streets below.

"A Level-Red security incident has been confirmed within the district. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from approaching the affected area. Please remain calm and follow all instructions issued by emergency response personnel."

Lumi slowly stood up from the edge of the rooftop, but as she turned her head around, wondering where she should hide or run, another roar came.

This time, it sounded frighteningly close.

She gulped and quickly looked down, only to meet a pair of hazel, yellowish eyes.

For a moment, Lumi froze.

The man stood on the ground below, surrounded by broken concrete and debris. His clothes were torn, while thin streaks of electricity flickered around his body, occasionally snapping against the ground and causing the nearby streetlights to flicker.

His head was tilted upward, those strange eyes fixed directly on her.

Then he roared again.

Lumi’s breath caught. Her mind, which had been blank for most of the night, finally produced a single thought.

’Run!’

She had no idea who that man was, and frankly, she did not intend to stay long enough to find out.

Lumi quickly stepped away from the edge, but before she could take another step, the man below suddenly bent his knees.

Then he jumped.

Her eyes widened.

’What the hell?’

He shot upward with such force that, for one terrifying moment, Lumi thought he was actually trying to jump all the way to the rooftop.

But he did not, his body barely left the ground before his feet came crashing back down.

Lumi blinked.

Had he failed?

For one brief moment, she actually thought he had but then realisation hit her.

The man had not been trying to reach the rooftop.

The moment his feet struck the ground, the entire building shook. A violent crack split through the concrete below.

Then the rooftop lurched.

Lumi’s body lost its balance before she even had time to scream.

The ground beneath her tilted violently, and suddenly, the edge she had been standing near was gone.

For one brief, terrifying moment, there was nothing beneath her feet.

The city spun and wind rushed past her ears.

As Lumi fell from the tenth floor, the only thought that passed through her mind was,

’Of all the ways to die, why did it have to be this one?’